Kenya targets India’s film industry to boost tourism

CS Najib Balala

MOMBASA, KENYA: Increased interest from Indian film-makers in Kenya over shooting locations locally will lead to more visitation from the giant Asian nation, country top tourism marketer, Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has disclosed.

KTB announced that it was now banking on filming as one of the initiatives to increase the number of Indian travellers into Kenya that currently stands at over 125,000 tourists per year.

"We have identified this growing interest and this has reinforced our strategy to increase the volumes of visitors from India. With filming, we are certain of Kenya being a household name for the Bollywood movie makers in India," said KTB’s Director of Marketing Jacinta Nzioka at the beginning of Outbound Travel Mart (OTM) exhibitions, in Mumbai, India. 

The exhibition will be a great avenue to meet and engage such enthusiasts and interested partners.

Kenyan travel trade is among over 1,000 exhibitors from about 50 countries across the globe exhibiting at the three-day long event held at Bombay exhibition center.

Nzioka disclosed that KTB in this financial year will have a Bollywood production shot in Kenya as one of the key deliverable.

Great movies, close to 80 of international films shot in the country in the past have helped to increase positive visibility of the country. 

The India Film industry have previously revealed that new film destinations experience on average of 45 percent increase in arrivals when a top Bollywood film with renown actors is shot in destinations. 

“We have some of the best filming locations in the world and the weather that can be easily predicted adds to our potential as a filming destination and that is why India is our market to go to,” says Nzioka.

Indian film industry better known as Bollywood is one of the largest in the world raking in billions of dollars on revenue with massive audiences.

Towards the end of month, KTB will be hosting Filmfare, one of the most famous Bollywood magazine for a shoot on diverse tourism products and experiences in the country presenting as part of campaigns to use film makers to showcase Kenya as a filming destination.