Mombasa airport books the lowest number of foreigners since 2008
Tourists arrive at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa. The number of foreign visitors landing at the airport has dropped. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
The drop comes amidst falling tourist numbers as insecurity fears continue to batter the hospitality industry at the Kenyan coast.
The number of foreign visitors who landed at the Moi International Airport, Mombasa dropped to 2,500 in May, the lowest level since April 2008 when Kenya was recovering from the bloody post-election violence.
The drop comes amidst falling tourist numbers as insecurity fears continue to batter the hospitality industry at the Kenyan coast.
Data from the Kenya Tourism Board indicates that the number of visitors landing at the airport in the first five months of this year dropped 51.2 per cent compared to last year.
Between January and May, 31,478 visitors were recorded compared to 64,448 in a similar period last year. In 2013, the number stood at 79,838. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has fared better with its visitor arrivals for the first five months of the year dropping by 20 per cent.
Between January and May, JKIA received 252,835 foreign visitors compared to 316,428 for a similar period in 2014.
The drop in the number of foreign visitors at the Mombasa airport reflects how badly the travel industry has been damaged by a spate of terrorist attacks that have killed hundreds.
In January 2013, the Mombasa airport had seen a high of 26,400 visitors but the number has been dwindling since.
The airport currently receives three charter flights a week from Europe, down from 40 a week in 2011.
The data for the first five months came before the United Kingdom downgraded its advisory against travel at the coast, which tour operators reckon is yet to boost bed capacity as the high season starts.
Other countries like France, Australia and the United States are yet to lift their travel advisories which continues to depress the number of visitors jetting into the coast.
Tourist numbers dropped from 1.5 million in 2013 to 1.3 million last year, pulling down the sector’s earnings by 7.3 per cent to Sh87.1 billion last year; a trend that has continued this year.
The tourism industry has been on the decline since the Somali-based Al-Shabaab militants stepped up their attacks on the country in 2013. The drop in Moi Airport’s numbers also comes at a time when the Kenyan Shilling is struggling against the US dollar.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
