By: Daniel Nyaga (danielnyaga.dn@gmail.com)
Thumbnail photo courtesy of The Star by Oliver Valenta
In a bid to help Kenya regain its spot top tourism destination, the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife announced Naomi Campbell as Magical Kenya’s International Tourism Ambassador on Tuesday.
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Tourism CS Najib Balala explained the appointment saying, “We welcome the exciting news that Naomi Campbell will advocate for tourism and travel internationally for the magical Kenya brand”.
Her appointment caused a frenzy online as on Twitter (K.O.T) went on to criticise the decision to appoint her instead of appointing a Kenyan. However, Mr Balala was quick to respond to the criticism posting on Twitter stating, “Naomi Campbell will be Magical Kenya’s International Tourism Ambassador. That doesn’t take away from our domestic market, it only strengthens it.”
Photo courtesy of BBC News
The Tourism CS believes this appointment will help Kenya gain more tourists as the International supermodel possesses a large following on her social media platforms with over 13 million followers.
The tourism industry has greatly suffered due to COVID-19 pandemic. The Tourism Research Institute released data showing the number of tourists who visited Kenya fell by 72% between January and October 2020. As a result, there was a loss of revenue totalling Ksh 110 billion ($1.1 billion) during the said period. The tourism industry in Kenya contributes to 8.8 per cent of Kenya’s gross domestic product annually.