The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) launched the final phase of its influencer marketing campaign, welcoming renowned travel influencers from the United Kingdom to Kenya. 

According to Kenyan Capital News, this initiative aims to showcase the country’s tourism experiences to the global travel market, focusing on attracting millennials and younger travelers.

KTB head June Chepkemei reports that the campaign initially targeted influencers from the East African Community (EAC), has generated significant interest, and now expands to include the UK, a top source market for Kenyan tourism.

“We’ve had successful engagements with influencers from the EAC region over the past few months,” Chepkemei said in a statement. “Now, we’re targeting the UK, whose citizens have consistently shown interest in Kenya’s offerings.”

The visiting UK influencers include travel vlogger Sandy Makes Sense, Irish rugby sevens player Harry McNulty, and photographer Eleonora Zontini. Over the next week, they will explore attractions in Nairobi, Tsavo, Watamu, and the Coastal region.

This initiative follows Hollywood actress Nicole Murphy’s recent tour of Kenya, which Chepkemei cites as evidence of growing interest from global celebrities and influencers across various fields.

Chepkemei highlights the role of UK influencers, known for their creative storytelling in videography, photography, and content creation, in showcasing Kenya’s tourist attractions. 

“By documenting their experiences in Kenya, these influencers will inspire their followers to visit our country,” Chepkemei added.

According to Capital News, the UK remains a leading tourism market for Kenya, with 156,701 arrivals in 2023, a 19% increase from 131,526 arrivals in 2022.

The influencer familiarization tours, launched in June, have promoted Kenya within the EAC region and aim to boost regional tourism growth. This aligns with the EAC’s goal of attracting over 14 million international tourists annually by 2025.

As for Kenyan influencers, the Chinese Embassy in Kenya recently announced an initiative to offer select online content creators from the country an all-expenses-paid trip to China. The embassy framed the trip as an educational journey.

However, TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, faced scrutiny in Kenya for similar reasons why it’s fighting a potential U.S. ban. Kenyan authorities threatened to ban the platform in 2023 to prevent the leakage of sensitive data and enhance citizen security. 

However, the Information Ministry subsequently opposed any suggestions of a TikTok ban and argued that ByteDance’s platform should be more regulated.