TRAVEL INDUSTRY SAYS JAMBO TO KTB'S NEW SPECIALIST PROGRAM

Friday, 24 August 2012

TRAVEL INDUSTRY SAYS JAMBO TO KTB'S NEW SPECIALIST PROGRAM

The Kenya Tourist Board celebrates the launch of the Jambo Kenya Agent Specialist Program

Jovana Arnaut

!!!TRAVEL INDUSTRY SAYS JAMBO TO KTB'S NEW SPECIALIST PROGRAM

The travel industry got a dose of the Jambo Kenya Agent Specialist Program last night at Toronto’s Sassafraz Restaurant in Yorkville.

The Kenya Tourist Board hosted a cocktail reception in celebration of the launch. Tour operators, including Goway, Big Five Tours, MyEscapades, Tourcan Vacations, Globus, Adventure Centre and Kensington Tours were at the event showcasing their Kenya products.

Susan Webb, president, VoX International

“Until you’ve been to Kenya you can’t talk about it because it gets into your heart, so when you go is when you really know how to explain it,” said Susan Webb, president, VoX International. “But tonight, I will try and share a little bit about the country and some of the things we’re doing with [the new] program to help you sell it.”

From June 2011 to June 2012, Webb said that there was an 8.2 per cent increase of Canadians travelling to Kenya.

“Canadians have such a strong tie with Kenya because of all the charitable [organizations],” she said. “[This] is another opportunity for you to sell [because] high end travellers are interested so make sure you get your piece of this.”

Jennifer Opondo, director of marketing, Kenya Tourist Board

Kenya’s top travellers include honeymooners, retirees, the student and youth market, families, voluntourists, and people looking for a ‘life-altering’ trip. Webb said that agents should focus on selling the destination to these clients in particular.

Jennifer Opondo, director of marketing, Kenya Tourist Board, gave a brief overview of the new Agent Specialist Program.

“I am not going to train you tonight,” she said. “We want you to register and become a Master Specialist.”

The program offers five informative sessions providing agents with ‘insider knowledge’ of Kenya, destination updates, sales tools, FAM trip opportunities and consumer leads. She said that the course also outlines various itineraries that agents can sell.

“[For example], culture is big in Kenya and your clients will be able to interact with the Kenyan people... Some countries hardly give you the opportunity to interact with local cultures, but Kenya allows this,” she said. “[The country] also has sample itineraries [and it is] great when it comes to entertainment and sports.”

Culture Safari is one itinerary sample. Travellers will have the opportunity to visit the Samburu National Reserve and learn about the Samburu people. Golfing is also another activity offered in Kenya, with over 40 golf courses available in the country.

With the Specialist Program, agents can also sign up for quarterly newsletters, and receive updates and news. For more information, visit magicalkenya.com.

Adam Mohammad, Kenya High Commission

Agents will also have the opportunity to become a Jambo Kenya Master Specialist. Agents that have attended a FAM to Kenya in the last five years are eligible and must be a registered travel agent in the U.S. or Canada. Master Specialists will be included in a list on magicalkenya.com and will be searchable by consumers from their area.

Adan Mohammad, Kenya High Commission, also attended the event and said that Kenya and Canada have a strong and long standing relationship.

“We are happy that a high number of people travel to Kenya for various activities,” he said. “Particularly we are quite impressed with voluntourism. We see that in Canadian society, people learn about volunteering when they are very young... and this is the culture that we are trying to expand to youth.

“Secondly I want to tell you that Kenya is a safe destination,” he added. “We also have strong conservation efforts and this will continue.”

To register for the Jambo Kenya Agent Specialist Program, visit tauniv.com

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