Express Travel Group rebrands to Hemingways Travel

Travel Management Company, Express Travel Group (ETG) has rebranded to Hemingways Travel.

Speaking to Nation.Africa on Tuesday, Hemingways Group CEO Ross Evans said the move by the 65-years-old firm was in response to emerging opportunities for growth and the need to enhance the travellers’ experience at a time when travel is experiencing unprecedented disruption and changes in needs.

As part of the process, Mr Evans also noted that Hemingways Travel would expand its offering to  include the leisure market to the level it has become renowned for in the corporate travel market as well as leveraging its operations as a premium inbound destination management company.

“We remain focused on delivering for our corporate travel clients and are now expanding our proposition to leisure travellers by offering a full suite of premium travel services and the valuable benefits of using an experienced travel agent, something that, we believe, has become more important as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Mr Evans said.

He noted that Hemingways Travel clients can now adapt to the changing demands of travel by taking advantage of new technologies that will enhance the traveller’s experience and offer complete peace of mind.

Statistics from the Ministry of Tourism indicate that the tourism industry has registered growth and contributed to a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 10.4 percent and employed 990,000 people.

Despite being one of the hardest-hit industries in the wake of Covid-19, Kenya’s tourism earnings grew by 65.4 percent to Sh146.51bn in 2021 compared to Sh88.56bn in 2020.

This has been credited to the implementation of various interventions by the government to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the sector, including a focus on domestic tourism.

This also reflects the increasing prevalence and investment in domestic tourism in Kenya.

With the rebranding, former Hemingways Group Finance Director, Dr. Joseph Kithitu, was appointed the new Managing Director of Hemingways Travel.

Hemingways Travel is among four franchises run by the group. This includes Hemingways Expeditions, a leisure division of Hemingways Travel, which is a partner of a number of tour operators in East Africa and travel agents seeking luxury safari and travel experiences.

There is also the Hemingways Collection, which is a group of 5 star luxury hotels in Kenya combining city, safari and beach experience while Hemingways Residences is a premium real estate brand with the first development sitting on the Coast of Kenya, Watamu offering 21 high end apartments with oceanic view.