Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary nominee Rebecca Miano has said to spur the industry, Kenya needs to diversify the origin of its guests.
She told the National Assembly Committee on Appointments that there is a need to attract new markets including the Middle East.
She stated that the numbers at the Ministry show that Kenya is not getting good numbers from some destinations like the Middle East, Japan and China.
Miano added that there is a need to diversify the products.
"Branding and communication in our tourism has to take centre stage. We must package our country as a product to be consumed, produced, packaged and sold," she said.
Miano said the Ministry of Tourism needs to take advantage of innovative technology, saying there is no one-stop digitally where tourists can visit and get the information they need.
She said it is time Kenyans used their social media to transform the tourism sector.
Miano said the Coast area is a jewel and Kenya has not yet scratched the surface.
"The potential there can move our tourism to levels we can only imagine. The beaches, the culture and other exotic tourist attraction that we have are all found at the Coast," she said.
"I want to commit that working with the counties we should work to identify the niche tourist attraction so that when our visitors come, they have a full experience of what our Coast has to offer."
