Nyeri county set to invest in mountain climbing

Mountain climbing has been identified as the next major tourist attraction in the country and the Mount Kenya region is planning to reap big as an alternative tourist destination.

Nyeri County has been challenged to drive mountain climbing as the next big activity in its tourism programme.

Former Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Director Julius Kipng’etich last week compared the region with Tanzania, where he stated that in the neighbouring country, mountain climbing is one of the top revenue earners for the Tanzanian economy.

“If you look at how tourism works in Kenya, it revolves around Maasai Mara. 40 per cent of our international visitors that come from abroad go to Maasai Mara National Reserve. We need to create Mt Kenya as an alternative tourist destination rather than the Maasai Mara,” said Mr Kipng’etich.

The county, home to Mt Kenya National Park which has an impressive extinct volcano dominating the landscape of the highlands, has several activities which can act as a revenue generator.

According to the Mount Kenya Tourism Circuit Association, activities such as mountain climbing, rock climbing, mountain biking, snow marathon, bird watching, nature walks, wildlife viewing, camping, cave exploration and primate tracking are some of the events that can be used to generate extra revenue.

Mr Kipng’etich said every year Mt Kilimanjaro generates revenue of between Sh3.5 billion to Sh4 billion.

“This is just how they do their pricing. To climb Mt Kilimanjaro, they price it for a minimum of five days, at Sh8,700 ($100) per day. So, you pay a minimum of Sh43,500 ($500) to climb Mt Kilimanjaro,” said Mr Kipng’etich.

UNIQUE FEATURE

He said Mt Kenya is the only free structure on the equator with snow. “So, how can we then sell that uniqueness so cheap?” he posed.

He said the demand for mountain climbing is inelastic and suggested that tourism around Mt Kenya should revolve around it. “The competitive advantage for this region is mountain climbing,” he stated.

Mr Kipng’etich said KWS has already put in climbing rocks to facilitate easy climbing as Mt Kenya offers a wealth of superb and diverse climbing possibilities on rock, snow and ice.

“A lot of investment has been done there, just work with them and say you want to be the home of mountain climbers,” he said.

This came a few months after the Mt Kenya Tourism Circuit Association initiated a programme to attract lovers and merrymakers.

The Association’s Chief Executive Officers Simon Wachira said they wanted to change the mind-set that tourism all about wildlife.

“We have various romantic sites some with wooden cabins where lovers can spend quality time doing nothing but fish for trout, swim in the clear fresh rivers and basically enjoy the serenity of nature,” said Mr Wachira.

The programme he said was expected to ensure the region realizes the full potential of the tourism resources on offer.