Nairobi — Kenya will host the Africa Travel Association (ATA) Congress in November this year.
The forum brings together key players in the tourism travel industry from Africa and the world.
More than 500 delegates are expected to participate in the convention with majority being from the private sector.
This comes as the country is also hosting the forthcoming 10th World
Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference scheduled for December.
Member countries of the WTO unanimously made the decision following
intense lobbying by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade led by Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed.
READ: Kenya wins bid to host 2015 WTO Conference
Addressing officials from the Africa Travel Association who called on
him at his Karen office on Thursday, led by Executive Director Edward
Bergman, Deputy President William Ruto said Kenya was prepared and ready
to host the congress.
The officials were on a fact-finding mission on tourist sites ahead of the November ATA congress.
Ruto said the government has put in place firm measures to tackle
insecurity, which has hindered the development of the tourism sector.
"We should not allow issues like terrorism to discourage tourists
from visiting this great country. Terrorism and extremists are not
unique to Kenya. They are a global problems which require global efforts
to end," he said.
He also challenged both local and international media in the country
to "avoid temptations of focusing on trivialities and instead highlight
the positive gains realised by the government in the fight against
terrorism.
"Let's avoid negative perception of the country and Africa as whole.
This situation has come as a result of misinformation or lack of
information about the continent," he said.
He said the government is committed to making Kenya the preferred
tourist destination in Africa by vigorously campaigning to boost the
country's image abroad.
On her part, East Africa, Commerce and Tourism Cabinet Secretary
Phyllis Kandie said the ministry was doing everything possible to make
the congress a success saying it was through such initiatives that the
country promotes the tourism sector.
"We want to send the right signals to the world that Kenya is safe
and remains the best preferred tourism destination in the world. In
short we are telling tourists all over the world that Kenya is back into
the market," Kandie added.
ATA is an international travel and trade association that promotes
tourism to the African continent and intra-Africa partnerships.
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