Photo taken on Aug. 15, 2015 shows two giraffes at the Masai Mara National Reserve of Kenya. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo)

NAIROBI, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese firm, Welcome China is currently in talks with Kenya's tourism authorities in order to market Kenya as a tourism destination in China.

Welcome China CEO Marcus Lee told Xinhua in Nairobi Tuesday that his organization is keen to increase number of Chinese tourists visiting Kenya annually.

"With the right strategy and approach, China can become a top tourism source market for Kenya," Lee said on the sidelines of the Seventh Edition of the Annual Magical Kenya Travel Expo.

The three-day conference, from Oct. 3 to 5, will showcase Kenya's tourist attractions to overseas travel agencies. Welcome China is part of International China Investment Forum.

Welcome China is currently working with Zimbabwe with a view to attract more Chinese tourists to the Southern African nation.

Data from Kenya Tourism Board, the government's tourism marketing body indicates that approximately 35,000 tourists from China visited the East African nation in 2016 out of 1.3 million international arrivals.

Kenya has already been granted Approved Destinations Status by the Chinese government. Lee said that Kenya has a high chance of capturing a slice of the estimated 122 million outbound Chinese tourists.

"Kenya just needs to develop tourism products that appeal to Chinese tourists," he added. Lee said that for Kenya to attract more Chinese visitors, it also needs to increase its marketing in China.

"Kenya is already well known in Guangdong Province largely because Kenya Airways flies into the region. However Kenya is not well known in other key cities such as Shanghai," he added.

Lee said that most of the marketing targeting Chinese travelers should be made through mobile channels.