Fourth phase of Tembea Tujenge Kenya initiative kicks off to boost domestic tourism

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 14-Marketing and advertising company BT concepts has kicked off the fourth phase of the Tembea Tujenge Kenya Initiative.

The initiative is aimed at boosting tourism sector’s recovery from the harsh economic environment occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic.

The initiative which is supported by corporates including Shell, Sarova Hotels, Isuzu East Africa, Tourism Funds, Safaricom, Madison Insurance and St.John Ambulace is also focused at marketing Kenya to Kenyans and enable locals to explore Kenya affordably in order to promote domestic tourism and attain industry sustainability.

Speaking during the launch of the fourth quarter, the initiative’s ambassador, Maina Kageni, said it has helped promote local tourism with majority of Kenyans now visiting the various destinations showcased through the initiative.

“Majority of Kenyans are responding and they have started to take road trips we encourage them to continue to do so and do so responsibly because we are in the middle of a pandemic that has taken a crazy turn and so being careful is extremely important,” said Maina.

Isuzu East Africa Regional Sales Manager Charles Kinuthia noted that the initiative has also helped in saving thousands of jobs that have been affected by the pandemic.

“Encouraging Kenyans to come out and spend money on holidays in our own country is one of the fastest ways to begin propping up the hospitality industry. This will also save the thousands of jobs that are at stake due to the economic slow-down,” said Kinuthia.

The initiative is a long-term concept, bound to keep running for the next 3 years.

The travelers in this case are set to tour Isiolo County this weekend and target to visit Narok, Embu, Nyandarua, Kitui and Baringo counties by end of September 2021.

John Wambugu Sales Manager of Ol Tukai Lodge Amboseli further stressed on the importance of promoting domestic tourism where the number of travelers have continued to increase through the adoption of such initiatives.

“ I think it would be important we start internally and then go international there is more than enough business to support our own people,” he added.

In the first quarter between October and December, Tembea Tujenge Kenya campaign visited and highlighted the beauty of six counties namely Kajiado, Laikipia, Mombasa, Kwale, Lamu and Nakuru counties.

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 2020 said that the industry had lost up to Sh80 billion since the outbreak of COVID-19.