The Narok County Government has invited Chinese nationals to invest in the county.
Governor Samuel Ole Tunai yesterday told a delegation of Chinese business leaders and government officials increasing tourist numbers between the two countries would help to strengthen bilateral and trade ties.
“Narok County is ready for investment and business partnership, and we welcome our friends from Shandong Province to explore opportunities in the areas of agri-business, livestock farming and tourism,” he said.
Mr Tunai said the number of Chinese tourists to Kenya has been on the rise in recent years but that there is still room for improvement. “Last year, Kenya counted about 82,000 Chinese visitors, a 37.7 per cent increase compared with the previous year,” said Mr Tunai.
“However, we are targeting to attract around one million Chinese tourists each year and the opening up of strong ties and bilateral strength will definitely increase these numbers.” Narok is home to the world-famous Maasai Mara National Reserve.
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The Chinese delegation is being led by Deputy Director-General of the Department of Commerce, Shandong Province Lyu Wei. The number of tourist arrivals to Kenya in the first half of this year fell slightly by one per cent. According to data from the Tourism Research Institute released yesterday, the number of visitors to the country fell from 927,797 to 921,090 during the period under review.
During the period under review, France emerged as Kenya’s top source market, posting a 17 per cent jump in tourist arrivals compared to a similar period last year while those from China rose by 0.6 per cent.
