Kenya’s Ministry of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism ministry has set up a social media unit that will be used to provide information about the country in a bid to salvage its ailing tourism.
The Daily Nation reports the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) has hired an online reputation management firm at a cost of KSh10 million (US$114,000) to help Kenya rebuild its international image online in addition to providing factual information.
“We urge the local media to authenticate information before publishing; international media will only pick what we report,” said Phyllis Kandie, cabinet secretary at the ministry.
A recent spate of terrorist attacks has seen Kenya lose a large number of tourists as key countries issue travel advisories, resulting in massive cancellations.
“After Westgate, tourists figures started going down, obviously the sector is hurting,” said Kandie.
