DRMumbai: Sarova Hotels, Resorts & Game Lodges Kenya successfully conducted its four-city workshop in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad in November. Stakeholders, travel agents and policy makers from these cities attended the product presentations, which were specifically curated for the India market.
Selina Dima, Travel Trade Manager – Global Sales, Sarova Hotels, Resorts & Game Lodges, Kenya and Duncan Mwangi, Manager, Sarova Mara Game Camp, Masai Mara National Reserve, gave detailed product presentations on the group’s 10 properties across Kenya spanning city hotels, beach resorts, and game lodges & camps.
The delegation also interacted with the agents and shared insights on how to promote the Sarova portfolio among Indian leisure travellers and MICE groups. Komal Seth and Anjum Lokhandwala, Directors, Outbound Konnections, Sarova’s market representative in India, also attended the workshops.
The tourism exchange between both the countries has fared well with Kenya emerging as a favoured destination for safaris, MICE and leisure tourism.
According to figures released by the Ministry of Tourism, Kenya, international arrivals hit 1.47 million in 2017, up from 1.34 million the previous year.
The Indian market contributed 6.2 per cent of these arrivals behind the United States of America, United Kingdom and Uganda. Uganda topped Indian arrivals by just 0.2 per cent.
Sarova is present in all the tourism hot spots across Kenya. It has 1500 rooms in 4 and 5-star classifications across three city hotels – two in Nairobi and one in Nakuru), a beach resort in Mombasa and six game lodges & camps in Masai Mara, Samburu, Nakuru and Tsavo. They are renowned for offering unique experiences, culinary delights and specially-tailored safari, wedding & honeymoon packages.
“We are in the India market for the last 35 years. India is the fourth largest source market for Kenya. We believe India has potential to grow further,” opined Dima. Sarova has a keen understanding of social and cultural nuances of India that helps them curate services tailored for guests from the Indian subcontinent.
Travellers can see the Big 5 in Masai Mara – lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and the cape buffalo – all year round as they do not migrate. Then there is the Special 5 which can be spotted only in North Kenya – grevy zebra, long-necked gerenuk, reticulated giraffe, beisa oryx and Somali ostrich. “Game reserves are only a small percentage of what Kenya has to offer,” said Mwangi. “The big discovery is cultural exchange as we have 42 tribes. That apart, we are the ultimate when it comes to adventure.”
