By Samuel Ouma
The Jambojet, a Kenyan low-cost airline, and the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) have struck a pact to enhance tourism growth in the country.
The deal is part of Jambojet's recovery strategy, where it is looking to diversify its revenue generation through advertising placements.
“Last year we launched the ‘Now Travel Ready’ campaign to encourage domestic tourism as part of COVID-19 recovery. This partnership with KTB will further drive this conversation in a bid to revive the sector,” said Captain Michael Kwinga, Head of Operations, Jambojet.
The Kenya Airways’ subsidiary offers various advertising options, including the Jambojet website, boarding passes, tray tables, in-flight announcements, in-flight sampling, e-newsletter, headrest covers, and itinerary flight branding.
Also in the deal is the branding of one of Jambojet's De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft for one year.
KTB, through its CEO Dr. Betty Radier commended the airline for being in the forefront to ensure the growth of tourism by allowing accessibility to tourism destinations in the country.
According to Dr. Radier, the partnership is one of the ventures the board has explored to grow the tourism sector.
Between 2015-2018 Kenya’s domestic tourists’ bed-night occupancy accounted for more than 50 % of the total bed occupancy.
The launching of new travel routes is another means employed by the Jambojet to improve the economy via tourism.
In October 2020, the carrier commenced direct flights from Mombasa to Kisumu and Eldoret to enable business people and holidaymakers to travel between the three destinations with ease.
Domestic and regional travel will dominate the tourism industry in 2021 compared to international tourism, as per the Oxford Economics and global Travel report (2020-2021).
This is due to international travel restrictions imposed by governments because of the Covid-19 pandemic.