Kenya aims to boost tourism through Internet campaign

The international brand campaign promotes Kenya as a touristic and investment destination by broadcasting live images of the country's wildlife

Nightlife of lions in the Olare Motorogi and Naboisho Conservancies of the Maasai Mara and the underwater life of turtles in Watamu can now real-time be tracked live on the HerdTracker platform during “Make it Kenya” eleven days campaign.

The 50 live wildlife broadcasts will be available from 7-18 January, using a video streaming app called Periscope. The HerdTracker partnership is not at its first broadcast in association with an international brand campaign, as last year people around the world had the opportunity to watch the Great Wildebeest Migration in the Mara.

Andre Van Kets, Director of Discover Africa and head of the campaign explained:

“Kenya is popular as a safari destination but not many people know of its rich marine wildlife. We intend to change this by popularizing Kenya’s marine life as well as activities available for tourists at the Coast such as kite surfing and deep sea diving.

“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.

“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.”

The project's team also aims protecting wildlife here, like nesting sea turtles and injured turtles that need help before releasing the animals back into their natural habitat.