Kisumu: Organisers release packed program ahead of symposium on tourism

By Peter Ochieng

Lovely Garden Guest Home in Mkendwa, Kisumu, will play host to this year’s symposium on the future of tourism in Kisumu and the wider Western region.

The event which is expected to bring together the ‘who-is-who’ in the tourism, blue economy and academia among other sectors, will be held on Friday, July 26, having been postponed from Friday, July 05, 2024.

Organisers postponed the event as a precautionary measure against inconveniencing guests, as July 5th fell in the week that witnessed heightened anti-government protests organised by youth falling in the category of millennials and Gen-Zs.

Prof. Herman Manyora, prominent Kenyan analyst, commentator and University of Nairobi (UoN) don will be the keynote speaker during the symposium that will also be graced by Kisumu governor, Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o.

According to the program released by the organisers, Prof. Manyora’s address will be focused on unravelling the paradox of Africa’s largest freshwater lake, Lake Victoria, nestled just a stone’s throw away from Kenya’s only rainforest in Kakamega.

Manyora will be backed up by Ayub Savula, Kakamega County Deputy Governor (DG), David Mwangi, chair of the Nakuru County Tourism Association, and Ouma Miganda, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Calvins Tours and Safaris Limited, in a session expected to last an hour, from 11am to 12pm.

Dr. Stephen Kamau Nguthi, Senior Lecturer, department of ecotourism, hotel and institution management at Maseno University will then take to the podium, where he will delve into the pull motivation factors that drive tourists’ loyalty to the Lake Victoria region tourism circuit, ably backed by Prof. Manyora.

Mwangi will take participants through a session on what it takes for Kisumu and Western Kenya to rival popular tourist destinations such as Mombasa, Lamu, Kilifi and Nairobi.

In the afternoon, Patrick Oketch, Sales and Marketing Manager at Renegade Air and Grace Mumo, Festac CEO will address participants on Kenya’s aviation landscape, with discussions centering on strategies to bolster Kisumu’s appeal to international airlines potentially through infrastructure enhancements, marketing campaigns, route expansions and challenges faced by the Kisumu International Airport (KIA), amongst other subtopics.

Kisumu is getting ready for the 2024 Festac Festival, which runs from August 25th to September 1st, after being postponed from May due to heavy rainfall that led to flooding in various parts of the country, at the time.

Dr. George Obonyo, the chairman, department of ecotourism, hotel and institution management at Maseno University, Vivian Kobe, chair, Public Relations and Marketing Communication – LVTA, and Dr. Nguthi will explore the five stages of perception and how they shape the tourism experience.

The trio will give a breakdown of how the world perceives Kisumu and Western Kenya as destination, while Mumo and Faridah Salim, Kisumu County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of Trade, Tourism, Industry and Marketing will speak on leveraging the success of Africities Summit 2022 and the upcoming Festac Festival to fuel sustainable tourism demand in Kisumu.

Question and answer sessions have also been roped into the program. Deliberations on the way forward have been allocated 30 minutes at the tail end of the program, before governor Nyong’o’s remarks close the symposium.

The Western Region tourism circuit is dotted by various tourist attraction sites, which include Mt Elgon National Park in Bungoma County, Kakamega Forest National Reserve, Tom Mboya’s Mausoleum in Homabay County, Thimlich Ohinga Archaeological Site in Homabay and Ruma National Park.

Others are the Kitale Museum, Lake Victoria, Ndere Islands, Crying Stone of Ilesi in Kakamega, Buyangu Hill Lookout in Vihiga and the Impala Sanctuary in Kisumu among a host of others.