Mombasa
Over 500 tourists arrive in Peace Boat
Some of the 500 tourists from different parts of the world after they alighted from the cruise ship vessel Peace Boat at the port of Mombasa on Tuesday morning. The tourists, most of whom were Japanese, will be taking part in tree planting with Greenbelt Movement in Kenya this week as part of combating climate change in the world.
Posted Tuesday, January 19 2010 at 15:07
Over 500 tourists from different nationalities worldwide seeking to promote peace around the globe arrived in Kenya on Monday under the auspices of Peace Boat, a Japanese based non-governmental organisation.
The tourists majority from Japan arrived at the port of Mombasa at 6.15am aboard a chartered passenger ship christened The Oceanic.
Speaking exclusively to the Nation, an employee of the NGO Ms Hiromi Kanehara said part of their mission is to promote peace between various people across the world.
Ms Kanehara said the voyage in various ports across the globe enhances sharing of cultural diversities between people in different countries.
“We are visiting Kenya to understand how people live and also spread peace instead of only going to safaris,” said Ms Kanehara.
She said part of the activities on their two-day visit in the country is to plant trees in conjunction with the Greenbelt movement associated with Nobel laureate Professor Wangari Maathai whom she described as popular in Japan.
A guest lecturer aboard the ship Ms Chiaki Hayakawa said the tourists are very excited to be in the country. Ms Hayakawa said Kenya was their main point of attraction during the voyage which started in Yokohama Japan.
“They are very excited and are looking forward to make new friends in the country,” said Ms Hayakawa.
Since the beginning of the voyage, the tourists have visited several countries including Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore Seychelles and from Mombasa they are scheduled to visit Cape Town in South Africa, Namibia, Brazil, Latin America countries and the Antarctic.
A Kenyan student is expected to board the ship in Mombasa when it departs to other countries. The current voyage is expected to highlight issues targeted at achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Activities of the Peace Boat organization are mainly carried out through chartered passenger ship that moves across the world on peace voyages.
The arrival of the tourists is a big boost to the tourism industry considering that most of the tourists headed to various game reserves and national parks immediately after disembarking from the ship.
Among the places the tourists were expected to visit include Maasai Mara, Amboseli, and Salt Lick in Taita among other tourist attractions in the country.
The tourists are expected to leave the country this evening for Cape Town, South Africa.
RSS