Hotels bank on interest in Mount Kenya adventure tourism for growth
Tourism CS Najib Balala, centre, leads a team of mountaineers in climbing Mt Kenya at Embore, Meru County on November 13, 2017. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NMG
Tourism has taken a dive due to the repeat presidential election stand-off.
Mount Kenya region was in May hit hard by the ranch invasions which took place in Laikipia.
On Monday, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala, embarked on climbing Mount Kenya as part of efforts to promote tourism in the region.
Although Mount Kenya is the second tallest mountain in Africa after Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, its beauty has been overshadowed by premier products – beach and safari.
Hotels, lodges and camps in central region are banking on the promotion of Mount Kenya as an adventure destination to help revive tourism in the circuit.
According to Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (KAHC) Mount Kenya region chairman Edward Wangechi, tourism has taken a dive due to the repeat presidential election stand-off.
The KAHC official said hotel occupancy in Mount Kenya circuit of Murang’a, Nyeri, Laikipia, Kirinyaga, Embu, Meru, Samburu and parts of Nyandarua is currently averaging at between 10 per cent and 20 per cent.
Ranch invasions
In May, he added, tourism in Mount Kenya region was hit hard by the ranch invasions which took place in Laikipia.
After the Laikipia drawback, he said, business improved in July from an occupancy of between 20 per cent and 30 per cent to 65 per cent.
“Normally, hotels, lodges and camps in the Mount Kenya circuit depend on tourist flow from the Kenya Coast, but the numbers have dipped due to the political uncertainty,” he said.
Conferences and family packages, which they used to rely on, he added, had nosedived due to the top seat stand-off.
Due to the hard times, Mr Wangechi said hotels and lodges were struggling to stay afloat.
“Some hotels and lodges have been unable to pay their employees for the last two or three months,” he said.
“Some facilities are scaling down operations while others are contemplating to lay off workers to cut down operational costs.”
He warned that some hotels might be shut down if business does not improve soon.
“It is our hope that the top Jubilee Party and National Super Alliance leaders will find a lasting solution over the presidential seat for tourism to bounce back,” he said.
However, Mr Wagechi said tourism players in the Mount Kenya region are also pinning hopes on the mountain promotions by the Tourism ministry to revive the industry in the circuit.
On Monday, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala, embarked on climbing Mount Kenya as part of efforts to promote tourism in the region.
Although Mount Kenya is the second tallest mountain in Africa after Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, its beauty has been overshadowed by premier products – beach and safari.
The mountain has great potential to turn around tourism in the Mount Kenya circuit given that it is a national park and a world heritage site.
Mr Balala said he was climbing Mount Kenya in a bid to promote the peak as an adventure destination to help attract international mountaineers and safari seekers to the region.
In August, Kenya Tourism Board chairman Jimi Kariuki said the agency would market Mount Kenya in overseas markets to woo more international holidaymakers into the country.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
