Kakamega — The Kenyan government is keen on increasing the number of tourist arrivals to more than five million in the next five years.

In 2022, the country received over 1.4 million visitors, earning Sh268 billion.

This was an improvement from the 870,000 visitors who came to Kenya in 2021.

The Tourism State Department's Principal Secretary, John Ololtuaa, says the tourism sector contributes to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), noting that arrivals will grow revenue for job creation, improvement of infrastructure, among other things.

The PS spoke in Kakamega during the 3rd Edition of the Kenya Cultural, Tourism, and Food Festival, where he said part of the strategies will be incorporating counties to identify unique tourism products to develop and market them internationally.

"We are mapping out product diversification. We want to look at each and every county in Kenya on what they can offer. We are working with the council of governors and also linking up with all the governors so that we develop what is unique and what is special in each and every county," he noted.

The PS mentioned the crying stone of Kakamega, the Kakamega tropical rain forest, the Nabongo Mumia Cultural Centre, bullfighting, and cockfighting as some of the unique products the government is now focusing on.

To uplift domestic tourism, the PS said the government, through a bottom-up approach, will strategize on how to subsidize rates for domestic tourists to be able to visit and enjoy Kenya's cultural heritage, National Reserves, and Game Parks and enjoy accommodation at cheaper rates they can afford.

"We are also targeting the Kenyan diaspora, we have many Kenyans abroad and we are targeting through the embassies so that we talk to them to promote the image of Kenya and have the visitors coming and also for them to come to Kenya for holiday as tourists," He added.