An initiative by Kenyan firms to popularise local tourist destinations has gone regional after it expanded to include seven East African countries.
The campaign is attempting to tap into regional domestic tourism by dubbed Tembea Tujenge Kenya TTK. The Kampala in Uganda will be the first location of the caravan on August 10, 2022, according to the new look, Tembea Tujenge Afrika Mashariki.
The next location will be in the Democratic Republic of Congo, followed by Kigali in Rwanda, then Tanzania, Zanzibar, Burundi and finally South Sudan.
The initiative is focused on promoting and marketing known tourist destinations and exposing new sites to local tourists.
TTK chief executive Andrew Kanyutu said they had decided to go regional in order to tap into regional tourism with a view to replicate a similar concept across the continent.
In the launch of the third quarter of the campaign in Nairobi last week, Mr Kanyutu said that we have relied on too much foreigners for a long time to build our tourism. It is now our time as locals to spur the growth of domestic tourism to the next level by playing a major part in that growth.
He said that the initiative has resulted in the growth of domestic travel by breaking the reliance on seasonal tourism cycles that is largely dependent on foreigners, which has been launched at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020.
Between October 2020 and September 2021, we had 36,000 beds in the first year. The numbers have hit 68,000 from October 2021 to date, he said.
The campaign is supported by major brands including Isuzu East Africa, Shell Vivo Energy, Sarova Hotels, Tourism Fund, Safaricom, Madison Insurance and St John's Ambulance.