Coast hoteliers say 2018 was a good year, attributing the success they enjoyed to the March 9 handshake.
Sai Rock general manager Robert Kiri was all smiles as he watched guests usher in 2019 in style with the fireworks going off for strictly five minutes as directed by Mombasa county commissioner Evans Achoki.
The hotel had 100 per cent occupancy with more than 80 per cent of the guests being domestic tourists.
“2018 has been a great year and we are hoping we are going to have more business in terms of the domestic tourism and conferencing in 2019,” Kiri said.
He is one of the many hoteliers who recorded improved performances in 2018 with hopes of better sales this year.
Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers executive Sam Ikwaye said the country needs to manage its politics well to enable the tourism sector to grow exponentially.
“We have started well because there is no politics,” Ikwaye told the Star by telephone yesterday.
Kenya Tourism Federation chairman Mohammed Hersi said the handshake between President Uhuru and Opposition chief Raila Odinga has been a blessing.
He said the peace brought about by the handshake will enable effective execution of the tourism strategic plan by CS Najib Balala and Magical Kenya.
Magical Kenya is the official travel and tourism guide by the Kenya Tourist Board. “Balala and the board are embarking on that process right from January,” Hersi said on phone yesterday.
Balala will at the end of the month meet tourism stakeholders in South Coast to look at the beach products and chart the way forward.
There will then be another meeting in Nakuru to specifically discuss the safari product.
The Coast region has particularly benefited from the handshake in terms of tourism with chartered flights resuming. There are flights from Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland among other key countries, all thanks to the peace brought by the handshake.
CALL TO DIVERSIFY
“With all these Dreamliners coming to Mombasa, including direct flights like the Qatar airlines, we hope to solidify the numbers coming to Mombasa,” Hersi said.
He said he was looking forward to supporting the chartered and scheduled flights for a better 2019.
Ikwaye and Kiri said domestic tourism will improve even further with the infrastructure development that the government has been undertaking. Ikwaye asked investors to diversify their products. He said the tourists attractions need to be better packaged and marketed to rake in more money.
Apart from conferencing, Kira said they will be unveiling other packages soon for the benefit of their clientele. “Come Easter, Sai Rock will be the hotel that will be mentioned most in 2019,” he said.