Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife has partnered with Netflix, the world’s leading streaming service, in a bid to promote Kenya as a travel destination of choice globally.
The partnership will see the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife collaborate with Netflix to showcase the best of Kenya’s offerings and conservation efforts. Through the digital marketing campaign, Netflix will in conjunction with Ministry agencies; Kenya Tourism Board (KTB)and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) highlight Kenya’s tourism opportunities and products.
Netflix screened a short documentary highlighting the leading role that Kenya is playing in environmental conservation efforts and positioning Kenya as a destination of choice for visitors. The documentary highlighted the Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project that is supported by Netflix and led by communities in Tsavo to protect the dryland forest, which is home to hundreds of endangered species, and minimize human-wildlife conflict while providing local residents with alternative income streams.
Kenya Tourism Board CEO, Dr. Betty Radier, had this to say, “Currently, Netflix has 221 million paid subscribers worldwide, and a significant social media following. This is a huge number of people who have access to their content and show an interest in Netflix’s activities. Our goal is to tap into Netflix’s online presence to showcase Magical Kenya. Further, we want to collaborate on initiatives that showcase the best of Kenya’s cultures and creativity. For instance, we are looking at key areas such as conservation efforts that drive tourism in Kenya as well as showcase the various opportunities in tourism that we have as a destination. Today, content is a key component in marketing and therefore having a partner with vast expertise in this field can improve the material produced. One of the things we want to showcase, in the meantime, is a documentary on conservation that features the important work being done in Kenya to preserve our wild spaces for coming generations.”
Netflix’s Director of Public Policy, Shola Sanni says: “Kenya is one of Africa’s most beautiful destinations, with compelling cultures, diverse landscapes and natural beauty to rival any in the world. We’re excited to collaborate with the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife to showcase Kenya to the world as a prime tourism destination. Sanni adds, “We’re really pleased to showcase a promotional video reel showcasing Kenya as a destination of choice, and also screen a short documentary that shines a light on the important conservation work that the Ministry is spearheading in collaboration with local environmental champions and other partners like Netflix. Our objective is to launch our joint efforts alongside the Ministry and tourism agencies to promote Kenya as a tourism destination of choice.”
The partnership comes at a time when Kenya continues to make significant contributions toward conservation. The government has put in place several initiatives aimed at ensuring the protection of wildlife throughout the country.
In 2021, the government, through the KWS, conducted the first-ever National Wildlife Census with an aim of understanding the animal species that need more attention in terms of conservation.