Bank's online management system to boost tourism

By Macharia Kamau

Kenya Commercial Bank has announced plans to launch an online payment management system.

The KCB Internet Acquiring Business is an online booking and payment solution targeted at the tourism industry. The system is expected to make bookings and payments fast and easier for guests to the country’s lodges and hotels. Mr David Thuo, KCB divisional director for treasury said the online payment management system would come in handy for the industry that is expected to increasingly harness the power of the web to market the country.

"The global tourism industry has set the pace for e-commerce," Thuo said yesterday.

"This online booking and payments solution is another addition to the KCB pool of products for individual and institutional banking clients."

The bank will launch the solution early next month during a scheduled e-Tourism conference to be held at a Nairobi Hotel.

Online products

Conference organisers e-Tourism Frontiers said other firms that will be participating at the event would launch more online products targeted at the industry.

"A wave of new online travel solutions, especially relating to e-commerce will be unveiled during the e-tourism East Africa conference," said Damian Cook, chief executive e-Tourism Frontiers.

He added that travel has in the recent past become the number one selling commodity on the Internet and that the local sector has to embrace online transactions and marketing to significantly increase the number of tourists to the country.

Research has it that over 95 per cent of travellers first look for information from the Internet.