Tourists at the Tsavo National Park[photo/silverbirdsafari-africa.com]Stakeholders in the tourism sector are optimistic the industry will keep the high bookings momentum even after the end-of-year holiday festivities if the calm enjoyed in Mombasa and its environs is sustained.
A majority of hotels in the region registered 100 percent bookings for Christmas and New Year celebrations as local and international visitors flock to the tourist destination.
The stakeholders are upbeat that the situation will last until mid-April this year owing to relative calm in the region. Travellers’ Beach Resort sales and marketing manager Wafula Waswa said tourists’ confidence in Kenya has gone up following the end of the campaign period and called on Kenya Tourism Board to expand its marketing strength to improve the sector.
The players say this festive season, majorly coming after a prolonged political season, provided a short lifeline for the hotels to make money signaling a promising domestic tourist improvement.
“We performed averagely this year and we are optimistic that the growth will be sustained if relative peace experienced during the holiday is maintained. We are also urging relevant authorities mandated with marketing the tourism destination to do so effectively to attract more international visitors,” said Wafula.
He credited the rise in numbers to improved security this month and the school holidays that have enabled families to head for the Coast. A UK couple Victoria and Clive Talett said European tourists shifted visits to Mombasa and Diani because it’s safe, beaches are clean and people can walk freely. “The Kenyan coast offers the best hospitality services.
The region is always the favorite holiday destination for my family. What we would want to see is direct charter flights from London to Mombasa which will ease our movement to Kenya,” said Talett.