Eight win cash for top photos in Magical Kenya competition

Eight Kenyans have been crowned winners of the first Kenyan tourism photo contest focusing on off-thebeaten-track destinations, urban vibes and hidden gems.

The Tembea Kenya Capture Magical Kenya Photography Contest was organised by the Kenya Tourism Board and aimed at showcasing destinations across the country, focusing on hidden gems.

Through the contest, Kenyans showcased various tourism products across eight categories. The categories were hidden gem, wildlife, cultural heritage, landscapes, people, adventure, urban vibes and sustainable travel.

Tourism and Wildlife CS Rebecca Miano said the government is committed to diversifying the country’s tourism offering and enabling more Kenyans to visit lesser-known attractions.

Many destinations remain unknown to domestic and international travellers.

“Our work is to set up forums like this one to help market Kenya as a destination. This forum gave us an opportunity to tap into the talents of Kenyans, especially the youth,” she said.

“Each young person or photographer is a potential ambassador we can use to market and promote our tourism offerings. The government recognises the role tourism can play in creating employment, and economic empowerment and as a crucial foreign exchange earner,” the Tourism CS said.

“Our manifesto notes that despite being such a crucial sector, tourism has been punching below its weight. My ministry is committed to ensuring we have a thriving tourism sector by diversifying Kenya’s tourism offering and enabling more Kenyans to visit each destination.”

The Kenya Tourism Board said the contest aimed to engage the wider public in promoting destinations in their home counties that have gone unnoticed despite their tourism appeal.

“The contest sought to tap into domestic tourists and Kenyans living near hidden gems to inform the wider public of destinations that they should visit or that have the potential to attract both local and international tourists,” KTB chairman Francis Gichaba said.

KTB CEO June Chepkemei said, “The contest has shown the potential of involving citizens in the promotion of different destinations across the country. Through the contest, we were able to leverage the talent of the youth to showcase hidden gems and not traditional tourism destinations across the country.”

“We as KTB have the mandate to market Kenya as a destination both domestically and internationally and there is no better way of doing this than letting Kenyans themselves showcase their country.”

The contest attracted 3,860 entries, with 280 photos being shortlisted for entry into the final stage of the competition.

Eighty photos were voted into the finals and were put up for exhibition. The photos showcased different tourism destinations in 30 counties.

Twenty-four Kenyans won cash prizes in the eight competitive categories. The prizes were awarded to the top three finalists in each category.

First place winners were awarded Sh150,000. Second and third place winners were awarded Sh70,000 and Sh30,000, respectively.

The overall first place winners were Leah Mureithi (hidden gems), Carol Kuyo (sustainable travel), Samuel Kisamwa (people), Dalton Odemba (adventure), Mutahi Chiira (urban vibes), Felix Okaka (cultural heritage), Geoffrey Bagaka (landscape) and Solomon Ngari (wildlife). The awards ceremony was held on Tuesday.