Kenya is bidding to host the 24th edition of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly in 2021; when the congregation of the UNWTO members meets for its bi-annual, 23rd session this week in St Petersburg, Russia.
Through the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, Kenya will be looking at leveraging its vast past experience in hosting top global events which include the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit; the 10th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference; the 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development; and, more recently, the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference and the 4th Session of the UN Environment Assembly.
Commenting on Kenya’s bid for the hosting rights of the event, Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Najib Balala, said that the country will present a strong case for why Kenya should be the first East African country to host the event, adding that it will greatly raise Kenya’s profile.
“We are going to make a solid case for Kenya to host the 24th UNWTO General Assembly meeting in 2021 as the first East African country to do so. We will build on the success of recently hosted high-level global events in Kenya as a strong reason why Kenya should be voted as hosts for the upcoming meeting and hope to secure the victory,”
On average, over 1,000 delegates from over 130 member countries of the UNWTO, attend the five-day bi-annual meeting.
