What can we Kenyans offer guests so that they keep coming back for more?

President Kenyatta (left) confers with former president Daniel Moi (right) at State House, Nairobi August 1, 2013. The two leaders held talks on regional peace. PSCU  

By NG'ANG'A MBUGUA

 

In Summary

• This is where Nairobi and other towns like Nakuru come in. Nairobi has probably the highest concentration of coffee bars in East and Central Africa and probably a little further beyond.

In the public imagination, the city of Boston is synonymous with the marathon, which Kenyan runners have come to dominate with mind-numbing regularity in recent years.

However, behind the scenes, Boston is a vibrant city with many cultural offerings that attract lifestyle tourists.

One of these is the US National Barista Championship, which brings together the best coffee brewers to compete in the search for the man or woman with the best-brewed cup of coffee.

The result of this competition is that an inordinately large number of coffee buffs congregate in Boston in April – around the same time that the marathon is held – to taste the offerings from the best in the US coffee market.

In aggregate terms, this constitutes a huge crowd because the coffee enthusiasts are unlikely to travel alone.

They are more likely to tug along their friends and family and turn coffee bars, not just into smoking-hot contest zones, but also venues for social and cultural engagement.

And this is what makes the greatest cities in the world tick. It is what keeps visitors going back for more because the human brain is wired to seek out experiences that trigger the production of feel-good hormones which scientists call endorphines for lack of a sexier term.

This is where Nairobi and other towns like Nakuru come in. Nairobi has probably the highest concentration of coffee bars in East and Central Africa and probably a little further beyond.

Considering that this is the season of wildebeest migration in the Maasai Mara, the city would benefit greatly if it devised social and cultural magnets to attract the crowds flocking to the Mara once they are through with watching wild animals.

As it is, hotels in the greater Mara region are too full now to take in more guests.

However, chances are that those who have travelled from different climes to watch the migration will put up in dreary hotels as they wait to catch a plane to the Mara.

Chances are that beyond catching a beer in the deathly quiet bars and watching television in their rooms, these tourists are unlikely to get a healthy dose of endorphines that can make them come back to Nairobi – or Nakuru or Narok for that matter for more of the same.

The allure of a city is not primarily its wildlife and this is the trap that Nairobi must not fall into.

The greatest gift that a city can give a visitor is a promise of joy and an invitation to the social adventure of a lifetime.

This is how Paris (the City of Light) and Rome (the Eternal City) have marketed themselves as places of love and romance.

Tourists will save for months and travel for thousands of miles just to kiss on the banks of Seine or the Tiber.

No matter which way you look at it, there is nothing to stop Nairobi, Nakuru, Narok, Kisii, Kiambu and other ambitious counties from capitalising on such a promise to lift their tourism numbers.

By doing so, they will not only create opportunities for their people, they will also attract positive reviews from across the world which can help spread the word and make the events bigger in the future.

As one way of encouraging innovation, enterprise and cultural industries including music and the performing arts, such counties can encourage festivals that attract tourists from across the globe.

South Africa has done it with its annual Jazz Festival, Potsdam has done it with its wine festivals, Rio de Janeiro has done it with its carnival, Nairobi can do it with a coffee festival and Kiambu with tea.

Were the arts industry courageous enough, it could borrow a few van Goghs, Monets, Cézannes or Picassos and host them for a few months in a city gallery. The ripple effects of such a gamble would be beyond measure.

One of the greatest attractions in Berlin today is the 3,000-year-old bust of Nefertiti, arguably one of the most beautiful women in history.

The reason tourists keep going to see it is that no one is allowed to take pictures. Either you pay homage to the queen in person or you miss out on the whole experience altogether. Nothing in between.

Our counties should seek ways to make similar value propositions and their economies will be transformed drastically.