Tourism Principal Secretary John Ololtua has revealed that the government is working on a conceptual mapping framework that is intended to mark all tourist attraction sites in the Country to further revitalize this important sector of the economy.
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 in the country.
He pointed out that mapping will be done in liaison with the County governments to identify the potential that exists in Tourism across the Country.
“My Ministry with the guidance of My cabinet secretary and other Principal Secretaries, we are doing a mapping of all attractions, you are aware that the president has projected that through the scientific archaeological records that we have Turkana is the cradle of Man Kind and so there are many attractions in the country that we need to promote,” explained the PS.
“Our Strong collaboration with County governments will see to identifying the potential that exists in tourism.”
The PS further noted sports events like golf tournaments, World Rally Championship were key to attracting people to the destination and they also promoted the image of the country for 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, perhaps the Ministry of Sports organized 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.
International conferences and cultural festivals, Lake Turkana, Carmel Derby, and Rusinga festivals have seen the growth of Tourism investments in the region.
The twin phenomenon Migration of the Wilder best in Masaai Mara and the Whale on the Kenyan coast of Watamu happening at the same period is giving the Tourism sector a spectacular event to showcase the best Kenya can offer in this sector.
The World Tourism research institute statistics indicated that by June this year, the country had received a whopping 1.4 Million Tourists who had arrived in the country.
However, the Tourism PS revealed that the number had increased to around 1.65 million tourists.
“We expect by the end of July 2023 to receive 1.65 million tourists, an increase of 37 percent in FY 2021/2022 of 1.2 Million arrivals. This rise is attributed to an increase in visitor confidence in the destination,” revealed the PS.
For domestic, bed occupancy is expected to reach 4.52 million an increase of 14 percent from 3.95 million bed nights recorded in FY 2021/22 which the PS revealed is attributed to increasing interest among Kenyans to travel locally.
The tourism sector has been injecting more than 10 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
