Hundreds of Kesses residents turned up for the 2015 World Tourism day organised by the county government of Uasin Gishu at Kesses dam on Sunday.
The celebration which had a themed ‘One billion tourists, one billion opportunities’ was attended by Philip Matelong’ the CeC for Trade, Tourism and Wildlife management alongside other officials from the ministry.
Area chief, Sally Leting and other village elders, Kesses Sub-County administrator David Kebenei and Four Miss Uasin Gishu County finalists from different categories also attended the function among other officials.
Speaking during the occasion while welcoming the visitors, the Leting acknowledged the collaboration with the county government and said they were committed to keep the region safe for tourists to visit.
"I am happy to welcome you in this region, feel free to visit any time, we will ensure all guests who come to this place are well treated and enjoy their stay," she said.
Kebenei, the sub-county administrator also echoed the chief’s sentiments while urging the government to support them in maintaining the dam.
"We have a number of resources in this region and in the entire county, thus the county government and the national government should help us to maintain them to increase the number of tourists visiting," he said.
The event also saw a number of participants compete in swimming and boat rowing in different categories with eventual winners bagging different prices.
The winners in each category was awarded Sh30,000 with the runners-up taking home Sh20,000 while those who came third were awarded Sh10,000.
Kesses dam is the largest dam in Uasin Gishu County but stakeholders say it is yet to be fully exploited as a tourist attraction.