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    "id": 836661,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/836661/?format=api",
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    "content": "industry that contributes a lot to the growth of our economy. But, have we fully exploited the tourism industry in this country? My answer is; no. The reason is the Government has not given enough support and incentive to the industry. Countries that receive the highest number of tourists in the world have taken care of the basics. One of the basics is infrastructure. If you look at the state of the roads; even the tarmacked road from Nairobi to Narok, the potholes alone on that stretch would give an impression that the government does not care about the number of international tourists that head to Narok on a day to day basis. The situation even gets worse the moment you leave Narok town to go to Masai Mara. Is it not an irony that we have done the railway network all the way from Nairobi and terminated it at Naivasha instead of extending it closer to Masai Mara, which is the leading tourist destination in this country? Madam Temporary Speaker, when you mention the word “safari”, it is synonymous with Kenya. Every tourist from the United States of America (USA) or Europe wants to have an experience of visiting the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve. During the animal migration, hardly can a local find accommodation in the Reserve because we receive international tourists. For us to make that an experience worth the effort of coming all the way from Europe, we need to have good infrastructure. I do not understand why the Kenyan Government has never thought of tarmacking the road from Narok to the Maasai Mara, because the Maasai Mara National Reserve really makes a huge contribution to our economy. Secondly, Madam Temporary Speaker is the issue of security. The leading tourist attraction destinations in this world are places where they have the 24-hour economy. This is where someone can walk to his or her room at 1.00 a.m. or enjoy themselves up to 3.00 a.m. and they will be assured of their security. I want to give a case of Bangkok. We travelled there with a group of lawyers in 2008, when I was the president of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK). We were all amazed. When we were leaving dinner at 11.00 p.m., the situation outside was like what you see in Nairobi at 1.00 p.m. This is because the Government has assured tourists of their security. In this country, when you get into Hilton Hotel, the first thing you are told at the reception is to watch out for your safety as you walk in the streets of Nairobi. What kind of message are we sending to our visitors? How will we ensure that visitors who come to our country are spending on our own businesses, if we do not guarantee their security? Bags belonging to tourists are snatched in broad daylight and we do not have any effort by the Government of the day to ensure that tourists are safe. We will not grow this industry, unless we fix our infrastructure and improve on the security of international visitors. We must move out of the traditional tourist attractions. The leading tourist destinations in the world are not necessarily areas where you do a safari to the rural areas. One of the leading destinations in the world is New York. We were in New York sometime back. When we asked our host where we could make a visit there, we were told the leading tourist attraction is the Central Park. It was amazing. When you go to Central Park, there will be temptations to spend. That is how the economy of a country is The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}