Nairobi — The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has revealed that the country has recorded momentum in its Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) subsector.

This follows the country hosting several high-profile conferences recently, among them the Africa Climate Summit.

KTB CEO John Chirchir, while speaking during the final day of the Youth Connect Summit held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, observed that Nairobi is fast becoming a focal point for regional and international gatherings given its facilities and central location.

''This year, we have witnessed an increase in international conferences and events hosted in Nairobi. Recently, we hosted the inaugural Africa Climate Summit which brought together close to 30,000 delegates and several heads of states. This was a remarkable achievement, especially coming from the pandemic period when physical events had been halted,'' he said.

''We also recently hosted the East Africa Regional tourism Expo (EARTE) which brought together 310 exhibitors and 109 key travel trade from 32 countries,'' added Chirchir.

He noted that the Youth Connect Summit, which brought youth leaders from across 54 African countries, added to the tourism marketing agency's efforts to see more business events hosted in the country, including the setting up of an events-led marketing calendar and actively participating in international trade shows and exhibitions.

According to Kenya's tourism sector performance report for 2022, visitors on business and MICE accounted for 27.2% of the total international arrivals in 2022. This is a significant improvement compared to 2019, where the market segment accounted for 13.5% of the total arrivals.