Nakuru County Government is operationalizing its own Marketing and Tourism Board that will market and formulate policies governing the sector in the region towards promoting tourism, enhancing conservation, and driving local economic growth.
According to County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Trade, Tourism and Cooperatives Stephen Kuria, the County was keen in reviewing its marketing strategy as part of the efforts to attract more tourists into the county to help enhance revenue generating activities.
The CECM explained that the move was part of innovative and creative marketing strategies to enhance Nakuru’s visibility in the global tourism market and expand its focus beyond traditional tourism offerings.
He observed that the County Assembly had approved the Tourist and Marketing Bill which set up the Nakuru County Tourism Board and that the Bill had already been assented to into law.
Kuria spoke during the launch of a campaign to market the Lake Nakuru National Park and Bird Sanctuary as a tourist destination in a renewed effort to promote tourism, enhance conservation, and drive local economic growth.
The campaign dubbed “Tembea Nakuru Tembea Lake Nakuru” that is being supported by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Nakuru County Tourism Association and other stakeholders aims to restore the park’s status as an ecological treasure, added the CECM.
Kuria said the park’s revitalisation is expected to increase tourist traffic, support local businesses, and strengthen conservation efforts, reaffirming its role as a vital asset for Nakuru and the nation.
“This is a renewed effort to boost tourism, enhance environmental conservation, and drive local economic development,” stated the CECM.
By setting up a Tourism Board, Kuria elaborated that Nakuru would be borrowing a leaf from destinations around the world where tourism is marketed locally instead of relying on the national tourism board.
According to the CECM Kenya could triple earnings from tourism if the right marketing strategy, which is the persuasive element, was used to promote the sector by reaching out to the potential tourists.
The County official said they had begun paying attention to marketing in particular because that is the persuasive element of the strategy adding that it was marketing that would ensure rightful consideration among potential tourists.
He indicated that there was a need to map out, package and activate existing tourism sites and gems tucked within the County which were both known and unknown to potential tourists and stakeholders.
The CECM observed that there was a need to extend beyond working with the national government and reach out to potential partners in the tourism industry.
“We can’t sit and wait for the Kenya Tourism Board to market for us,” said Kuria.
Once the Marketing and Tourism Board is operationalized, Kuria said it will give priority to some tourist products that have not been well marketed in Nakuru, including the Menengai Crater, Hyrax Hill Museum and Kariandusi prehistoric site.
The Nakuru County Tourist and Marketing Act provides a comprehensive legal framework for the development, management, marketing and regulation of sustainable tourism in the county, added the official.
The Act mandates the board, among others, to develop, implement and coordinate a county tourism and marketing strategy.
According to the statute, the board comprising key stakeholders in the tourism sector, will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the governor. However, the chief executive officer, who will hold office for a term of three years, will be recruited competitively by the County Public Service Board.
The Tourism board is expected to market Nakuru at national, regional and international levels as a premier tourism and filming destination.
The board is also expected to identify market needs and advise tourism stakeholders on the market trends, in addition to recommending tourism areas that have significance culturally, archaeologically and ecologically sensitive for gazettement.
According to the Act, the board will also establish and develop county tourist health facilities besides promoting water sports and big game fishing activities.
The CECM stated that the core mandate of the board would be to bring together all key tourism stakeholders to market Nakuru County domestically, regionally and internationally. This he added, will structure tourism affairs better to achieve more in the sector.
Kuria said that though Kenya’s rich biodiversity forms the base of the country’s global competitiveness as a tourism destination, global tourism was a cutthroat business and extremely competitive that needed a drastic change to make the country an African and global tourism powerhouse.
“There are countries in Africa that attract up to seven times the number of tourists we do with fewer and less stunning attractions than we have,” he said.
Kuria, at the same time, said in the spirit of devolution, county governments have a critical role to play in the success of the tourism and wildlife strategy to protect habitats, ecosystems so as to maintain its purity for current and future generations.
He affirmed that innovation and change of marketing strategy were critical for the development of the tourism sector.
He said there was need to start thinking about promoting intra-Africa tourism as Africa had a population of about 1.2 billion people, but only received a disappointing 62 million tourists and regretted that Tourism as a leading foreign exchange earner, was only contributing about 10% of Kenya’s GDP.
“The impact of tourism should go beyond 20% as it cuts across other sectors, ranging from manufacturing, agriculture, financial services, education and many others,” the CECM pointed out.
Tourism is not a devolved sector but some of the functions such as zoning, law enforcement, planning, and partnerships are devolved to the counties.
Nakuru has some of the most visited tourist sites in Kenya including Lake Nakuru National Park, Lake Naivasha, Hells Gate Park and Subukia Shrine among other sites.
By Esther Mwangi
