SAFARI tourism is expected to be worth more than US$60 billion globally by 2030 – much of it to the benefit of African countries and business event planners who want to add wildlife to conference itineraries.
One of the Africa’s most ambitious trade exhibition markets, Kenya, is now preparing to build on its conference goals by offering safaris to the meetings agenda.
This is all happening as revenue from the safari segment of tourism is expected to drive revenues of US$2.6 billion by 2030 – up from $1.6 billion is 2022, according to figures from Grand View Research.
Suppliers representing Kenya joined fellow African exhibitors on the showfloors of ITB Asia 2025. Some were exhibiting at the Singapore show for the first time, having already made their mark at ITB China in Shanghai.
Venue operators such as Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC, pictured above) and OnlyOne Travel (below) are setting their sights on Asia, beginning with Singapore and Malaysia.
“When matching the safari experience with the MICE experience, we do holistic marketing, even when we are marketing Kenya as a MICE destination,” said Jeff Omondi, planning manager at KICC. “It’s based on the concept of b-leisure.”
While TV channels and digital media feed millions of viewers across the world with fascinating insights into African wildlife, there is little doubt on the quality of safari-tour operators judging from their presence at ITB Asia.
Any questions about the infrastructure so vital for conference and itinerary planners, however, are quickly dispelled thanks to vast improvements mainly provided by China’s Belt & Road initiative. Investment has included cross-regional road and rail projects, notably linking the Kenyan capital Nairobi to the coastal resort city of Mombasa.
JAPANESE TOUR OPERATOR FINDS ONLYONE HOME: KENYA
MEET Yasuke Yamada. The CEO and founder of OnlyOne Travel has made Kenya his home and the headquarters of his company that organises itineraries for groups from Asia.
For Yamada and his team, Kenya’s conference-safari vision is no pipe dream, but a natural evolution of the country’s plans to become a business events destination combined with its network of DMCs and safari operators.
“Kenya has been in the tourism industry for more than 60 years, and is the oldest country of tourism in Africa,” Yamada told MIX during ITB Asia. “They have a good infrastructure with flight links and big hotels, and the road conditions are very good right now. There are a lot of plusses for MICE groups.”
Yamada is 23-year veteran of the travel industry and started his career in Ecuador where he worked with tour groups from Japan and learned Spanish. His skills also served him well in Panama from where he was also able to take groups to the Caribbean.
With an interest in African culture and wildlife it was only natural that he extended OnlyOne Travel’s operations to Kenya, which he now calls home.
Positioning the country as Africa’s conference destination is a key goal in the government’s Kenya Vision 2030 programme. This ambition has been brought into sharp focus with the go-ahead given to build a convention complex with hotels – two luxury and a four-star – at the Bomas of Kenya cultural park, within Nairobi county. Bomas International Convention Centre is expected to be ready in 2027.
KICC’s Jeff Omondi told MIX that the country’s conference credentials were solid and set for growth, particularly when it came to matching business events with safari tours.
Omondi points out that Nairobi can lay claim to being the only capital city in Africa with a national park in its county boundaries, and legislation set to be enabled by the end of the year to form a Kenyan convention bureau. He believes this would put Kenya on the path to being “Africa’s conference destination”.
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With neighbouring Tanzania adding to its venue choices with construction of the Mount Kilimanjaro International Conference Centre, which is expected to be completed in 2027, and Rwanda making strides with a national convention bureau, Kenya will have competition.
Omondi believes, however, that Kenya has the edge in becoming Africa’s safari-conference destination. KICC – 11km from the Bomas project and in the city centre – will also strengthen its role in complementing the new facility and continuing to attract trade exhibitions.
For the past 10 years, KICC has been home to China Trade Week (CTW) Kenya with an attendance of 5,000, “which we can host comfortably”, Omondi said.
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Another edition of Magical Kenya Travel Expo, organised by Kenya Tourism Board, came to a close as African delegates headed to Singapore.
“It is a safari event showing Kenya’s tourism in terms of wildlife, cultural tourism, sports tourism,” Omondi said of Magical Kenya. “It’s a whole new event with different components – even MICE was showcased.”
Main image… A elephant passes a safari vehicle during sunset at Masai Mara National Reserve Kenya. Credit: Mongkolchon Akesin, via Shutterstock
