As African countries seek to develop their e-commerce potential, Kenya’s tourism promotion website Magicalkenya.com is being showcased by the United Nations trade body Unctad (UN Conference on Trade and Development) as the kind of successful project that businesses on the continent could undertake.
With support from the European Union, Magicalkenya developed and launched one of Africa’s largest destination websites, which is said to be the world’s most popular online resource for Kenyan tourism. Remarkably, the website became financially independent after one year of operation and has managed to generate advertising revenue.
According to Unctad, Magicalkenya’s success is partly attributable to its being user-friendly and allowing users to choose their own mode of information access. The website’s primary objective is also well spelt out: to change the perception that Kenya is a tourist destination offering only beaches and wildlife by providing precise, high-quality information on the wide range of attractions in the country.
Thus, for instance, over the last two months the site has featured the Kenya Snake Safari that touts the 126 snake types found in the country; as well as the unique wedding experience in Kenya and the East African Safari Rally.
Unctad, the World Tourism Organisation and other agencies are helping some African states to increase their access to and use of information technologies in developing their tourism sectors.
Unctad says tourism is one of the areas in which African countries can easily make use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to promote e-commerce. This is because ICTs offer relatively quick and low-cost access to the global market for tourism entrepreneurs even in remote corners of the continent. There are indications, for instance, that newcomers in the airline industry can easily absorb ICTs, as 90%of their transactions can be conducted online.
‘ICTs provide destinations with easier and less costly access to the global market than participation in fairs, publication of brochures and videos, or even establishing official representation abroad,” notes an Unctad report on electronic commerce strategies for Africa.
In several African countries, including Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, ICTs are increasingly penetrating the tourism sector in the form of online portals and reservation and booking systems. Airlines, travel firms, hotels, destinations and governmental tourism agencies in the region have all embraced ICTs, though few of them are currently reaping as many benefits as their counterparts in the developed world.
Unctad officials say while a ready-to-use road map is envisaged and joint consideration undertaken in view of the challenges common to African countries, each country must examine the priority areas in which intervention is needed to maximise its participation in the digital economy. — Hana