Stanbic Bank Kenya and Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) have launched a new initiative to promote tourism between Kenya and China by offering incentives for travel, shopping, and leisure to tourists visiting the two countries.
Under the ‘I Go Kenya- I Go China’ loyalty program, Chinese tourists visiting Kenya will receive discounts and special offers whenever they use ICBC cards at selected travel, hospitality and lifestyle merchants in the country. Kenya tourists visiting China will also enjoy similar incentives when using Stanbic Bank Kenya cards.
Speaking during the launch, Standard Bank’s Group Head of Card and Emerging Payments Lincoln Mali noted that China had emerged as a key economic partner for Africa in the recent years.
“Through the ‘I GO Kenya – I Go China’ program, we aim to strengthen relations between the two countries by encouraging the exchange of visits. This is good for the tourism industry and e economies as well”.
According to statistics from the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), China is among Kenya’s top-five tourism source markets, contributing 5.5 percent of the traffic in 2017. KTB projects that tourists from China will continue growing to become top source market by the year 2020.
“Stanbic Bank Kenya is committed to driving Kenya’s growth. This strategic partnership to deliver an innovative bespoke offering will unlock the potential of this key sector of the economy. As the industry flourishes, it will deliver even more benefits to the economy. This illustrates our wholesome approach towards driving Kenya’s growth because it is our home,” said Charles Mudiwa, Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank Kenya.
The ‘I Go Kenya – I Go China’ loyalty program follows the launch of a similar credit card offering between Standard Bank Group and ICBC in November 2017 when the two partners collaborated to launch joint ‘I Go South Africa – I Go China’ loyalty program for their respective cardholders traveling between the two countries.