By James Anyanzwa
The region's tourism private sector body has launched the
www.visiteastafrica.net portal that will enable tourists to plan and book
tourist packages and offers from service providers of the region's various
tourist attractions in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
The portal has a 'My Trip-Planner' function that allows tourists
to check for tour packages and operators to provide quotations for selected
packages.
Tourists can also find information on this portal, and can
easily apply for the East Africa Single Tourist Visa.
EATP's Chairman Fred Odek said in a statement on Friday that
the platform will be enhanced to include an option for tourists to provide
online reviews for places visited and an e-learning system for East Africa
travel specialists.
"The introduction of the portal will allow regional
stakeholders to market to domestic, regional and international visitors
directly. We are in discussions with more stakeholders from the other EAC
countries to join the platform," said Mr. Odek
Over 830 regional tour operators and travel agents have so
far registered on the platform as the region joins efforts to recover from the
Covid-19 pandemic.
The platform, which has been created under the stewardship
of the EA countries' tourism boards, enables tourists to have access to
credible travel information on services to the region and also for travel trade
operators to place their multi-country packages promoting the East Africa
region as a single tourist destination.
"The platform will facilitate tourists from across the
world to access information on products, experiences, and destinations in the
Eastern Africa region all in one place," saidAnataria Karimba, Director of
Business Competitiveness at TradeMark East Africa (TMEA).
"It will also enhance the availability of information
in the region and accessibility to the tourism supply chain."
EATP is a regional private sector body for tourism in East
Africa, set up with the support of TradeMark East Africa in 2011 after
extensive consultations with tourism stakeholders to facilitate active and
focused engagement of the Private Sector in the EAC Regional Integration
process.
The platform, which seeks to create and promote a vibrant
and diverse single tourism destination in the region, works closely with
national ministries responsible for tourism, hospitality, wildlife, transport
portfolios and the EAC Secretariat.
It also works with Trade Mark East Africa, East African
Business Council (EABC) and private sector organisations in all the member
states to promote intra- and inter-regional tourism.
0 comments:
Post a Comment