Cabinet Secretary for East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism, Phyllis Kandie, has concluded a tour of key US cities, where she met with trade representatives, travel agents and the travel media.
Ms Kandie's charm offensive to Washington DC, Los Angeles and New York, which comes the week before President Obama's much anticipated visit to Kenya for the Global Entrepreneur Summit (GES), is part of a wider engagement programme being run by the ministry to actively promote Kenya’s tourism and investment from key markets.
The visit was coordinated jointly with the New York based African Travel Association (ATA) as part of concerted effort to raise awareness for the upcoming ATA congress, which will take place in Nairobi from the 9th to the 14th November. Over 1,500 key travel agents and tour operators, mainly from the US, are expected to attend the five day event.
During a presentation at the New York Times offices, Kandie praised the strong relationship between Kenya and the US and the continued faith and confidence that visitors from the US have in Kenya.
"For decades, Kenya and the US have enjoyed a very strong and special relationship and I am delighted that this has stood the test of time and is today stronger than ever,” she said.
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"The US is Kenya's second most important source market for tourism with over 100,000 visitors every year, and we are looking forward to direct flights from the US to Kenya starting soon. This will not only help increase visitor numbers but will significantly boost bilateral trade and export," she added.
Ms Kandie's presence in the US at this time had special significance given that it comes the week before President Obama makes his visit to Kenya, the first by a sitting US president since the country gained independence in 1963.
The GES is a White House initiative that was instigated and fostered by Obama.
It will bring together entrepreneurs, social innovators, business leaders, venture capitalists and philanthropists for an intensive conference to network, learn from each other, and identify ways to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Kenya will provide a unique environment for this year's GES, not only as a beautiful country with warm and welcoming citizens, but also as a country to invest, visit and do business in.
GES will also provide an opportunity to showcase the breadth of entrepreneurs, especially within ICT, that the country has to offer – both President Obama and President Uhuru Kenyatta will deliver keynote speeches at the opening ceremony.
The Cabinet Secretary said that the visit by President Obama and the fact that Kenya was selected to host the GES is a huge boost to the country's global reputation as major tourism, investment and entrepreneurship hub.
"This is a huge opportunity for our country, as the eyes of the world will be on Kenya, which is why we come to the US this week to encourage Americans to follow their President and see Kenya as a safe, modern and dynamic place to visit and to invest in," she concluded.
During the visit, Ms Kandie was interviewed by many leading media publications including the New York Times, Travel & Leisure, National Geographic, Skift and Forbes.
She also held her first Google Hang Out, which was hosted at Google's New York offices by members of Google's travel team.
The CS was accompanied by Kenya's ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the U.N., Koki Muli Grignon and six tour operators and travel agents from Kenya.
