More diversity needed in our tourism menu

On Tuesday, Kenya marked the World Tourism Day with pride and a new sense of optimism following a decision by the World Travel Awards (WTA) — the most sought after awards in the global travel and tourism industry — to recognise our hospitality sector amongst the best in the world.

WTA, which has been heralded as the ‘travel industry’s equivalent to the Oscars’ by The Wall Street Journal has named Sarova Stanley hotel amongst the best in the world and awarded it the title of Kenya’s Leading Hotel.
The hotel was also tagged Kenya’s Luxury Business Hotel during the World Luxury Hotel Awards in Zagreb, Croatia about a fortnight ago.
It is a pleasant coincidence it happened as the world was readying itself to celebrate tourism day.
The purpose of this day is to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide.
Tourism minister Najib Balala says tourism has indeed come of age and tourists nowadays want a holistic experience of the places they visit including the ways of life, discovering new food, customs and visiting cultural sites.
In an industry where negative reviews or endorsements have huge influence on whether a country gets visitors or not, the placement of Sarova Stanley amongst the best establishments on the global pedestal is not only an endorsement of our hospitality industry, it also offers Kenya a new product to sell.