THE TOURISM INFORMATION CENTRE

INSIDE THE TOURISM INFORMATION CENTRE

In line with achieving its overall objectives of positioning Kisumu as an outstanding tourist destination and providing quality and efficient services to its customers, the City council of Kisumu Department of tourism, heritage and ICT established the tourism information centre.
The centre is located at the Jomo Kenyatta sports grounds a few metres from the main gate. Its opposite the Lake Victoria Tourism Agency offices.
SERVICES OFFERED BY THE CENTRE

1. The main objective of the centre is providing information to tourists about the beauty our city has to offer. This includes:

• Information on what to see. The centre will provide our visitors with information on the various tourist destinations available in the city, the locations, packages provided and attractions they offer.
• The centre will also provide information on where to stay on your visit to the city. Information about hotels, resorts, bed and breakfasts e.t.c, their location, the services they provide, their rates and contact information.
• The centre will make available information of where tourists can shop while in the city. This includes malls, curio shops e.t.c.
• The tourism information centre will also provide information to tourists on where they can eat. Information about Hotels and restaurants in the city, the types of food they serve their service and ambiance.
• The centre will also provide information to tourists on where they can do their banking activities either through banks or forex bureaus.
• Information on how the tourists can travel to and around the city will also be made available. Information about travel and tour agencies will be provided, their locations, types of cars they have, rates and packages they offer.
• The centre will also provide tourists with information about the entertainment hot spots in the city so that the visitors can enjoy the vibrant night life the people of Kisumu do enjoy.

2. The centre will also take part in Marketing Kisumu’s tourism products and facilities. There is need for new marketing campaigns to promote Kisumu’s flag ship tourism products like cultural and historic sites, wildlife, sports, accommodation, eco-tourism, agritourism. 
3. To develop new products and diversify source markets. There is need to develop and diversify tourism products. The traditional wildlife and hospitality products being rather passive products are not in line with the changing travel trends and pattern where tourists want to have a multiplicity of activities and experiences. There is therefore, need to facilitate development and promotion of other products such as eco-tourism, sports tourism, cultural tourism, shopping as additional products.
4. To Invest and Enhance Tourism Information Management and Research Capacity. In Today’s rapidly changing environments the need for up to date information to make timely and high quality decisions is vital not only to the planners and marketers but also to the customer. In addition, successful destinations are keeping up with the fast changing tourism trends through research. There is therefore need for sector to invest in state of the art technology and to intensify tourism research.