Tourism board to leverage on NN mission marathon to market Kenya

Kenya once again will over the weekend be in the global limelight as Kenyan marathoners take to the stage for a marathon at the NN Mission Marathon in Enschede, the Netherlands.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) as one of the sponsors of the event is leveraging the marathon to promote the destination brand to the world.

The Enschede Marathon is billed as the only last chance race for many European, African and South American Marathoners before the Tokyo Olympics in July,2021.

KTB CEO Dr. Betty Radier says the NN Marathon presents Kenya with an opportunity to leverage on the global coverage of the marathon to enhance top of mind awareness of the destination among travellers whose travel plans have been hampered by travel restriction as a result of covid-19 pandemic.

“This is a great opportunity for us as a destination to showcase our brand to the world. For a long time now, our greatest ambassadors have been our marathoners. Every time they participate in such competitions and smash records, they draw attention to the destination. Many visitors from across the globe tour Kenya just to have a feel of this country that continues to produce many world-class athletes and Marathoners. We are therefore delighted to be involved in this event,” said Dr Radier.

The event will be broadcasted live through various major international media channels and outlets such as Supersport, ESPN LATAM, L’Equipe 24, BBC, Shanghai TV among others. Dr Radier says this will enable Kenya’s brand visibility to the world including some of Kenya's key tourists source market such as the United Kingdom, United States, and other European nations.

KTB has a long-standing history of supporting sporting events and sportsmen as part of its wider strategy to market the destination. Kenya’s stature as a global athletics powerhouse has for long helped attract global attention to the destination. Last year, the Board appointed Eliud Kipchoge as destination ambassador to help market the destination to local and international tourists.

This event comes a few weeks after Kenya successfully hosted two European Tour events – the Magical Kenya Open and the Kenya Savannah Classic – at the Karen Country Club. These were the first major sporting events to be held in Kenya, after being postponed, since the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

In June, Kenya is also set to host the WRC Safari Rally which will be making a comeback to the World Rally Championship calendar after 19 years of absence. Also lined up for this year is the World Athletics U-20 Championships that were also postponed last year.