Embassy of Kenya, Washington, DC

AGENCY TO MARKET KENYA'S TOURISM

Global online travel agency, Expedia.com, has signed a marketing agreement with regional operator Vintage Africa, giving the local hospitality industry a further push towards the growing trend of tourism online marketing.

Experts in the tourism sector say that there is a shift in marketing tourism, with global statistics indicating that the traditional method of tourism sales using agents is waning as more people switch to the Internet to buy and sell travel packages.

Online tourism is currently generating over $110 billion in sales- through direct and intermediary channels. It is estimated that the web is the primary source of information for over 70 per cent of global travellers but that figure rises to well over 80 per cent for the younger population.

Online sales have now exceeded the fast declining off-line sales in the US and are catching on in Europe and Asia.The online market share for Africa is negligible, and is dominated mainly by big African economies such as South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

The deal between Expedia.com and Vintage Africa which was announced at the E-tourism conference in Sarit Centre is expected to give international exposure to regional tourism through the Expedia.com network.

According to details of the deal, Expedia.com will be expected to market hotels in the three East African states of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

According to the Expedia.com marketing manager for Africa and Indian Ocean, Ross Kata, the regional hospitality industry stands to benefit from its vast marketing network

“Online trading provides flexibility in items such as price changes; allowing tour operators or hotels to adjust their rates even at the last minute compared to the traditional brochures “ said Diego Lofeudo, Expedia.com’s director of market management.

New record

Expedia.com has had a turnover of $20 billion over the last year and has already signed up Hilton hotels and Fairmont on its online platform.

Tourism was a major economic driver of the last century and is expected to maintain its status in the 21st century. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) says that international tourist arrivals grew by an estimated six per cent last year to reach a new record figure of nearly 900 million.

According to a UNWTO study conducted in 1999, tourism volume is estimated to reach 1.5 billion tourists by 2020, generating more than $5 billion everyday. The forecasts represent nearly three times more international tourism than the $625 million recorded in 1998.

Courtesy The Business Daily.