Nairobi to grow business travel in 2019, boost tourism sector
Nairobi’s meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions (MICE) tourism has grown over the past few years to become a key revenue contributor in the tourism industry.
Data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics the number of international conferences and delegates grew by 6.8 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively in 2018.
On the other hand, local conferences and delegates grew 7.9 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.
“The improved performance was a result of a conducive environment for tourism, withdrawal of travel advisories and high-profile international conferences and meetings held in 2018,” the 2019 Economic Survey stated.
Some of the high-profile conferences held in the country last year include The first ordinary session of the African Union Ministerial Sub-Committee on Tourism, The 79th International Skal World Congress, The Sustainable Blue Economy and the African Hotel Investment Forum.
This good MICE performance saw tourism earnings grow 31.3 per cent last year to sh157.4 billion from Sh119.9 billion, with the number of international visitors growing 14 per cent to 2.03 million tourists.
By Cynthia Ilako, Business Writer
