Tourism gets boost as charter flights to Mombasa increase

Traffic of charter airlines at the Mombasa-based Moi International Airport has risen in the past few weeks, a sign that the tourism industry is getting back on its feet, according to industry players.

A Belgian chartered airline from Brussels has called at the airport for the first time.

The airline will fly in tourists weekly until the end of winter in Europe early next year.

This will open up the huge Belgian market, according to Ms Sharon Davies, an operations manager at Thomson Airline, an affiliate of Tui Airline Belgium which is operating the airline.

There are high expectations that Kenya will receive a Turkey charter plane this year, Moi International Airport manager Yatich Kangugo said.

Another airline from Amsterdam is expected to resume weekly flights on Wednesday this week.

The airline withdrew flights to Mombasa airport last year following the post election violence.

Other charters being operated by Tui Airline are direct flights from Paris, Amsterdam and Gatwick.  

“The new flight will for the first time operate from Brussels to Mombasa during summer and winter,” Sharon said, adding that the charter has been launched to cater for Belgians’ growing demand for the local and Tanzania destinations.

Mr Kangugo said passengers traffic through the airport had also picked up.

In September the airport received 82,045 passengers compared to 67,393 passengers received the same month last year.

Airline movement

Airline movement through the airport during September was 1,810 this year compared to 1,651 recorded in the same month last year.

Passenger traffic is expected to grow to 120,000 by December, Mr Kangugo said, adding that impressive numbers will be recorded in months to come. 

“The number will slightly go down in December due to the holidays, but it will peak again in the month of January,” Mr Kangugo said.

Two officials, one from Moi International Airport and the other from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, will be sent to the World Tourism Center (WTC) to market Kenya as a prime destination.

Following the post election violence, triggered by the 2007 disputed presidential election, most tourist operators either cancelled flights or diverted bookings to other neighbouring destinations, with Zanzibar emerging as the biggest beneficiary, Mr Kangugo said.

Tourists to Kenya are largely Europeans, with Londoners leading the pack.

The Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) estimates that tourist arrivals between January and October 2008 dropped by 34.7 per cent, from 873,000 to 565,000, due to the political unrest that jolted the country and a weakened global economy.

Recovery signs

Current data from the Kenya Bureau of Statistics shows that the tourism sector declined by 34.7 per cent last year. 

Hoteliers in Mombasa have started seeing signs of recovery. Most have recorded over 50 per cent booking with the percentage expected to reach 100 by close of the year.

This is largely attributed to marketing campaigns carried out by KTB since last year.

Kenya is now stable and international tourists are eyeing the destination.

The country has been a popular destinations in Africa, drawing two million international arrivals in 2007. 

Kenya’s Tourism Strategic Plan includes raising tourism earnings to Sh200 billion, increasing international tourist arrivals to three million, and hotel bed capacity to 65,000 by 2012.