Nakuru County Tourism association now wants the popular gorge in Hell's Gate National Park in Naivasha reopened.
The association attributed the low number of visitors to the closure of the park four years ago after the death of seven people while on a visit to the tourist destination site.
In September 2019, a family of six and their tour guide died in the gorge after they were swept by flash floods while on a visit to the park.
The Kenya Wildlife Service moved in swiftly and closed the gorge so as to introduce new safety measures but the tourist attraction site has never been reopened.
According to the association chairman David Mwangi, the gorge was one of the most popular sites in the country, with 75 per cent of the revenue for the park coming from the site
He said that its closure had adversely affected revenue in the world renowned park as the number of visitors dropped sharply.
“We are appealing to the Ministry of Tourism to reopen this gorge as 170 tour guide operators lost their jobs due to the closure,” he said.
Mwangi was speaking in Sawela Lodge in Naivasha during the graduation of 200 staff from the hospitality sector following a two-week refresher course organised by Kenya Utalii College.
“The fresher courses by Kenya Utalii College come at the right time and this will come in handy in sharpening the skills of the workers,” he said.
The college principal Prof Charles Musyoki promised to raise the issue of the gorge with Tourism Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza.
Prof Musyoki said that the college was keen on improving the quality of graduates in the tourism and hospitality sector in the country.
Musyoki added that more than 2,700 workers in the hospitality sector had applied for the refresher courses with 222 graduating in Naivasha.
Nakuru Deputy Governor David Kones said that the tourism sector in the county had employed more than 40,000 workers directly.
He said the county had embarked on the process of mapping out tourist destinations sites in the county with a view of marketing them.
“Nakuru county is now home to tourism and hospitality sectors and we are keen to support the hotels and tourist destinations so as to increase the number of visitors,” the deputy governor said.
