Kenya has been named Africa's best meetings and conference destination, 2022 under the auspices of the 'MeetInKenya' brand, a major boost for the country's tourism.
The award was in recognition of the country's Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) segment of the tourism sector, the third major purpose of visit by international tourists.
The country was recognised at the third Annual World MICE Awards by MICE professionals, media and consumers worldwide, at The Ritz –Carlton, Amman Jordan.
Led by the Kenya National Convention Bureau (KNCB), the country trounced notable African destination marketing agency nominees such as Egypt Expo and Convention Authority , Cape Town and Western Convention Bureau of South Africa and Durban the Warmest Place to Be, from South Africa.
KNCB also beat the Rwanda Convention Bureau.
Worlds Mice Award serves to celebrate excellence in MICE tourism, and endorses players as the Oscars of the travel industry.
The annual program aims to foster growth, innovations and best practice on a global scale.
With the award, the MeetInKenya brand developed and launched in 2021 by the Kenya Convention Bureau now joins an exclusive community of the finest brands in the MICE industry.
Commenting on the award, KNCB chief executive Jacinta Nzioka termed it a demonstration of the strong branding and positioning that the young organisation has put in place in the past year, coupled with longer-term efforts by the industry to host world class events.
“The award also recognises our brand commitment to excellence and has come at the right time when we are looking to roll out strategies to achieve the new Kenya Kwanza Government’s manifesto goals,"Nzioka said.
This is harnessing the potential that the destination has in MICE sub-sector.
Conferencing is among the key reasons why travellers visit Kenya besides leisure and the sub-sector.
Data by the Tourism Research Institute (TRI) shows it was the third purpose of visiting the country this year, with January-August numbers recorded at 258, 889.
This was after holiday ( 313,466) and those visiting family and friends whose total was 274, 722.
It is expected to record more growth with the ease of Covid-19 pandemic that had paralysed physical meetings.
Nzioka said the bureau will partner with industry stakeholders to boost activities and numbers in the sub-sector.
“One of the initiatives that the bureau is doing to accelerate the recovery of MICE in the country is to bring all the professional associations onboard, to enable synergy and information sharing on how best the we can attract more meetings into the destination,” Nzioka said.
She added that the bureau, under the umbrella of the MagicalKenya destination brand, was looking to have an aggressive marketing campaign.
This is through the digital channels and other business travel media outlets in the source markets.
It is also keen on employing robust bidding through partnerships with the InternationalCongress and Convention Association (ICCA), among others.
Nzioka is currently the ICCA Africa chapter deputy chairperson where she was appointed in 2020, following the establishment of the Kenyan bureau.
