Nairobi — Kenya Airways in conjunction with the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has branded two aircrafts with pictures of the last remaining white rhinos, elephant tuskers, and lions in a move aimed at increasing Kenya’s visibility as a travel destination locally and internationally.
Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Allan Kivuka said the two planes, an Embrarer E 190 and a Dreamliner Boeing 787 -8, were branded in an effort to give travelers an insight into the country’s wildlife and put forth Kenya’s name to the world.
He said the move would exploit the airlines’ connection as the planes would be flying over 41 destinations worldwide, emphasizing that it was an important time for the tourism industry with the holiday season already commenced.
"Domestic flights are expected to record a 95 percent growth by December this year compared to the same period in 2019. Hence this is an important milestone for us at Kenya Airways for we have partnered with the Kenya Tourism Board to help promote tourism in Kenya and across the world," Kivuka said.
On her part, Kenya Tourism Board CEO Betty Radier, who also spoke during the launch of the planes, lauded the partnership as being one that would promote the growth of tourism by enabling accessibility to tourism destinations in the country.
She added that the images branded on the planes are projected to help showcase Kenya’s diversity in wildlife, and the variety of places to visit.
"The 41 points of connection over the world gives us an opportunity to put our Kenyan name to the world. As Kenya, we have a heritage that we need to boost and that is our wildlife," she said.
KTB had previously partnered with KQ subsidiary, Jambojet, in a similar move meant to grow the country’s destination tourism offerings.
Radier added that this was among the many ventures the board is exploring in order to grow the tourism industry in the country.
Tourism and Wildlife Chief Administrative Secretary Joseph Boinett commented that the tourism industry was recovering from the devastations of the pandemic adding that the move was going to "remind people that we are still around and ready for business".
"This partnership is hinged on promoting conservation. It signifies the mission of the ministry to repackage our tourism sector to be appealing and showcase what we have to the local and global market. We targeted the aviation sector because it plays a critical role in the tourism sector […]