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Travel MONITOR
LONDON
Imtiaz Muqbil
Kenya, Indonesia and the city of Chicago have boarded the ''Obamania'' bandwagon with tours and marketing campaigns highlighting their social, familial and cultural links with US President-elect Barack Obama.
Mr Obama had a Kenyan father and Indonesian stepfather. He lived in Indonesia during his childhood and now resides in Chicago.
At the Kenyan press conference at the World Travel Market in London last week, 150 copies of Mr Obama's book, Dreams from My Father, were snapped up after being bought by the public relations consultants Hills Balfour Synergy at 30% discount prices and distributed free to the media.
In Kenya, the election victory has galvanised the spirit of both the people and the tourism industry, which had been significantly affected by the political violence last year.
Najib Balala, the Kenyan Minister of Tourism, said, ''His victory is our victory. He has done as proud as Kenyans.''
Arrivals in September 2008 were 27% lower than in September 2007. But Kenya has launched a recovery programme that will include a 10-million budget funded jointly by the European Union and the Kenyan government and a US$2-million global TV advertising campaign.
The minister said the tours being launched to places mentioned in the book would open up new areas of the country never visited before, and that the country is projecting a 10%-15% growth in arrivals this year.
With plans among East African countries to launch a single-visa scheme, the minister said he expected Kenya's neighbours to benefit too.
Asia is to be included in the new marketing campaigns, especially Bangkok as Kenya Airways has just upgraded to a daily service, and is reportedly planning a further increase in capacity. It also flies to Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
The Indonesians have not been as fast off the marketing mark, but Dr Sapta Nirwandar, director-general for Tourism Marketing at the Department of Culture and Tourism, said he was awaiting proposals from some US tour operators before providing marketing support.
He said that with Mr Obama's election, ''we expect an upsurge of visitors to Indonesia in 2009 interested in seeing where he spent fthe ormative years of his boyhood and went to school. We already have travel agents preparing 'Obama Heritage' tours which we are sure will be very popular in a world fascinated by this global figure of hope.''
Indonesia targets seven million arrivals this year, up from 5.5 million in 2007.
The Chicago Tourism Office, meanwhile, printed thousands of ''Presidential Chicago'' brochures on the day Mr Obama was elected, and has been distributing them widely.
Calling on visitors to ''enjoy the city the Obamas enjoy'', the brochure identifies some of the places where it says the president-elect and his family eat, shop and stay. These include a Mexican restaurant, a bookshop, a clothes shop frequented by the ''soon to be First Lady,'' basketball courts, baseball stadiums and a hotel.
Mr Obama's election has also helped the industry in other ways.
Although all forecasts point to a slump in tourism next year, due to further fallout of the global financial crisis, the gloom has been offset by a feeling of hope that Mr Obama will undo some of the damage done by the Bush administration.
Deviating from the prepared text of his speech, the outgoing secretary-general of the UN World Tourism Organisation, Francesco Frangialli, expressed hope that the incoming US administration will help restore global financial and economic stability.
''It's time for change,'' he said, echoing Mr Obama's campaign slogan. ''Change we can believe in''.
The UNWTO reports that the financial crisis is only compounding the difficulties faced by the industry as a result of the recent surge in oil prices and their impact on fuel surcharges.
Global growth in international visitor arrivals slowed dramatically in June, July and August, according to the UNWTO Barometer. In Asia-Pacific, after having grown at a sustained rate above 7% for up to 18 consecutive months up to March 2008, growth declined to 1.5% in June and July and turned negative in August.
The UNWTO has set up a ''resilience committee,'' chaired by Zohair Garrana, Minister of Tourism of Egypt, to provide real-time market information and suggest industry responses. The first of a series of response group meetings will be held in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh on Nov 23-24 to focus on the Middle East and Mediterranean regions.
In another development, the Pacific Asia Travel Association has nominated Greg Duffell, currently the CEO of Bangkok-based Indochina Services Travel Group, as its new president and CEO.
Pata board members are to be sent an email circular this week seeking their ratification of the decision by the executive committee. If approved, Mr Duffell is expected to take up his new position at the end of January.
Imtiaz Muqbil is executive editor of Travel Impact Newswire, an e-mailed feature and analysis service focusing on the Asia-Pacific travel industry.
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