As part of the initiatives to promote tourism in Homa Bay County Governor Gladys Wanga has launched a half marathon athletic competition promote tourism in Ruma National Park.

The race dubbed Roan Antelope Half Marathon – ‘mock run’ is part of the initiatives for adverting the park both domestically and internationally.

Wanga noted that Ruma National Park is unique as it is the only park where the rare roan is found. The launch is a precursor of the Roan Antelope Half Marathon scheduled for August 10 and 11.

 Wanga who was accompanied by National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed said the event was aimed at popularising the Ruma National Park to enhance tourism.

“We have a park with very high tourism potential but many people do not know much about it. We are holding the Roan Antelope Half Marathon to enhance visibility of the park so tourism can thrive,” Wanga said.

She called on various stakeholders to collaborate with her administration in positioning the park on domestic and international tourism circuits. She said the ultimate goal of the initiative was to improve the livelihoods of the people living in the area.

“We want Ruma National Park to be useful to the people of this county. This can be achieved if we boost tourism here,” said Wanga.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)’s official Kennedy Ochieng said the event will enhance conservation of the roan antelope. He said the roan antelopes sometimes suffer environmental challenges that are being addressed.

Ochieng said they were working with the Homa Bay county government and other partners to improve the environment for roan antelopes. He said the improved environment will protect roan antelopes in the park.

“At KWS, we are committed to ensuring that we protect all the species in the park. I believe that our partnership with all the stakeholders will enable us to achieve this,” Ochieng said.

He said they were putting in place efforts to improve the park for sustainable tourism attraction. He said they will lease out parts of the park to private developers to establish hotels for boosting tourism in the area.

“We are ready to partner with private developers to establish hospitality facilities in the park,” Ochieng.

The National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed said Ruma can create a lot of wealth if utilised well.

“Game parks have made some counties rich. Homa Bay can also be rich if we make use of this park properly.”

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Gloria Faith and Davis Langat