"If you can only visit two continents in your lifetime, visit Africa – twice," said Goway Travel's Moira Smith, quoting a famous saying that asserts Africa’s amazing diversity.
Smith was speaking to a group of 90 Toronto-area travel agents and their guests, who attended a private screening of the iconic Lion King movie remake, hosted by Goway Travel and the Kenya Tourism Board.
As Goway’s General Manager Africa & The Middle East, Smith knows all too well the varied experiences and destinations that one can find throughout this massive continent, but the evening's focus was Kenya, a country that happens to be one of her favourites.
"Kenya is a very important tourism destination for us, so it was an idea to capitalize on the Lion King because its inspiration was spawned from Kenya," Smith told Open Jaw.
Several notable guests were in the audience, including David DiGrigirio from the Kenya Tourist Board, John Lanyasunya, the High Commissioner of Kenya in Ottawa, and Sunil Chandaria with Kenya Airways. When you added members of the Goway team, almost every one of the 200 seats in the theatre were taken.
The Lion King, a movie whose setting is inspired by the vast lands, phenomenal wildlife and rich culture of Kenya, was the ideal way to spark a desire to travel to this East African country.
"The one goal of this evening is that when you leave here you'll not only have Kenya on your bucket list, but you'll have Kenya at the top of your bucket list," Smith told the audience before the movie began.
In his keynote address, His Excellency John Lanyasunya, affirmed that the film reflects many of the sites in Kenya and further highlighted the fact that Kenya is a safe, multi-ethnic destination with a developed tourism sector, featuring many international hotel brands that you can also find along the streets of Toronto.
It's a destination that's about more than just "The Big 5" (although Kenya is one of the few countries where all five game animals -- lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and cape buffalo -- can be spotted).
The nation boasts more than 25,000 different animal species and is home to 11% of the world's bird species, and as The Lion King shows, creatures like warthogs or ostriches are sometimes equally as fascinating to observe as lions.
And the very backdrops where these creatures live, such as the Masai Mara National Reserve, are themselves full of breathtaking vistas.
Kenya also offers a variety of cultural journeys and, with kilometres of coastline lined with resort hotels, it offers that beach experience that travellers may forget about when thinking of Africa.
Goway is hosting a Kenya FAM in NOV 2020, taking agents on its Kenya Odyssey trip which includes visits to the capital city Nairobi, the Masai Mara National Reserve, Lake Nakuru and Mt. Kenya. To be eligible, agents need sell one Africa booking through Goway between now and then.
Anna Kroupina Journalist
Anna is OJ's newest member and she joins the team as a writer/reporter. She co-writes the daily news and covers events. Although she's new to the industry, pursuing a career path in travel/tourism has been a goal since her first family road trip to the Florida Keys sparked a desire to discover the world and this exhilarating, fast-paced industry.
