Ministry of Tourism has kicked off a 50 million trees planting exercise ahead of rainy season set for April.
Tourism Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa Saturday led agencies under the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife and stakeholders in the tourism sector in planting close to 30, 000 trees in several learning institutions within Oldolosho location in Narok County.
He said learning institutions were the best entry in the implementation of presidential directive on increasing forest cover by planting 15 billion trees by the year 2032.
While lauding the President for the directive that will work to reduce greenhouse emissions, stop and reverse deforestation, the PS underscored the importance of trees in environment and wildlife conservation which he noted had direct impact on survival of tourism.
He appealed to travellers and other supporters in the tourism sector to consider working with the local communities to identify tree species relevant to the locality to enhance their rate of survival.
At the same time, Ololtuaa announced that the Ministry through Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has unveiled a campaign to identify the hidden gem of tourism products existing in the regions for promotion.
He said the move was in line with the strategy to diversify tourism offering to cater for the increasing and varied interest of the traveller.
“We are looking to mapping out tourism products and experiences existing in the counties for proper marketing as we seek to make the country an all-year destination to visit, ” Said the PS.
At the same time, the PS announced a good trajectory for the tourism sector with figures indicating a growth in previous period.
Last year, disclosed the PS, the country received 1.95 million visitors, representing a growth of about 34 percent compared to the previous year. The domestic bed nights also recorded an improvement with 4.6 million figures.
The growth we are witnessing, explained the PS, was as a result of factors such product diversity, aggressive marketing as well as the recently announced no visa regime, which we are optimistic will contribute to a rebound in the sector,” said the PS.
