HARVESTING DOLLARS FROM DRY HILLS

Have you ever heard of a people making millions of dollars from nothing? Yes, nothing. Just dry hills and 14 th century mud houses. Will you believe that the number of tourists frequenting those dry hills surpasses the number of visitors flocking Kenya's parks and beaches? For your information, these chaps aren't kidding. They receive ten million tourists annually. Yes, ten million. This is Morocco. A kingdom located in northwest Africa, south of Mediterranean Sea and east of Atlantic Ocean.

So what is it that they have done to reap big from tourism? Are they endowed more than Kenya? These two questions formed the foundation of my investigation. My investigation took me to the remotest and furthest corner of this ancient kingdom. Here, I found the reasons why they beat us hands down.

Finding one: Tourism isn't a preserve of a few. It is a collective initiative. People understand the value of tourism. Tourism isn't a new vocabulary even for the rural folk. They talk and talk about it. They hold it dear and close to their souls. 

Finding two: They have perfected the art of marketing their national heritage. This is what they do. They organize a cultural concert annually showcasing their cultures and heritage. They invite international artists to grace the occasion and to link it to international media. Doing this saves them the much needed revenue but at the same time enables them open their nation's tourism potential to the outside world. Result? The world gets to know their hidden treasures in those dry hills.

Finding three: Almost all towns have at least one tourism school. These schools link the public and the government. They offer the public with any information they may need in the development of tourism sector. Thus they are custodians and depositories of information on tourism.

Finding four: Transport is safe, on time and affordable. Potholed roads are recarpeted daily. Airstrips are dotted in all major towns. Transport companies are regularly monitored by the State to weed out any suspicious element. 

Finally, security of tourists is absolute. Any criminal act is demolished ruthlessly and swiftly. They have a whole police wing dealing with protection of tourists. 

Now looking at Kenya: we have everything. Snowy mountains, wildlife, forests, beaches, museums, deserts, the sun and even the people (Kenyans). But it seems, it is not the abundance of these tourist attractions that count. It is how we make use of them. It is how we sell them to visitors. 

So when you choose to sit down and sing the-we-don't-have-jobs-mantra know that you are failing God, Kenya and its people. Move out and do something!