Nandi County Government, in partnership with a non-governmental organisation, Tripesa, will digitise all tourist sites in the region for easy accessibility and to increase revenue collection.
Speaking during one-day training for the Tourism officers at a Kapsabet hotel, the Chief Officer in charge of Trade, Tourism, and Industrialization, Mr. Benjamin Kiprotich, said the county has a rich historical and cultural heritage that can attract tourists and generate income.
He said there is a need to engage stakeholders and investors through a public-private partnership to revamp and boost the tourism sector in the county to improve revenue collection and create job opportunities for the youth.
“Nandi has rich tourism sites that have remained unexploited since they remain unknown, however, we will ensure they are mapped to become new attractions. We want Kenyans and other visitors to know where to find these sites,” he said.
Some of the attraction sites include the breath-taking Chepkiit Waterfalls, Nandi Rocks, Kapsimotwa Gardens, Bonjoge National Reserve, Kipsigak Museum, Ndalat Hills, and Kingwal Swamp, among others.
According to experts, a rare antelope called Sitatunga, which lives in Kingwal Swamp in Kosirai, is a major tourist attraction.
They noted that Nandi could be an international tourist destination if the Sitatungas could be protected from poachers and their territory guarded against human encroachment.
Officials from Tripesa, a Nairobi-based technology company that develops digital market solutions for scaling tourism operations, said there is a need for locals to exploit opportunities provided by tourism to socio-economically improve their lifestyle, raise revenue for the County, and make Nandi a desired destination.
Mr. Muturi Kinyamu, Tripesa Country Manager, said the rich history of the Nandi people remains unexploited, adding that digitization and the putting up of signage will help in marketing the sites.
“Nandi is known to have produced some of the bravest men and women, like Legendary leader Orkoiyot Samoei, and Jean Marie Seroney, among others, but few people know about them. That’s why we want to market the region as a tourist destination,” he said.
By Linet Wafula
