Conference tourism is the next best thing in tourism industry. Nairobi is a favorite choice for conference tourism, going by the recent rush in meetings that the city has hosted.
Besides good business opportunities, conference tourism provides immense benefits to broader economy since it generates a higher spending, adds to revival of destinations, reduces seasonality, increases networking, enhances innovation and creativity, cooperation among regions and intellectual development. The growing popularity of this sector has brought a lot of changes and financial growth, thus making the sector the 29th largest contributor to the global GDP. South Africa has been the most popular in Africa among hosting meetings followed by Egypt, Morocco and Kenya. Among the cities, Nairobi ranks third after Cape Town, Dublin and Marrakech.
Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Safari Park Hotel, Sarova Whitesands and Leisure Lodge in Mombasa are some of the principal conference venues in Kenya. As of 2014, Kenya held 19 international conferences, becoming the third most admired conference destination in Africa and 71st globally after South Africa and Egypt. Such high-level conferences increase visitor and investor confidence and prominently position a country on world tourism map and attract new investors in the hospitality sector. Kenya continues to enjoy its reputation as a favored destination due to good investments in hospitality sector. Hotels have reported full occupancy during such conferences.
