Paris Olympics: KTB to sponsor holidays for Kenyan medalists

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has offered complementary for holidays to all Team Kenya medalists at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

CEO June Chepkemei made the revelation at the Kenya House in Hotel de Ville in Paris, France, on Sunday, where she said the offer was one of the ways of appreciating the athletes.

She reiterated that athletes are among Kenya's best ambassadors, and rewarding them is part of the department's embrace of sports tourism.

"We have started working with athletes as our brand ambassadors. We believe they represent the country on the global stage better than anything else," said Chepkemei.

Chepkemei said the ongoing games were a good starting point, as more partnerships between the body and athletes are in the pipeline.

"The Paris Olympics are just the beginning. All the medalists will have an opportunity to tour and experience Kenyan destinations," she announced.

Chepkemei said they are working diligently to ensure the Paris Olympics highlights Kenya's trade and investment opportunities beyond its tourism offerings.

"The Olympics are a great opportunity that a country can exploit to showcase itself," she said.

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She used the moment to call on tourists to visit Kenya.

"It's a platform for us to be represented, not only within the fields but outside, and show that we are much more than the world thinks (about us). We also want to persuade them (tourists) to come home and feel what it is to be Kenyan. We believe the human origin is in Kenya," she said.

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She said tourist numbers are rising compared to pre- and during COVID-19.

"We had a maximum of two million tourists before COVID, which went down during the pandemic. However, the numbers are rising, though not to what we anticipated. The two million are back, but we are targeting more than five million. We had more than one million in the first half of the year, a rise from 600 in the previous year," she added.