Hotel Sapphire general manager John Yegon [third left], Mombasa tourism executive Mohamed Osman, musician Jua Kali and Hotel
Sapphire director Inaara Jiwan on Wednesday / JOHN
CHESOLI
Tourism stakeholders in Mombasa are confident of surpassing the three million tourists target during the Christmas season, with domestic numbers showing remarkable improvement.
Hotel Sapphire general manager John Yegon and Mombasa county tourism executive Mohamed Osman said the introduction of the commuter rail service in Mombasa has seen a shoot in the number of tourists seeking experience in the city centre, a change from the traditional beach and safari tourism.
Yegon said usually the Christmas period benefits beach hotels and not facilities based in the city centre.
However, this year, that is changing and tourist numbers are going up in the CBD.
“The commuter rail
service is bringing a lot of guests to the CBD. When the guests get to Mombasa,
there are many experiences of culture and street food," Yegon said.
"There is so much one can experience within the CBD. So we are selling cultural tourism, the history of Mombasa and the people’s welcoming nature to the guests."
He spoke during the annual Hotel Sapphire Christmas tree lighting ceremony that officially ushers in the festive season.
Osman said Hotel Sapphire is one of the facilities that have lit up the CBD, which had died in terms of tourism and tourism experience.
The hotel had stayed shut for almost seven years.
In 2024, Kenya received about 2.5 million international tourists, out of which about only eight per cent, which translates to about 300,000 tourists, passed through the Moi International Airport in Mombasa.
The open sky policy is starting to bear fruit.
On Monday, Rwanda Air made a comeback after six years’ absence triggered by Covid-19, and will now operate four weekly flights directly to Mombasa every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
“All that shows that we are on course to surpass the target of three million international tourists and this happens because of the collaboration we have with the national government,” Osman said.
He said the Moi International Airport has been underutilized with only eight per cent of the 2.5 million tourists who visited Kenya last year using it.
“Getting direct flights through the open sky policy means we are getting more visitors to Mombasa directly. Entry to Mombasa is getting entry to the six Coastal counties,” Osman said.
“That is where Zanzibar has been beating us. Zanzibar has been getting about 800,000 international tourists unlike Mombasa, which has been getting about 300,000,” the county tourism executive said.
Osman said Mombasa used to be known as a destination tourist hub but is now evolving into an experience tourist hub thanks to special packages offered by facilities.
“People like Hotel Sapphire have brought new experience to tourists right at the CBD. That is why you see the domestic numbers shooting and we have done almost 1.2 million domestic tourists,” Osman said
He said the domestic tourism niche is getting bigger and will soon be surpassing the traditional international tourist numbers.
Osman said security has been beefed up in Mombasa through collaboration of both the nation al and the county government.
Mombasa has established a County Tourism Inspectorate Unit which is dedicated to protecting the tourism space just like the National Police Service’s Tourist Police Unit.
It is the only county that has established such a unit.
Yegon said the commuter rail service has also seen the increase in security in the CBD as the station is considered a vital security installation which has to be protected 24/7.
Hotel Sapphire is strategically located about 300 metres from the Mombasa Railway Station.
Yegon also commended the Mombasa county government saying the county is much cleaner and more welcoming than in previous years.
“This makes it much easier for us to do city tours with our guests within Mombasa because we believe people come to destinations for experiences and that is what we are selling,” the GM said.
He said experience tourism is becoming the in-thing because people remember how they felt when they were in a destination.
Hotel Sapphire director Inaara Jiwan said the facility has done a remarkable job having reopened just two years ago.
The hotel was closed in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We have a very young and energetic team which I think has been one of the key success issues,” she said.
She said the journey after the Covid pandemic has not been easy.
Hotel Sapphire general manager John Yegon and director
Inaara Jiwan during the tree lighting ceremony on Wednesday / JOHN CHESOLI
Musician Jua Kali, Hotel Sapphire director
Inaara Jiwan and general manager John Yegon during the Christmas tree-lighting ceremony
on Wednesday /JOHN CHESOLI
