Tourism players start online campaign, events to promote Malindi

Tourism was one of the hardest-hit sectors by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

The sector has yet to fully recover.

In Kilifi county, tourism stakeholders have teamed up to try and revive the ailing sector, which employs thousands of residents, both directly and indirectly.

Malindi town, a renowned tourism destination, for a long time depended on international visitors, especially Italy.

 But after Covid-19 outbreak, the tourism sector almost ground to a halt. The Italians, who used to come to Malindi in droves, are yet to fully return due to Covid-19 and tough economic times.

Hoteliers have now shifted their focus to the domestic market and other promising European source markets.

Aldo Menduni, director of La Malindina Hotel, said they have come together to revamp Malindi’s tourism sector by working on strategies that can attract local and international tourists from other markets, instead of over-relying on the Italian market.

"The problem is that Malindi has been over-relying on the Italians, yet some French and Germans would love to come and enjoy the beauty of Malindi,” Menduni said.

At La Malindina, the management organised a series of events, including shows that attract locals and foreigners to enjoy entertainment and local cuisine.

 Menduni said they have also started an online campaign using hashtag #WeLoveMalindi to attract tourists globally. 

Simon Wesche, a Danish citizen living in Malindi for the last year, said he relocated from Nairobi to Malindi after falling in love with the resort town.

He said he was surprised that Malindi was struggling with tourism numbers despite being a good destination. He has joined hands with other hoteliers to revamp the sector.

"We want to revive Malindi as a tourism destination both for international tourism and primarily for domestic tourism in Kenya," Wesche said.

He said they came up with the concept of ‘Visit Malindi’ which they are trying to promote after they discovered there was no central portal where people can access information about Malindi.

“I plan to collect all data and put it in one place where people from around the world can access it. Hopefully, we will get more visitors coming to this region and, we will keep the money here,” Wesche said.

To achieve that, he said, they require a lot of planning and promotion. They hope their strategy will start bearing fruit in the next three months.

“We might miss out on this festive season, but our plan will work from next year’s low season and we are optimistic things will be better,” Wesche said.

He said their vision is to move Malindi away from Italian dominance to a destination for all Kenyans and other tourists from around the globe.

Jane Wangari, a manager at La Malindina Hotel, said they have organised an art and culture event at their resort for this festive season.

Wangari said there has been a misconception that businesses ought to compete, but they must work together and complement each other.

“We are all working as a team. We have welcomed other hoteliers to also promote Malindi,” he said.

Vivian Wamalwa, who owns a cottage at Harbour Key Cottages in Malindi, said the decision to come together will push the tourism sector forward.

She said the digital platform will be used to market Malindi and bring back its lost glory.

"We have teamed up as hotel stakeholders and come up with a brand that will market Malindi to bring back tourists. We are going to collect information from all the resorts and businesses that will be used to brand Malindi as a destination,” she said.

Wamalwa said little has been done to promote Malindi as a destination, which is why they thought it wise to come up with a digital platform to try and promote the resort town.

She said other destinations have picked up post-Covid, yet Malindi has not picked because of the nature of marketing beach products, safaris, and experience tourism.

Wamalwa urged new Tourism CS Peninah Malonza to begin plans of marketing Kenya as a whole.

Effue Opiyo, the chief executive officer of Buku Leatherworks in Malindi, said she was happy to get a chance to showcase her products.

She said Malindi has been dying and investors have been running away because tourism was not working well.

“Malindi has a lot to offer, from cultural dances, dressing and local cuisines,” she said.