The Ministry of Tourism, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Amadeus, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, to foster inclusive, local economic growth, through travel and tourism.
Under the MOU, the partners are developing a pilot project in Kenya to which they are inviting other travel and tourism companies to participate with their resources and infrastructure, to ensure the young women and men can earn a living from the skills they acquire.
The lessons learned from a successful pilot in Kenya will serve to replicate the development methodology in other countries with similar socio-economic circumstances.
Cabinet Secretary for Tourism Najib Balala, will reach out to other government and NGOs with competence of tourism, gender and youth, in the country to support the implementation of the pilot project.
Balala said, “The travel and tourism industry is one of the largest and most dynamic industries in today’s global economy. Tourism is a key backbone to the region’s economic growth, with a projected growth of 16% by end of 2016. This initiative enables us to empower women and youth, whilst building our local tourism and travel industry.”
UNWTO will contribute through access to UN agencies to advise on methodology for the inclusion of vulnerable groups into the project and certified training resources on sustainable tourism.
Amadeus will engage its partners in travel and tourism, to bring specialized and business-critical training to the beneficiaries.
The Ministry of Tourism, UNWTO and Amadeus will promote this co-operation in Kenya and East Africa region, to increase awareness on the potential of women and youth in the travel and tourism sectors.
The parties aim to complete the first pilot training before the end of 2017.