Balala will also use the expedition to promote and develop hiking and mountaineering as a new product to a robust mainstream international outdoor and adventure market/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 13 – Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala is set to climb Mount Kenya in a bid to raise awareness of Kenya’s adventure tourism offering while profiling the mountain as a favourable tourist destination.
The move is an effort by the government to promote adventure tourism and publicise the Mount Kenya circuit as a favourable destination.
In collaboration with the 7 Summits Africa team of mountaineers, Balala will also use the expedition to promote and develop hiking and mountaineering as a new product to a robust mainstream international outdoor and adventure market.
“Kenya’s steep ascent from the Indian Ocean to Mt Kenya and descent to the Great Rift Valley and Lake Victoria creates an experience that is second to none. Mt Kenya is one of the most iconic assets we want to promote among the country’s wide variety of breathtaking landscapes that lie across the Great Rift Valley. Kenya remains the home of Safari: the undisputed Queen of the Wilderness,” CS Balala said.
The Mt Kenya expedition will showcase the added wildlife experience enjoyed whilst climbing Mt Kenya.
The expedition comes at a time when the tourism industry is experiencing a revival with international tourist arrivals noted to have grown by 10 per cent to 723,174 as at the end of September compared to 657,438 recorded during a similar period in 2016.
Mt Kenya Kenya’s highest and Africa’s second highest mountain at 5,199 metres is also a national icon and a national treasure.
Mt Kenya National Park is also a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site and a wildlife stronghold.
