Cabinet Secretary for Tourism Najib Balala has defended the appointment of British supermodel Naomi Campbell as Magical Kenya’s International Tourism Ambassador.
Speaking during the issuance of certificates to a group of researchers who conducted a survey on the impact of COVID 19 on travel and tourism, the CS pointed out that they make their pick based on the specific markets and sectors they target.
“We can have one of our own, and we already have Eliud Kipchoge. We are targeting specific markets and sectors, so we will identify brand ambassadors because of that. We use Kipchoge to market Kenya because of his vast international networks,” CS Balala said.
Earlier this month, a section of Kenyans online were livid over the appointment of Ms Campbell, taking to Twitter to castigate the supermodel, most citing that Lupita Nyong’o would have been an ideal pick since she’s our very own.
“I know everybody is asking why not Lupita. Lupita has commitments and her managers cannot allow us to access her. We’ve spent the last five years looking for Lupita,” the CS continued.
Naomi has been a friend to Kenya for many years. She’s always been seen promoting the country by sharing snapshots of her destinations any time she visits. Mr Balala revealed that she accepted to take up the role for free due to her love and commitment to Kenya.
“We have a framework to work around her and she accepted to do it for free. She offered herself because of her love and commitment to Kenya. We are now working on the details on how do we use her to promote the destination.”
