If I say "Malindi" what do you think of, what inspires you and what do you think it's like?
We gave this test to visitors to our tourism destination promotion booth during last weekend's Village Market in Nairobi. asking them to write us an adjective or phrase to define their idea of the coastal resort.
Attracted by the beautiful images of our banners and by those incessantly transmitted by the monitor, as well as by the chance to win two round-trip tickets to Malindi offered by our partner Safarilink, Kenyans and many other nationalities, from East and West, have decreed that Malindi "is amazing". The adjectives of wonder for a destination of pleasure, vacation, sea and sun in these cool and rainy days in the capital, have been full of comments.
"Beautiful" and "Awesome", but also "Magical" and simply "Heaven", a paradise, together reach more than 50% of the adjectives used by those who left us their opinion on the contest tickets.
But there are also those who, like Manish, go further, noting how Malindi can be "an idyllic location to relax and rediscover yourself," or like Ruby "where you can discover the ecstasy of food and culture."
There are those who consider it home ("home away from home") and those (10%) the dream destination or "the place to be."
For Faith, Malindi is "unknown to most and underestimated", while Mercy notes that "there's not much grain but it's made up for with fun ("no maize, just fun").
Others call it an exotic or tropical destination, and thank God it's only an hour's flight from where they live and work. There are those who identify it with the serenity of the soul, with peace of mind and those who identify it with fun and adventure.
Interesting neologisms are also wasted, such as "maldively" (we would say Maldivian, but English also combines the dreamy comparison with the term "vivid", lively, and makes it a single word).
There are many evocations of the coastal town, especially when promoted through its many facets and most fascinating images. Many were surprised, for example, to see flamingos at the mouth of the Sabaki and asked if it was one of the lakes of the Rift Valley.
Many, intrigued, admitted they knew nothing about the Hell's Kitchen in Marafa.
But often it's nice to be surprised, to choose an almost unknown destination and go....
Not surprisingly, the nice girl from Meru who won the plane tickets, Benazil, wrote in her comment "Malindi is a small town in southern Kenya".
Everything else we told her.