Kenyan safaris could be next big thing for Koreans

The Kenyan Embassy here and the Kenya Tourist Board, the top travel promoter for the country, pitched to prospective South Korean tourists and travel agents in a bid to attract a larger number of South Korean visitors to the East African nation.

The embassy and the board brought seven Kenyan travel companies for a two-day, two-city road show in Seoul and Busan on Wednesday and Thursday.

Kenyan Ambassador to South Korea Ngovi Kitau said Kenya is riding on the launch of Korean Airlines’ direct flights to Nairobi in June 2012 and the country’s recent designation as the world’s leading safari destination by the World Travel Awards in Qatar in December 2013.

Kitau said this will surely add impetus to the growth of the number of Korean visitors to his country, adding Kenya has identified Korea as one of the key markets in Asia that will contribute toward a target of 3 million visitors by 2017.

Redcap Tour Company’s Kim Seon-hye, who attended the road show in Seoul to find out more about Kenyan tour packages, estimated a weeklong trip could cost as much as 5 million won for a Korean traveler.

But Jeon Hye-yoon, an agent for Shoestring.kr, a travel company specializing in budget student trips, said with camping options, a weeklong trip could be brought down to as little as 2 million won. Neither company currently offers Kenya travel packages.

Although the number of South Korean visitors to Kenya is small at just 9,400 in 2012, the figure nearly doubled since Kenya opened its chancery here in 2007.

The event was aimed at providing a business-networking forum for both South Korean and Kenyan trade, increase market penetration in the East African nation for South Korean investors, and raise awareness of Kenya here.

(ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)