20/06/2026
Why investing in Modern Events Multi purpose venues is Important.
Reflecting on the recently concluded conference in Mombasa:
If each delegate spends a minimum of KSh 15,000 per day, then 6,000 delegates generate approximately KSh 90 million daily. Over a three-day conference, that translates to KSh 270 million injected directly into the local economy.
If a county hosts just 40 conferences of this scale annually, the economic impact would exceed KSh 10.8 billion.
That is a far more sustainable and growth-oriented revenue stream than relying primarily on taxing residents.
The North Coast, South Coast, and indeed all counties should aggressively pursue the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) market, just as Naivasha has successfully done. Depending heavily on tourists from Europe, the USA, and other international markets is both risky and unpredictable.
Travel cancellations and disruptions can occur at any time.
The 2007 post-election violence, the COVID-19 pandemic, and even recent Ebola-related concerns should have taught us an important lesson: economies built solely around tourism are vulnerable.
Events are the future.
It is much easier to convert a conference delegate into a tourist who stays a few extra days after an event than it is to convert a tourist into a conference delegate.
After years of devolution, every one of Kenya's 47 counties should have at least one modern indoor multi-purpose venue with a minimum capacity of 6,000 people. Such facilities would unlock conferences, exhibitions, concerts, trade fairs, and other high-impact events that drive local economic growth.
When it comes to tourism, fewer than 10 counties can genuinely claim to be major beneficiaries. However, every county has the potential to become a meetings and events destination.
We need to rethink our development priorities.
Instead of building more malls, we should be investing in world-class event venues. Kenya has no shortage of shopping space; what we lack is adequate conference and exhibition infrastructure.
I look forward to the new events venue at Bomas of Kenya and hope it marks the beginning of a broader national strategy to position Kenya as Africa's leading MICE destination.
