NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 2- Marketing and advertising company BT concepts has kicked off the second phase of the Tembea Tujenge Kenya Initiative, a move aimed at boosting the tourism sector’s recovery from the harsh economic environment occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking during the event, Head of Presidential Delivery Unit Andrew Wakahiu said the initiative is also aimed at increasing job opportunities.
This comes at a time when about 1.7 million Kenyans have lost their source of income owing to the pandemic, according to data by the Kenya National Bureau Of Statistics.
“We must rebuild our economy, the move will play a big role in the reconstruction of our country, jobs,” said Wakahiu.
The initiative, which is also supported by corporates such as Shell, Sarova Hotels, and Isuzu East Africa among others, also aims to market Kenya to Kenyans and enable locals to explore Kenya affordably in order to promote domestic tourism and attain industry sustainability.
The travelers in this case are set to tour Amboseli National Park in Kajiado County.
Isuzu’s Marketing Director Wanjohi Kangangi said that there are many tourism opportunities in Kenya that can be explored by its citizens.
Tembea Tujenge Kenya Initiative team in a month intends to visit two different destinations over the weekend, and give details of the places which include where to find affordable rates for accommodation, activities to partake, the route to take which is later shared with Kenyans through all social media platforms.
The move is a long-term concept, bound to keep running for the next 3 years.
The team will also document 25 counties and destinations in the first year and 22 counties and destinations in the second year.
The goal is to make domestic tourism affordable for the ordinary Kenyan and promote the sustainable economic and social empowerment of Kenyans.
The tourism industry was one of the hard-hit sectors from the pandemic after Kenya and global countries shut their borders to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease.
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala while launching the National Tourism Crisis Report in June said that the industry had lost up to Sh80 billion since the outbreak of COVID-19.
Kenya received 14,049 tourists in August, the first month after the resumption of international and domestic flights compared to 159,804 international arrivals in a similar period last year.
The country earned Sh163.6 billion from the tourism sector in 2019.
