Domesticate brands to boost local tourism

Cabinet secretary for Tourism and Wildlife Najib Balala has urged all the stakeholders in the sector to visualise and domesticate the brands in the industry.

He said the move will increase destination brand visibility in the country through engagements with key travel trade.

“The move will help to create visibility of the country within world destination stops and help to grow the tourism sector,” he said in Nakuru on Friday during a two-day Africa Safari Summit.

 Kenya’s Safari experience is one of the world’s most spectacular travel experiences which has put the country on the global map hence stakeholders need to domesticate brands.

“We  should diversify tourism. We need to have a museum for lions, Maasai culture and Manyatta museums,” said the CS.

Other areas in need of improvement include security, how to handle a crisis, seamless facilitation at the airports to avoid long queues and an eco-friendly environment.

He also noted that all taxi drivers should be trained and certified, and be taught how to handle tourists.

“Some taxi drivers instead of marketing the country, give tourists only negative things about what is happening in the country,” said Balala.

Governor Lee Kinyanjui asked counties to exploit their tourism opportunities to boost the economy. Good co-operation and planning amongst the stakeholders will help to exploit various destination sites in counties.

Narok Governor Samuel Tunai who is also the chair of tourism at Council of Governors caucus said the dynamics in the tourism sector ne to be replicated in counties to ensure that clients who throng the counties have their desires met.

The African Safari Tourism Experience (ASTE) is one of the three Unique Selling Points (USPs) for Kenya’s tourism.

The other USPs are, Beach and Marine, and Culture and Heritage. ASTE accounts for over 70 per cent of Kenya’s foreign tourism arrivals hence is a significant contributor to our tourism which is the 3rd highest foreign exchange earner for the country.

Collectively and led by ASTE, tourism experiences have helped the sector to contribute about 11 per cent and 12 per cent to the country’s GDP and employment, respectively. Between 2013 and 2017, the Government’s return on investment in tourism was an astounding 21 times the amount invested.

Kenya’s 2018 foreign tourist arrivals grew by 37.33% from the 2017 figures; crossing the 2 million mark, for the first.

Other areas the CS said to be improved include: security and learn on ways to handle a crisis, seamless facilitation at the airports to avoid long  queues and an eco-friendly environment.

USPs are, Beach and Marine, and Culture and Heritage. ASTE accounts for over 70% of Kenya’s foreign tourism arrivals hence is a significant contributor to our tourism which is the 3rd highest foreign exchange earner for the country.

Other areas the CS said to be improved include: security and learn on ways to handle a crisis, seamless facilitation at the airports to avoid long  queues and an eco-friendly environment.

USPs are, Beach and Marine, and Culture and Heritage. ASTE accounts for over 70% of Kenya’s foreign tourism arrivals hence is a significant contributor to our tourism which is the 3rd highest foreign exchange earner for the country.