Campaign to boost Kenya's tourism on internet launched

"Make it Kenya" will partner with HerdTracker, a platform that allows people to track the migration in real time online, to offer live broadcasts of lions in the Maasai Mara and turtles in Watamu in a campaign dubbed #KENYALIVE.

The campaign will consist of 50 live broadcasts of rare animals found in the country across eleven days.

Broadcasts will be available to view across the world using live video streaming app Periscope from 7-18 January.

©Yuliya Shangareeva via 123RF

"Kenya is popular as a safari destination but not many people know of its rich marine wildlife. We intend to change this by popularising Kenya's marine life as well as activities available for tourists at the Coast such as kite surfing and deep sea diving," said Andre Van Kets, Director of Discover Africa, who is in charge of the campaign.

"We wanted to give people an authentic view of what it is like to be on safari. The footage will be raw and authentic and not edited in studios like most wildlife documentaries. Many people would love to see a migration, for example, as it happens rather than wait to see an edited video of it. Wildlife is best experienced live," Kets explained.

The first of the live broadcasts will offer a view of the lions in the Olare Motorogi and Naboisho Conservancies of the Maasai Mara interactions at night, and what the conservancies have to offer: off-road game drives, fly camping, night game drive safaris as well as walking safaris.

The team will also work with Watamu Turtle Watch project where they will strap a camera to the back of a turtle for underwater recordings.

The project aims at protecting nesting sea turtles, rehabilitating sick and injured turtles before sending them back into their natural habitat.

"People around the world can login and see what a Kenyan safari would look like and also see marine animals in their natural habitat. This will highlight Kenya as a tourism destination," Kets said.

Make it Kenya partnered with HerdTracker last year to bring the Great Wildebeest Migration in the Mara to the world.