The number of Polish tourists arriving in Kenya has risen substantially in the past three years following intensive marketing campaigns, a diplomat said yesterday.
Mr. Reshadi Noor, the honorary consul of the Republic of Poland in Mombassa, said no Polish tourists visited Kenya before the collapse of communism but the trend had now been reversed, with more than 100 visitors coming to Mombassa every week.
Mr. Noor, who had called on Mayor Abdulatiff Ubwa, said Kenya had also benefited from scholarships from the Polish Government, which offered Kenyans six places in the country’s universities every year.
He said Kenya and Poland had a historical relationship since a large number of Polish troops were brought to Kenya to defend the British territory against invasion by the Germans during the second world war.
Mr. Noor said his office would continue to market Kenya as an attractive and economical tourist destination.
Mayor Ubwa said the Mombassa Municipal Council and the town’s residents welcomed more tourists to visit Kenya. He added that there was need to start an exchange program between the council and a major town in Poland for the mutual benefit of their citizens.