Queen’s Jubilee gives Kenya rare tourism window

READ: KTB pegs tourism campaign on royal fete

Princess Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1952 while on a visit to Kenya following the death of her father, King George V.

The Kenya Tourism Board has been engaged in a massive marketing campaign aimed at leveraging on the Queen’s coronation that involved exhibitions, promotions and media campaigns.

The highlight of Kenya’s efforts was a visit by Queen Elizabeth to the Kenyan stand at the pageant held last month, endorsing the country as a royal destination.

Ms Mbarire asked tourism marketers to identify sites and attractions with direct links to the royal family and package them for marketing.

Among these is the little known Lake Rutundu on the foot of Mt Kenya where Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton in 2010.

The Treetops lodge where Princess Elizabeth was staying when she ascended to the throne hopes to greatly benefit from the marketing tempo created by the celebrations.

READ: Inside the tree house where Queen spent her honeymoon

The lodge has received increased bookings for this month following the publicity from the royal celebrations.

The Treetops was selected as the site for lighting Kenya’s beacon on Monday night as part of the Diamond Jubilee Beacon lighting ceremony.

Lighting of the Treetops beacon was co-sponsored by the British High Commission in Nairobi.

Beacon lighting is a tradition in the UK used in celebrating Royal jubilees and coronations.