
From 2nd– 4th October 2024 the 14th edition of Magical Kenya Travel Expo (MKTE) took place at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi. It was a platform for B2B meetings between leading African products and top-producing global buyers. It was a good opportunity for the exhibitors to generate new business and to interact with international trade. The event attracted more than 5,000 delegates who could as well participate in seminars and market presentations in order to gain valuable information about the newest trends.
AfricaNewsAnalysis’ Travel Editor, Niels Bartels, was on site and spoke with some exhibibitors about their marketing strategy and whether they were happy with the outcome of the event.
South Africa participated in the event. The country is known for offering a rich history and culture, vibrant nightlife, family-friendly attractions, delicious cuisine, delectable wine routes, stunning landscapes, and world-class golf courses. Besides that, it is also for business an interesting destination, since it does have over 1,700 meeting venues and international convention centres.
AfricaNewsAnalysis’ Travel Editor, Niels Bartels, interviewed Evelyn Mahlaba who is the “Regional Director Africa“ for South African Tourism. She oversees the strategy and implementation of South Africa’s destination marketing in key African markets. Mahlaba does have over 15 years of experience in travel and tourism, she previously held roles managing South Africa’s global trade relations and marketing in Asia, Australasia and the Americas.
AfricaNewsAnalysis: What were your goals during “Magical Kenya 2024“?
Evelyn Mahlaba: We participate in “Magical Kenya“ every year because our main markets in East Africa are Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia. So we come here to have an opportunity to have tour operators to engage with South Africa. As South African tourism, we actually bring in tour operators as well as airlines from South Africa. So we are here with 8 that are assisting us to exhibit. We have got among others the convention bureau, Airlink and other tour operators. Everybody showcases what South Africa has to offer so that they can travel to South Africa.
AfricaNewsAnalysis: How do you show what South Africa has to offer?
Evelyn Mahlaba: We use the travel expo as a launch pad. As an example, our summer campaign is starting next month, we have a partnership and a deal with Kenya Airways. Our summer campaign is called “ There is so much more just around the corner“. As you know, it takes five hours to fly from Nairobi to Johannesburg. That’s our campaign. There will be a lot of deals that we will be promoting, we will be on television, radio. We have got billboards as well and through the airport we will be showcasing that. We were on the radio yesterday, several radio stations, including Capital FM, were giving out prices promoting the summer campaign that is coming out.
AfricaNewsAnalysis: What do Kenyans like most in South Africa?
Evelyn Mahlaba: We have been in this market for a long time. Kenyans can now travel to South Africa for 90 days without the need for a visa. When they are in South Africa, we have got a great variety of experiences. Most of them love going into Johannesburg for the nightlife, for the shopping as well as Cape Town. They love seeing the vineyards. Durban is also very popular among them. Kenyans love the beach and activities that are happening there. A lot of them also like Pretoria because of the Voortrekker Monument. They are interested in history and they like meeting locals.
AfricaNewsAnalysis: Today is the last day of the travel expo. How happy are you with the outcome?
Evelyn Mahlaba: We are very happy. We are at a different venue. Last year it was at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre. Now we are in a different venue. That allowed us to have a bigger stand. It gives good movement. Most important: the people at the stand (that means the tour operators, the travel agents, the destination marketing organizations that we brought) are happy with the meetings that they have had. That’s success because more meetings and engagement means more business so it has been successful for us.
AfricaNewsAnalysis: Thank you for this interview