Pope Francis
When Uganda some two weeks ago announced the visit by a third Pope to the country in November this year, since then speculation imminent that the papal Africa trip would be extended to Kenya as well. Both the Vatican and the Kenyan government yesterday confirmed the upcoming trip, no doubt to the delight of not just the Catholic faithful but the country’s tourism industry as well.
With US President Barack Obama heading to Nairobi to attend a global entrepreneur conference at the end of July, the visit by Pope Francis will equally bring the global spotlight back on Kenya.
Britain lifted the cursed anti-travel advisories against the Kenya coast last week, and the visit of two such high-profile visitors like Obama and Pope Francis will send a message out into the global marketplace that Kenya is safe and ready to receive tourists.
Following the exit of some of the worst anti-travel advisories language ever seen, which cost the country tens of thousands of visitors and huge revenue and job losses, the Kenya Tourism Board, whose budget was increased more than fivefold in the recently-announced budget estimates for 2015/16, can expect a major publicity boost, and free of charge, when the two high-profile visitors will be on TV screens around the world.
Regular tourism stakeholder contributors have already said that the recovery marketing campaign which is due to be launched soon, ought to build on the global fame of such visitors like Obama and the Pope and send the message out that if these two can come to Kenya, so can thousands of ordinary people.
The papal visit has been scheduled for November 18 and 19, and hundreds of Catholic faithful from the Eastern African region and beyond are also expected to make the journey to see one of the most popular Popes in recent history in person.
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