KENYA, UGANDA AND RWANDA SET FOR JOINT TOURISM MARKETING

Tourists at a park in Tanzania. PHOTO | FILE  

By SANDRA CHAO-BLASTO

Neighbours Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda will soon begin marketing as one tourist destination, Kenya's Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala revealed on Wednesday.

Speaking during the opening of the 6th Magical Kenya Tourism Expo, Mr Balala said that the three East African countries had resolved to have a joint marketing strategy in order to attract more tourist arrivals.

"After three days of deliberations, we have agreed to market the region as one. Starting November, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda will be marketing themselves with one stand," he said.

The move serves to complement the single entry visa that the countries have been marketing to tourists and whose uptake has been sluggish.

Before its launch in 2014, tourists required separate visas for each country visited, a process that discouraged visitors from extending their travel beyond the national borders of the country they were in.
SOURCE: THE EAST AFRICAN