Kisumu city will next week host a three-day expo to promote tourism in the Western circuit. The exhibition, which is sponsored by the Lake Victoria Tourism Association in collaboration with the Tourism ministry and City Council of Kisumu to the tune of Sh3 million, will be held between May 3 and 5 at Kisumu’s The Vic Hotel.
Association chairman Daniel Okumu, who was accompanied by patron Abdulqadir Omar and secretary general Anthony Ochieng’, said the expo whose theme is,”Come and Experience the glamour of the Western Kenya Tourism Circuit”, will showcase the region’s enormous and unexploited cultural and ecotourism enormous potential. “The tourism and travel expo of Western Kenya is reminiscent of Russell Conwell’s classic, Acres of Diamond. It will bring out the enormous potential that exists in Western Kenya, which remains unexploited, by articulating and representing innovative thinking outside the subsistence farming box,” said Okumu.
He said the expo offers diversity from the traditional safari and beach destination, which is one of the objectives of the Tourism Diversification and Subsistence Development programme 2002. Okumu said several participants including the Catering and Tourism Development Levy Trustee, Kenya Tourism Board, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Utalii College, ministry and the public among others will attend the expo. “The expo promises a long overdue package including a showcase on cruise on Lake Victoria, ultimate forest experience in Kakamega forest and the rare birding experience there,” said Omar.
He said the region boasts of rich cultural sites such as the Chitambwe ruins, the Elijah Masinde shrine, the cave elephants at Mt Elgon, Kit Mikayi’s weeping stone, Thimlich Ohinga, Got Ramogi, Simbi Nyaima, Webuye falls, Lake Kanyaboli, Ruma National Park, Mt Elgon National Park, Saiwa Swamp and the Shinyalu gardens among others, for visitors to sample.
