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The hospitality sector in Kisumu is set to host a two-day national tour agents conference in October in an effort aimed at marketing the county’s rich tourism sites.

Slated for October 25 and 26, the event is expected to host more than 100 tour operators from across the country and is organised by the Kenya Association of Tour Operators (Kato).

The yearly forum will be convened at the Kisumu’s Acacia Premier Hotel.  It is open to other tourism sector players and government officials keen to  boost travel to Nyanza region.  

Kisumu county’s Tourism Executive Achie Alai says the event presents local tourism players with an opportunity to market the county as a travel destination at the regional and international levels. 

“Kisumu town has recently experienced magnificent developments on the domestic front, especially in conference and leisure tourism, which makes it a preferred destination,” she says. 

The event will be used to showcase and promote the county’s and the larger Western Kenya’s little-known tourism treasures. During the workshop, tour and travel agents are expected to come up with new strategies to market the region.

Delegates will also tour selected tourism attractions with the aim of helping to sell the scenic sites locally and internationally. Speaking to TravelWise in her office, Achie said the lakeside city is privileged to host the annual conference, which is usually held in Nairobi. “The forum will offer a platform for the operators to start marketing and selling Kisumu as a preferred tourism destination,” said Achie.

Kisumu is home to some of the most beautiful tourism attraction sites such as Impala sanctuary, legendary Luanda Magere rocks and the crying rocks of Kit Mikayi, placing the county in a  position to attract hundreds of travellers for leisure.

Stakeholders have frequently made frantic efforts to market Kisumu and Western Kenya circuit whose tourism potential largely remains untapped. “The objective is to help celebrate and market the county as a tourism hub,” Achie added.