OTIENDE: Cable Car on Mt Kenya would earn billions for Kenya: Lessons from South Africa

South Africa’s Cape Town plays host to the world-famous Table Mountain, a popular destination attracting more than 1.7 million visitors a year thanks to its hiking trails and magnificent views of the mother city.

But beyond the views, there are numbers that we need to ponder as a country. The more than 1, 000,000  visitors who go up the Table Mountain, each pay R450 or about Sh3,375.

The twin cable cars go up and down with a maximum of 65 tourists per journey, with one trip up earning the South Africans about Sh219, 375 every five minutes and Sh2.6 million per hour.

During peak seasons, as many as 6,000 tourists flock up the mountain a day, with the Cable Car raking in about Sh3.2 billion each year, for just one four-kilometre stretch of a trip.

In December last year, the Table Mountain Cableway welcomed its 33-millionth visitor. Tourism remains a critical pillar of Cape Town’s economy, supporting thousands of jobs across hospitality, transport and small businesses.

In Kenya, only about 15,000 hikers ascend Mt Kenya, Africa’s second-tallest mountain and a Unesco World Heritage Site, with 60 per cent of them successfully reaching the summit at Point Lenana. These 15,000 are typically fitness enthusiasts who take up to six days to reach the top. This means everyone else who isn’t as fit or sometimes even young, is locked out of this perhaps once-in-a-lifetime experience.

In contrast, the cable car allows everyone, young, old, persons with disabilities and all other considerations, to get to the top quickly and comfortably. Since its unveiling in 1929, 33 million visitors have summited to the top.

In the 2024-25 financial year, Kenya Wildlife Service, with more than 23 national parks reported revenues of Sh7.98 billion. It would only take South Africa’s Cable Car just under three years, to make what KWS makes in a year.

It is time to rethink our imagination and interaction with tourist attractions in Kenya, and democratise our offering to bring in more visitors both local and international. For instance, building Cable Car infrastructure on Mt Kenya would dramatically change the fortunes of Kenya’s tourist numbers.

While the capital required is high, it is similarly not an arduous task to break even and recoup it and keep growing.

Several factors including length, terrain, capacity, technology, environmental regulations and even location-specific challenges. However, there are lessons to draw from similar infrastructure around the world. For example, the Peak Gondola stretching 4.4km in Canada cost $52 million while Germany’s Eibsee Cable Car at 4.5km cost around $55 million.

In Bolivia, a 10km Cable Car cost $234 million while the Metrocable Line in Colombia cost about $47 million. America’s Wild Blue Gondola, Steamboat Resort cost $200 million. Higher budgets are likely caused by modern high-capacity features and integrations with resorts and not necessarily the initial cost.

Mt Kenya’s vertical height from the base is under 5km and would therefore roughly cost in the same range as Canada’s Peak Gondola or Germany’s Eibsee Cable Car. Kenya would spend about Sh7 billion to build one, but with an aggressive marketing push, it would be possible to recover the cost in under a decade even if you less operational costs.

Such an investment is not necessarily limited to Mt Kenya, but other strategic locations including Mt Longonot or even the Ngong Hills which is actually significantly higher than Table Mountain could be considered.

In 2024, Kenya recorded 2.4 million tourist arrivals, earning Sh452 billion, with a target of more than three million visitors in 2025. Surprisingly, only 1.1 million of these visitors came for leisure and holidays.

The rest travelled for religious activities, sports, medical services, conferences, education, or were simply in transit. This points to a major opportunity to grow leisure tourism through iconic and accessible attractions.

The draft Kenya National Tourism Strategy (2025–2030) aims to increase visitor numbers to five million and tourism revenues to Sh1.2 trillion within the next five years.

However, it places little emphasis on cable cars. Instead, it proposes mountain and forest meditation lodges, forest spas and eco-luxury retreats in places such as Mt Kenya, Kakamega Forest, Mt Elgon and Karura Forest. While these ideas have merit, they lack the mass appeal and instant visibility that signature infrastructure can deliver.

While no one destination can single-handedly overhaul our fortunes, it is these singular strategic initiatives put together that will keep visitors arriving, something the South Africans seem to have mastered.

The country now boasts enviable numbers not even realised pre-Covid, and concerted, creative and visionary efforts will give Kenya a competitive advantage and spur our numbers. 

Managing director of strategic communications firm Calla PR