Zuckerberg experiences Kenya’s “amazing natural beauty and wildlife”

Mark Zuckerberg has posted some pictures on his Facebook page having a whale of a time, experiencing Kenya’s “amazing natural beauty and wildlife”.

The Facebook CEO, who is visiting Kenya has met with various entrepreneurs and developers, and expressed immense admiration at how the country’s tech engineers have developed mobile money platforms to build businesses and help communities.

Zuckerberg also met with Joseph Mucheru, the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary of Information and Communications and discussed issues on internet access and his ambitious plans for connecting everyone in Kenya.

Kenya’s amazing natural beauty and wildlife. Photo: Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook

Taking some time off tech and innovation stuff, the Facebook founder visited Lake Naivasha, which is just outside the town of Naivasha in Nakuru.

“For some good news, visiting Kenya means getting to see amazing natural beauty and wildlife. Here are some photos from around Lake Naivasha. Bonus: baby giraffes!” he wrote.

The little bit of advertising from one of the world’s most recognisable faces could help boost Kenya’s tourism. The country has a vibrant tourism industry, with international tourist arrivals for 2013 pegged at 1.49 million.

Photo: Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook

A large proportion of the country’s tourism is premised on its vast safaris and tours of its National Parks and Game Reserves.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the total contribution of travel and tourism to Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product was “KES462.8bn (12.1% of GDP) in 2013, and is forecast to rise by… 5.2% pa to KES791.4bn (11.8% of GDP) in 2024”.

In 2013, travel and tourism “directly supported 226,500 jobs (4.1% of total employment). This is expected to… rise by 2.3% pa to 284,000 jobs (4.0% of total employment) in 2024,” the World Travel and Tourism Council said.