• Continued from previous edition.
Intra-African tourism
I think there’s a future for intra-African tourism in Africa. I say this because I see the growth.
Right now as we speak, Uganda is our leading market in Africa, followed by South Africa, and then Tanzania, all the way to Nigeria and Ghana. The growth in these markets is higher than the growth in all our traditional markets.
If you look at a product lifestyle, after a product is launched, there is a lot of demand because people are excited to travel within Africa. It is a good thing because it is supported by the governments.
Governments in Africa are supporting intra-African trade and travels. So, they facilitate intra-African travels. They will ease visa issuance.
Now you can go to Tanzania, Uganda or Rwanda without a passport. You just go with your Kenyan ID and you cross the borders.
We should keep opening borders like that because we want to do it that Africa is one.
The other thing is flight. Before, you could not fly through many African capitals. But now, we have our own carriers in Africa, flying from capital to capital, and even to smaller cities.
For example 80 per cent of flights on Kenyan Airways are from the African region. This is their biggest business: Africa.
Besides the fact that they also go to Asia and Europe, Africa is key.
So, I believe it is something that can really work. It’s easy to do business with an African country.
You feel at home doing business in an African country because you can get along with the people easily.
Unique tourism attractions in Kenya
Kenya is a very unique country. Where it is located, the rift valley traverses the whole country. Dotted along the rift valley base are many lakes.
So, we have many lakes. We have salty water lakes and fresh water lakes which have a lot of wildlife. These give a very good diversity, and there’s also very beautiful scenery because of those volcanic eruptions and history. It’s fantastic.
Even on the road through Kenya, you wouldn’t get bored because it is very scenic. The other thing is the diversity of the country and the combination of the best safari and the fantastic beaches.
Tell me how many countries in the world have fantastic wildlife safari; proper natural experience on a safari?
You’re seeing wildlife in their natural setting, not in a zoo, not in a fenced place, an open national park. And in the afternoon, you’re swimming in a warm sandy beach.
That for us is the biggest tourism pull. That’s the combination of two very strong tourism products.
And then the Kenyan people. Diverse, very warm people; Kenyans are very hospitable. Even in the villages, a little child can engage with you easily.
Is it true that Kenyan women beat their husbands?
Laughs! I have never beaten my husband! Laughs!
Let me tell you what happened in those incidents; and for sure the incidents happened in an area where the men go to drink so much booze, the local bear. They drink so much that they forget that they are fathers and husbands.
And the women are the ones bearing the responsibilities of the home. That is why the women are bringing the men back home to their responsibilities!
That is the only issue, and they are isolated incidences. You can’t say Kenyan women beat their husbands.
It is mostly Nyeri women?
That is because the local booze is majorly in that region. The government had to come in and make it illegal, because when young people leave from school, they go there and just forget about the future.
Whetting appetite for local drinks
Laughs! I hope you won’t get addicted to it. You know these local drinks are made from natural plants, fruits, honey. So, it’s very easy if a person is not very focused to get very much involved in it.
But that aside, the Kenyan government has given women a lot of support. In every institution of society as it relates to appointment and jobs, the government is giving women equal opportunity with men.
Even in the private sector, the same is encouraged. Women make up the larger population of Kenya in the middle class. But the working class, the larger population is men.
Traditionally women were in the kitchen and the men could go to school. Now, that is changing. There’s a lot going on to empower women and that is entrenched in our Constitution.
Kenya’s participation in AfTM this year
We know that Akwaaba is going to be very successful for us this year because we have done our preparations well.
We’ve had online training programme with travel agents and tour operators, and taught them about destinations online, so that they now know what there is in Kenya for tourism.
We’ve brought several travel agents to Kenya for a familiarisation trip. The level of education and awareness about Kenya in the trade is really big.
We’re also with EbonyLife TV to do programmes on Mombasa and Nairobi. They are two big cities. All these are calculated to continue to drive demand for Kenya.
We’re also in partnership with Wakanow, an online travel booking agency.
So, the product is already there in the market. What we are doing now is just creating awareness in the Nigerian population, so that they can consider Kenya as a tourism destination.
Our cultural troupe will be performing in Akwaaba. We want to engage the population, showcase what Kenya has to offer, so that we can attract more Africans to Kenya.
Food visitors should look forward to
We have over 42 communities and they all have their own foods and delicacies. Though I’m in Nairobi, I still prefer the delicacies from my local tribe. And it is various, it is everywhere.
The most important thing is that it has to have a starch, a pudding and spices.
The people of the coasts, they do what we call the “pilau”. In the urban centres, they do what is called the “nyama-choma”. It is grilled meat with vegetables.
In the western area, where we have the Mediterranean, because it’s the second largest fresh water lake in the world, it is “kish” and “ugalia”.
“Ugalia” is our own “foofoo”. It is a maize meal, and that is the staple food for most Kenyan communities; and several other foods.
We have a special drink in Kenya called “dawa”. It is a Swahili word meaning medicine. It’s a mixture of honey, lime and vodka.
It’s a treatment for fatigue. Once you take it, you’re immediately energised.
But each of these communities has its own delicacies.
You have been working with KTB for years. What inspires you?
I’m very passionate about my job, and I love tourism. Tourism is everything to me. I am not going anywhere else.
I studied tourism management at Moi University for my Bachelor’s degree and obtained a post graduate diploma in marketing of services from Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands, and hold an MBA in strategic management with marketing.
So, I’m in the right field, and that is why I’m not leaving to go to manufacturing or to agriculture or anywhere else. I am in the right place.
I understand that tourism is the biggest business in the world. It is the highest employer of people.
In rural areas where nothing works, tourism can work. It touches the lives of people. I am an advocate of rural development and sustainable tourism. I believe this is a sector that can change people’s lives.
The other thing is that it benefits many other sectors. Agriculture, transport, and so many others all benefit from tourism. It is a business that is ripe for development.
So, I aspire to continue advocating that it is transforming people’s lives.
Coping with work and family
I’m married, and I have three children – a teenager who is 14 and twins who are 10. I have two boys and one girl.
I’m also a twin. I have a twin sister. I did exactly what my mother did. She had twins and I also had twins.
I was born and grew up in the area of Kenya between Mombasa and Nairobi; near Thabo National Park. Every morning we woke up, we just looked up and saw the Kilimanjaro. It’s a Savannah area.
I’ve travelled a lot in the course of my job. I’m married to a medical practitioner. And we do a lot of travelling together. Our first son was in the U.S. when he was two months old. The twins were born in the U.S. We are globe trotters.
What I love to do has changed everybody in the big family to love tourism. We are a travelling family.
I also love cooking; and my best sport is basketball. I play basketball.
But you’re not very tall, how come you play basketball?
I know. I’m a guard. I can run very fast! I love singing, and I sing in my Church choir. And dancing, I can get on to the dancing floor and won’t leave!