Nairobi and Buenos Aires to increase cooperation on travel-related matters

the cities of Nairobi and Buenos Aires have proposed forming a collaboration in which they are to partner and promote their countries’ tourism potential jointly.

The proposal was announced at a meeting between the Kenyan Minster of Tourism and his Argentine counterpart, Jorge Osella who is in charge of tourism support and investment promotion in his country.

This collaboration will entail identifying features of mutual interests with potential for reciprocal cultural and economic benefits in both Kenya and Argentina.

Both ministers agreed to the proposal saying that it will help in tapping the unexploited tourism potentials for both nations.

Argentina’s Osella expressed interest in the way Kenya manages its national parks and hopes that teaming up with them will enable Argentina to borrow a leaf from this Kenyan system.

In reciprocation, the Kenya Tourism Minister Najib Balala also affirmed his country’s commitment in fulfilling the proposal.

“We have budget plans for the next financial year in which we intend to intensify tourism promotion especially in Argentina and Brazil; which countries are to play in the World Cup. We expect their citizens to come in large numbers to Africa,” said the Minister

Mr Balala, the Vice Chairman of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization

is currently in Argentina to take part in this year’s 88th UNWTO Session and is later slated to proceed to Puerto Iguazu, the venue of the first edition of the 2010 council’s meeting.

According to the World Tourism Organization, emerging economies such as Argentina have become major tourists generating countries and their share in international tourism is growing attracting the attention of many destinations.

About Nairobi

Kenya’s capital city has risen in a single century from a brackish uninhabited swampland to a thriving modern capital.

When railway construction workers reached this area in 1899, they set up a basic camp and supply depot, simply called ‘Mile 327’. The local Maasai called this highland swamp Ewaso Nai’beri – the place of cold water.

The camp became a rustic village, and then a shanty town, which by 1907 was the capital of all of British East Africa. It was soon an important centre for the colony and a mecca for adventurers, hunters and travellers from all over the world.

Modern Nairobi is still the safari capital of the Africa, but the modern world has quickly caught up with the city. A frontier town no more, Nairobi has become one of Africa’s largest, and most interesting cities.

Nairobi is a city that never seems to sleep. The entire town has a boundless energy, and is thriving place where all of human life can be found. This is a place of great contrasts where race, tribe and origin all become facets of a unique Nairobi character.

The city has not lost its sense of the past, with an excellent museum and the historical home of Karen Blixen, author of Out of Africa open to visitors.

This is not a modern capital separated from the great wilderness that surrounds it. Just outside the city is Nairobi National Park, 113 sq kms of plains, cliffs and forest. The park is home to large herds of Zebra, Wildebeest, Buffalo, Giraffe and more. Rhino, Cheetah, and a large number of Lions are all found here, living wild within 20 minutes of the centre of town.

Further out of town, the spectacular 27 metre deep ‘Fourteen Falls’ waterfalls at Thika are perfect for a scenic day trip. Nearby Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park, is centred around an imposing 2,146 metre mountain.

For the adventurous, take an hour’s drive from town and you will find white water rafting on the beautiful Tana River.

From the wildlife to the nightlife, Nairobi is a city unlike any other. With a fantastic music scene, excellent international restaurants and an endless and colourful array of shops and markets, there is plenty on offer for the visitor.

About Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is one of the world’s biggest cities in which, including the suburbs, there are over 11,000,000 inhabitants. It is also the most elegant and active city in South America and the one that summarizes the heterogeneous essence of Argentines the best. With a modern, hip structure and dynamic activity, it has managed to preserve old traditions and endearing corners. Visitors feel fascinated because of its environment, because neighborhoods have all different personalities, and also because people are warm and there is a wide range of shopping and cultural proposals. Buenos Aires is surrounded by the splendid Argentine nature and it is the great cosmopolitan door to South America.

The Province of Buenos Aires invites you to the countryside and its traditions, the sun and the sea, the serenity and the adventure, the delta and its mysteries. There are estancias (large cattle ranches) featuring a great deal of architectural styles, located in the middle of the Pampas Plains— a magical vast area of far-off horizons, where you may breathe history and Creole customs all around. Kilometers of sand caressed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, endless dunes, lonely and crowded beaches, sophisticated and busy nights— everywhere you will be amazed. The peaceful golf courses, the vertigo paragliding rides and the adventure of trekking— everything is possible in the hilly region of Tandil and Ventana. They are very different landscapes from each other and distant from the mouth of the Paraná River, where endless islands also invite you to unwind and live unexpected adventures.

Useful Links:
- City Council of Nairobi: http://www.nairobicity.go.ke
- City of Buenos Aires Government: http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar

____________________________________
SOURCES:

“Nairobi and Buenos Aires for Joint Tourism Promotion”
Written by African Tours
Tuesday, 08 June 2010
Release-News.com
http://www.release-news.com
http://www.release-news.com/index.php/travel-a-leisure/9629-nairobi-and-buenos-aires-for-joint-tourism-promotion.html

“Nairobi – Kenya’s Capital City”
The official website of Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife (Kenya)
http://www.tourism.go.ke
http://www.tourism.go.ke/default.nsf/doc21/4YQ4W3FZEI64?opendocument&l=1&e=7

“Buenos Aires”
Argentina – Secretariat of Tourism
http://www.turismo.gov.ar
http://www.turismo.gov.ar/eng/menu.htm