Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Alfred Mutua has offered American investors an opportunity to set up tourist facilities in Kenya through public-private partnerships.
Mutua held a courtesy call meeting with the United States Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman on January 23, 2024, at his office in Nairobi where details of the prospective deals were discussed.
The proposal, according to the secretary, will enable American investors to establish different facilities in Kenya's parks and reserves
"Our talks focused on mutual interests, exploring the potential for American investors to establish tourist facilities in our parks and reserves through private-public partnership arrangements," stated Mutua.
With this, Mutua also proposed an exchange program to boost the tourism sector and recruit more international brand ambassadors for Kenya's tourism sites.
"I proposed a strategy involving exchange programs, where young American students visit Kenya's attractions, capturing their experiences to share with the larger American public," Mutua stated.
Being offered an opportunity to visit the exquisite sites, the American students would later return and be pioneers of advertising the sites to their fellow students and community members.
In his bid, the aim is to transform the visitors into Kenyan ambassadors upon their return to their home countries, as they will be the frontiers of Kenya's tourism sector.
Furthermore, it will create more awareness about the country's attractions and create an appealing travel experience for different market sectors.
However, the Kenyan government has not yet approved the proposal.
On January 9, Kenya's Tsavo National Park was listed among the top 52 travel destinations of 2024 worldwide by the New York Times.
Following the enormous recognition, Kenya Tourism Board John Chirchir in an interview with Kenyans.co.ke noted that the recognition was likely to attract more Americans to Kenya.
