By GEOFFREY MOSOKU
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie has said Kenya will learn from the successes of Greece as it seeks to market itself as a top tourism destination.
Ms Kandie said the country will partner with the Mediterranean country to access markets in southern and northern Europe.
“Greece, which gets 12 million tourists a year, does not have as spectacular and magical tourist attractions as Kenya. Therefore, it is possible for Kenya to dramatically boost her visitors’ arrivals,” she said. The cabinet secretary was speaking at a recent Kenya-Greece Export Trade and Tourism forum in Athens, Greece.
The forum’s main agenda was to find access to markets for Kenyan goods and to woo wealthy Greeks to visit Kenya and invest, especially in areas of value addition, agribusiness, textiles, mining and financial services.
Kandie attended the forum with over 30 businesspeople comprising members of the Kenya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, private sector players and government officials. The forum held at InterContinental Athens was a follow up to a trade and investment delegation from Greece in September that brought over 50 business communities to Nairobi to sample investment opportunities in Kenya and East Africa.
Heritage and sports
Greece’s Minister for Development and Competitiveness Athanasios Skorpas said despite the prolonged financial crises that has gripped the country, Greece exports have sharply risen in the last two years.
Kenya Tourism Board CEO Muriithi Ndegwa said he would work with Greece in the hotel industry as well as look at strategies that have been used by the Greeks to improve cultural heritage and sports tourism.
