Nakuru County records tourism boom despite General Election uncertainty

Lake Nakuru National park (Photo: Courtesy)

The hotly-contested General Election and the uncertainty that followed did not affect the number of tourists visiting Lake Nakuru National Park and other tourist sites in the Rift Valley region.

Central Rift Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Assistant Director Aggrey Maumo said on Tuesday that the park was currently receiving at least 600 local and 120 international tourists daily.

"The General Election has not affected tourism flow in the Rift region as numbers are on the rise," said Mr Maumo.

He attributed the high flow of international tourists at the Lake Nakuru National Park to the annual migration of wildebeests at Maasai Mara Game Reserve.

"Nakuru is a major beneficiary of the wildebeest migration because most tourists who visit Maasai Mara transverse the Aberdares and Laikipia through Nakuru, where they visit Lake Nakuru National Park," he said.

Maumo noted that more international wildlife enthusiasts had been flocking to the Mara to watch the wildebeest migration in July and August.