KENYA: Tourists Eye Mombasa After UK Travel Ban Lifted

INTERNATIONAL tourism inquiries for the Coast region are on the rise a month after the UK lifted its travel advisories, hoteliers have said.

Tourism players are now optimistic that come December the number of international visitors will surpass what was recored compared to the same period last year.

Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers said hotels have started receiving bookings ahead of the high season, which starts in August.

“We are hoping to receive very many international tourists this summer, we have already seen an increase in the number of inquiries and bookings made,” said KAHC Coast executive director Sam Ikwaye.

He said the UK travel advisories issued in May last year after high incidents of terror related attacks had a negative impact on tourism.

“During this period when we had advisories in place, we lost over 70 per cent of international arrivals, we were majorly depending on domestic and conference tourism,” said Ikwaye.

He said other western countries, which have not lifted their advisories to Kenya, should emulate UK because the insecurity problem has now been resolved.

The US President Barack Obama’s visit to Kenya at the end of this month is also expected to boost tourism sector in the country, he said.

Obama is expected to address participants during the sixth the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, scheduled for Nairobi from July 25-27.

The 13-month UK travel advisory led to closure of over 20 hotels and lay-offs of over 2,000 hotel employees workers due to low business.

Hotels that survived mainly depended on conference tourism and had to redesigned packages to attract domestic and regional tourists.

Ikwaye said they hope they direct flights from abroad to Mombasa will resume soon.
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