KTB Director of Marketing picked to head National Convention Bureau

Kenya Tourism Board Director of Marketing Development Jacinta Nzioka-Mbithi (left) chats with Farzana Dhanji (right) from APTA at tea break during the opening of the Coastal Tourism Summit at the Neptune Beach Resort in Diani within Kwale County, January 31, 2019. [File, Standard]

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) Director of Marketing Jacinta Mbithi Nzioka has been appointed to the head of the newly established National Convention Bureau.

Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala made the announcement on the sidelines of the just-ended Magical Expo 2019 held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi.

An upbeat Jacinta told The Standard she was raring to go and thanked the CS for the appointment.

''It an exciting challenge to be trusted with the responsibility to establish a world-class institution that will make Kenya competitive in the Meetings Incentives Conference and Exhibition (MICE) sector,'' she said.

And speaking on the appointment, tourism stakeholders welcomed the appointment of Jacinta whom they described as the right candidate for the job.

''The right individual has been picked to spearhead the National Convention Bureau. She is the right person to take the Ministry, KTB and private stakeholders vision for Mice tourism in the country forward,'' Bobby Kamani, Managing Director of Diani Reef Beach Resort & Spa and a member of the Kenya Coast Tourism Working Group said.

Kamani said that they are confident that Jacinta will do justice  in her newly elevated role and have trust in all her past experience towards driving tourism numbers exponentially for Kenya

Kenya has in recent years lost in the African rankings of leading MICE destinations and the lack of a convention bureau was seen as one reason, others being the state of the KICC which is in urgent need of a major overhaul.

Jacinta was for several years Director of Marketing at the Kenya Tourism Board, at one stage Acting CEO while a new substantive CEO was being sourced and has gained the admiration and respect of Kenya’s tourism industry – and of course beyond.