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{
    "id": 1274620,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1274620/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 64,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Okenyuri",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "opening up the country; development and implementation of the tourism strategy for Kenya 2021-2025; entry of new domestic airlines; resumption of cruise tourism and destination marketing campaigns. Further, the number of international delegates attending meetings, international conferences and events also increases due to high- profile meetings held within the country. This was attributed to a safe electioneering period and the lifting of travel advisories. However, the number is still below the pre-COVID-19 period by 30 per cent. Despite the country not attaining the performance it had before the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been improved performance in 2021 and 2022. If this growth is sustained, most tourism sectors will recover faster to surpass the 2019 numbers. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, having said the above, there is an urgent need to innovate and offer new products to our visitors to enrich their experiences while visiting the country. This calls for a new approach and deeper imagination by players in the tourism sector, the Senate being one of them. To this end, I would like to urge the Senate to take the lead in encouraging counties that share cross-county tourism sites and facilities or tourism circuits, to collaborate and plan together by ensuring their governments engage in strategic cross- county tourism promotion programmes. Such counties should explore ways of jointly financing the development of such cross-county tourism facilities or circuits. I also urge the Senate to provide the appropriate legal framework for such collaborations. There is also a need to increase tourism earnings from counties and ensure that these earnings trickle down to Kenyans by supporting Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) engaging in tourism activities. I further urge my fellow Senators to sensitize their constituents on the need to continue protecting the environment and the wildlife as our treasured natural heritage. I also call on national and county governments to support indigenous efforts by communities to support tourism, especially in the face of climate change and the ongoing global economic turmoil. Additionally, the national Government should support counties living along international boundaries in ensuring that the benefits from such natural resources benefit the host counties, for instance, benefits accruing from the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Narok County, which borders Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. I take this early opportunity to appreciate and congratulate the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage, and relevant Government agencies for their successful efforts towards reviving this critical industry. It is also very important for us in the legislature, even as we oversight and critique where things might not be going as desired, that we stop for a moment and appreciate the good work that the other arms of Government might be doing to uplift the wellbeing of our people."
}