Ministry to Map tourist attraction sites to enhance the sector

Bomet County

Monday July 24, 2023,

KNA by Lamech Willy

Tourism Principal Secretary John Ololtua has revealed that the government is working on a conceptual mapping framework intended to mark all tourist attraction sites in the country to further revitalize Tourism sector.

Speaking in Kilgoris during the Inaugural TransMara Classic Narok Girl Talent Search, Athletics, the PS who was the Chief Guest hailed sporting events and cultural festivals as contributors to tourism and hospitality sectors in country.

He pointed out that mapping will be done in liaison with the County governments to identify the tourism potential that exists across the Country.

“My Ministry with the guidance of My Cabinet Secretary and Principal Secretaries are doing a mapping of all attractions. There are many attractions in the country that we need to promote,” explained the PS and added: “Our strong collaboration with County governments seek to identify the potential that exists in tourism.”

The PS further noted sports events like golf tournaments and World Rally Championships were key to attracting people and also promote the image of the country thus attracting visitors and foreign investors.

“Every department in our government has a vital role it plays in promoting tourism in our country and there is an interlinkage. For instance the Ministry of Sports organizes the World Rally Champions that brought in visitors to the country, and when they come they impact the economy by the money they spend but the most important thing is the foreign investors they attract,” explained the PS.

He particularly mentioned the twin phenomenon migration of the wildebeests in Masaai Mara and whales on the Kenyan coast of Watamu as a spectacular event to showcase the best Kenya can offer in Tourism sector.

The World Tourism research institute statistics indicated that by June this year, the country had received a whopping 1.4 m tourists. “We expect by the end of July 2023 to have received 1.65 million tourists. This rise is attributed to an increase in visitor confidence in the destinations,” revealed the PS.

For domestic tourism, the PS said bed occupancy is expected to reach 4.52 million an increase of 14 percent from 3.95 million recorded in FY 2021/22 and attributed the rise to increasing interest among Kenyans to travel locally.

The tourism sector has been injecting more than 10 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Courtesy ; K. N. A