Hoteliers predict good year as tourist arrivals increase
Tourists at the Swahili Beach Resort in 2015. Hoteliers expect the numbers to grow further from July when the peak season starts. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
The number of international visitors stood at 206,978 between January and March, up from 177,085 in a similar period of 2015 when arrivals slumped by 30.8 per cent.
Official data shows that tourism earned the country Sh84.6 billion last year, down from Sh87.1 billion in 2014 and Sh97.9 billion in 2011.
Tourist arrivals grew 16.8 per cent in the first three months of the year, signalling a rebound for a sector that has been losing cash over the past six years.
Official data shows that the number of international visitors stood at 206,978 between January and March, up from 177,085 in a similar period of 2015 when arrivals slumped by 30.8 per cent.
The growth is welcome news to hoteliers who have been forced to cut jobs, slash pay and close shop following the crippling effects of several travel alerts issued in 2014 following a spate of terror attacks in key towns that serve as holiday getaways.
The sector was once the highest foreign exchange earner but has been declining over the years.
Official data shows that tourism earned the country Sh84.6 billion last year, down from Sh87.1 billion in 2014 and Sh97.9 billion in 2011.
“We are optimistic, things are looking up,” said Mohamed Hersi, the chief executive of Heritage Hotels, a chain of luxury hotels owned by the Kenyatta family.
Mr Hersi, also the chair of Kenya Coast Tourist Association, said that the country is in a low season for tourists, expecting the numbers to further grow from July during the peak season.
The quarter one performance are at par with the 208,397 arrivals posted in last year’s high season of July to September. Mombasa recorded a rebound in foreign visitor arrivals in the first quarter, growing by 12 per cent to 27,941 visitors who came in through Moi International Airport in the port city.
A majority of foreign visitors to Mombasa are holidaymakers looking to enjoy the warm weather in the palm-fringed sandy beaches and resorts. The bulk of international visitors arrived through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in the capital Nairobi.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data shows that 86.5 per cent of the 206,978 visitor arrivals landed through JKIA, underlining the crucial role of the country’s main airport.
A spate of terrorism attacks has caused a big drop in foreign visitor arrivals after Western nations issued travel advisories. This partly saw the weakening of the shilling to the US dollar last year.
The US and Britain have since lifted their travel advisories on coastal holiday-making towns of Mombasa and Malindi, raising hopes of sector revival.
Besides hotels, tourism supports sectors like handicraft makers, taxi business, fishermen and farmers.
The Treasury will in the year starting July refund the Sh3.4 billion cut from tourism promotion kitty in the recent mini-budget. Tourism promotion budget was increased six-fold to Sh7.2 billion in the budget announced in June last year before the cut.
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