www.malindikenya.net, the portal for Italians in Kenya, is a reality.

At long last, on the initiative of yours truly, Freddie del Curatolo, and with the indispensable support of many entrepreneurs and investors from Malindi and the Kenyan coast, the first Internet portal that will serve at the same time as a news agency and online tourist promotion office for Malindi, Watamu, Mambrui, Kilifi, Mombasa and Diani is about to be born.

A service that the Italian community in Kenya has been advocating for some time and will bring together news, this blog, editorials and advertisements, useful information,services and curiosities for those who work or reside here, for those who spend long periods of time there each year and want to follow the progress of life down here from Italy as well, for tour operators and last but not least, for national news and media. www.malindikenya.net will draw on the help and advice of the consulates in Malindi and Mombasa, the support of committees and associations of Italians in Kenya and professionals in various fields. The undersigned will return to his trade (no, not the cook...nor the storyteller) and will finally do so for a just cause, providing services to those who want to improve these localities, fostering integration with the Kenyan people and at the same time improving tourist facilities and enticing people to come here.

Every self-respecting Italian tourist town has a Tourist Promotion Office, a reference website and a portal, which is the virtual office to which all or most of the activities are linked and to which people can turn for any questions, problems or requests regarding that place.

Often this is exclusively a telematic counter where one can find all the information concerning the infrastructure, activities and facilities of the location. Sometimes hotel or excursion reservations and in some cases even ticketing can be made and this can also be done telematically.

There is no such facility in Malindi, but more importantly there is a lack of an information hub that brings together Italian activities and tourism under one interest, that of offering information and services to those who frequent or intend to frequent the Kenyan coast. Giving visibility to hotel facilities, activities, Safaris and all excursions, offering assistance, clarifying topics on which there is misinformation in Italy, "linking" (i.e., connecting) with other important sites of Italian agencies, flight companies, etc., is a must.

It is time to create an internet hub and a press agency/office that acts via the internet and promotes through publicity and non-biased information, Malindi and Kenya.

If there was already a need for this in the past, let alone in this particular historical period, where the political crisis and post-election discounts have created a tourism vacuum and problems for the businesses associated with it. What is needed is an image revitalization of Malindi, as the press and media have also drowned the Kenyan coast, which continues to make headlines only when it comes to unpleasant incidents, which, moreover, are part of the normal course of social life in all places in the world.

With regard to Italy's Malindi specifically, what is really needed is an Internet PORTAL, not just a website, but a container of information, news, links, advertisements, forums and real-time journalistic updates. This would create not only a commercial information channel, but also a site to be consulted whenever one approaches Kenya and its tourist attractions.

In a short time, the portal could survive its operating costs with advertising. In fact, in various capacities and according to their willingness and economic availability, Italian companies on Kenyan territory will be able to have, just like in a magazine, advertising space, whole pages without limitations, to advertise themselves. The service may be comprehensive, from text writing to special graphic design (if requested) to the inclusion of photographs and images. The content or structure of the spaces may change whenever the advertiser-financier wishes.