Industry

Boost for tourism as another cruise ship docks at Mombasa port with over 900 tourists

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Traditional dancers entertain tourists upon arrival at the Mombasa port on December 10, 2016 aboard MS Nautica, a luxury cruise. It was the second group of cruise tourists to arrive in Mombasa in a week. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The Tourism industry got a boost at the weekend when a luxury cruise ship arrived in Mombasa with 991 tourists and crew on board.

MS Nautica, which is operated by Oceania Cruises, docked at the port of Mombasa at 7am on Saturday from Seychelles with 591 passengers and 400 crew.

The vessel came barely a week after another cruise ship, MS Silver Cloud, brought in 216 tourists and 222 crew.

MS Nautica brings the number of cruise ships which arrived in Mombasa in 2016 to four while more than 2,000 tourists and crew have visited the country.

In 2015, the country attracted more than 3,000 cruise tourists compared with 900 tourists in 2014.

The tourists were supposed to depart for Zanzibar on Saturday evening after winding up their tours to national parks and excursions in Mombasa Town.

The visitors included people from the US, UK, Germany, Australia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, France, Ireland, Netherlands and Italy.

Game tours

Upon arrival, some tourists travelled to Shimba Hills Game Reserve for game drives while others flew over to Amboseli National Park for safari.

Others visited Haller Park in Bamburi while some enjoyed a tour of Mombasa Town.

A US tourist, Terry Hanson, said he was overjoyed to be in Mombasa since he was visiting Kenya for the first time.

“Previously, I visited Tunisia and Egypt, but I am glad to land on Kenyan soil for the first time as it gives me a new experience,” he said.

Mr Hanson explained that the purpose of his visit was to learn about the local culture and the country’s beauty.

A Canadian holidaymaker, Jeanne Renaud, who was visiting Kenya for the first time, said she wanted to tour Shimba Hills Game Reserve for a game drive.

“Apart from going on safari, I would like to enjoy a tour of Mombasa Town as it’s a popular holiday destination,” she added.

A tourist from New Mexico, USA, Ted Paulat, said he visited Mombasa to have a feel of the local white sand beaches.

The US holidaymaker added that he came to meet friendly people and learn the culture.