Beijing, Nairobi to bolster cultural ties

China and Kenya jointly launched an initiative on Friday to further increase people-to-people exchanges and cultural familiarity between the two countries.

Dubbed the 2025 China-Kenya Culture and Tourism Season, the initiative comes barely three weeks to the start of Kenya's tourism peak season driven by the famous wildebeest migration in Maasai Mara National Reserve of the East African country.

According to Guo Haiyan, the Chinese ambassador to Kenya, a diverse array of events will be held as part of the initiative, including a live broadcast of the great migration in Maasai Mara in China, friendship sports games, a Chinese cuisine competition, an animation film festival, and a China TV play festival in Kenya.

"These events will further invigorate the cultural and tourism cooperation between our countries, enhance mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples and inject important impetus to building an even closer China-Kenya community with a shared future for the new era," she said.

Kenya boasts rich and vibrant tribal cultures, magnificent landscapes as well as abundant wildlife, Guo said.

"The unique Kenyan culture, the vast Great Rift Valley, the scattered lakes dotting the landscape, the tropical savannahs full of vitality as well as the annual Great Migration hold great appeal for tourists from all over the world including China," she said.

Important partner

John Ololtuaa, the principal secretary in the State Department of Tourism in Kenya, said China remains one of Kenya's most important tourism and development partners.

"We are encouraged by the steady rise in the number of Chinese visitors to Kenya. To build on this momentum, we are committed to strengthening our collaboration through joint marketing initiatives, enhanced investment in hospitality infrastructure, skills development in the tourism sector, and robust cultural exchange programs," he said.

Ololtuaa said last year Kenya received slightly above 91,000 visitors from China, and is optimistic that by the end of this year the figure will be high, driven by the events to be held under the 2025 China-Kenya Culture and Tourism Season.

Tourism contributes over 10 percent of Kenya's gross domestic product and supports millions of jobs, particularly among youth and women, Ololtuaa said.

To meet the growing demands of tourists, he said his ministry is continually expanding and diversifying tourism offerings to include not only wildlife and natural landscapes but also cultural tourism, heritage trails, creative festivals and performing arts.

Ololtuaa said the 2025 China-Kenya Culture and Tourism Season offers a timely and strategic opportunity to deepen people-to-people linkages between China and Kenya.

Hannah Cheptumo, Kenya's cabinet secretary for gender, culture, the arts and heritage, said the culture and tourism season comes as China and Kenya celebrate deepening cooperation in the sectors.

She said culture and tourism are intertwined, as cultural sites and festivals are major tourist attractions across the world.

"Kenya and China have cultivated a robust cultural partnership that extends across media, education, arts, and heritage. This collaboration has deepened mutual understanding and fostered people-to-people connections," Cheptumo said.

She said China has provided scholarships to thousands of Kenyan students, granting them higher education opportunities in the Asian country, a human capital investment she termed as crucial for Kenya's development, since the students return with valuable skills and knowledge.

"Currently, there is a team of 20 freshly back from China where they received training on intangible cultural heritage," Cheptumo said.