| You can bet that the able international | | | | the Mara plains and later enjoy a bush dinner along |
| organizations and firms are no longer eyeing New | | | | the Mara river where crocodiles and hippos laze as |
| York, London, Singapore or Dubai for their next | | | | they keep watch over in one of those cool Africa |
| annual partners meeting, they just discovered | | | | evenings. |
| Africa! They will either be coming to Nairobi city, | | | | It’s no surprise that each resort in the wild |
| Kenya’s capital or conveniently take up a 100 | | | | and the beach resorts are either developing or |
| bed capacity lodge in the heart of The Masai Mara | | | | have heavily invested in world class business |
| game reserve or block out a 60 bed luxury | | | | meeting venues. Some of which have the |
| tented camp some where quiet, tranquil and wild | | | | capacity to accommodate over 200 guests. City |
| in one of Kenya’s many game reserve. | | | | colleges and institutions are stating to avail |
| There is a real explosion in Kenya’s | | | | courses on handling this kind of clientele to ensure |
| conferencing and trade fairs sector and few | | | | continuity. |
| serious Kenyan tour firms are busy strategizing | | | | This trend if encouraged would turn around the |
| on how to accommodate this new important | | | | countries economy and challenge the old tourism |
| wave of a very different kind of business, most | | | | guards to invest in this viable direction. A big |
| tour operators were used to running the usual | | | | ‘thank you’ to the tourism ministry for |
| Kenya wildlife safaris circuits to game reserves | | | | embracing this venture. |
| and national parks most often tourists would then | | | | The IT technology that came with mobile phones, |
| reside to the beach resorts and islands, which we | | | | video conferencing and wireless internet has by |
| all admit is still very good value for the holiday | | | | far mostly assisted in developing this sector and |
| makers. | | | | here is a country that its people shall forever be |
| But in the recent past we have experienced a | | | | grateful for the Wildlife, rolling landscapes and |
| very different kind of tourist visitors, they bring | | | | diverse culture, a life time cocktail. |
| with them lap tops, i - phones then halfway | | | | After a seven months undercover investigation to |
| ‘dress up’ and look semi official in their | | | | really find out whom among the safari resorts |
| casual safari gear. This has come to the surprise | | | | and camps have captured and is sufficiently ready |
| of the many natives most of whom are hotel | | | | to accommodate this new enterprise dubbed |
| staff used to back packers and the real safari | | | | ‘business function venues of the 20th |
| gear. Safari camps and lodges are suddenly | | | | century’ on top of my list just to name a |
| flooding with flip charts and overhead projectors, | | | | few of my favorites concluded as follows. |
| internet hot spots and very many branded pens | | | | The Fairmonts international hotel chain with a |
| and pads in their storage rooms. | | | | camp in the Masai mara, a lodge on the slope of |
| You must agree, there can never be a better | | | | Mount Kenya and a resort on the Zanzibar island |
| way to run a four days meeting rather than | | | | leads the pack, with a history in international |
| somewhere blissful, luxurious, natural, | | | | hospitality, Kenya means real business for them, |
| accommodating and full of color. Somewhere in | | | | they have even gone a step further to introduce |
| between your meetings you can take short game | | | | ‘green conferencing’ in all their resorts. |
| drives, a guided nature walk or a balloon trip over | | | | |