The Tourism ministry has joined voices calling for more direct frights to Moi International Airport as part of efforts to bolster visitor arrivals.
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala said direct international flights to Mombasa could encourage more visits.
Mr Balala said tourism in the region can no longer depend on charter flights from Europe as only a few airlines operate flights to Mombasa.
During the 2011 peak period, the airport used to receive more than 40 charter flights per week from Europe, bringing large numbers of international visitors. Today the airport receives only seven flights per week resulting in low numbers of foreign tourists.
Speaking during the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers annual conference at Diani Reef Beach Resort in Kwale, Mr Balala said the number of tourists could rise if the government allowed more international airlines to operate scheduled flights to Mombasa.
“To achieve sustainable tourism development at the Coast, the government ought to open up skies in Mombasa so that airlines from across the world can operate flights to Moi airport,” he said.
Tourism in Morocco and South Africa, he added, was doing well after the two countries implemented the open skies policy.
“South Africa opened its skies and we have not seen its airlines pushed out of business, Morocco also did the same and its airlines are doing well,” he said.
Mr Balala said tourism was booming in Tanzania after the country allowed international airlines to operate flights to Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro.
Last year, Tanzania received 1,284,279 international tourists compared to 1,137,182 visitors in 2015. Tourism contributed $2 billion (Sh206 billion) to the Tanzanian economy following the rise in international arrivals.
Last year, the government granted traffic rights to Dubai-based airline Flydubai to operate flights between Dubai and Mombasa.
But to date, the low-cost airline is yet to start operations. Other airlines from the Gulf had shown interest in operating flights to Mombasa but they have been facing difficulties in being allowed to fly to the coastal city.
Last month, Flydubai announced that it would start operating flights between Dubai and Kilimanjaro from October 29 this year following high passenger demand.
Already, the airline operates services to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar with Kilimanjaro expected to increase Flydubai’s network of destinations in Africa to 12. On the other hand, Qatar Airways also operates flights to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. Currently, only three airlines from Europe operate charter flights to Mombasa. German holiday airline Condor is expected to increase flights to Mombasa from one to three this month.
Turkish Airlines is the only airline from Europe operating scheduled flights to Mombasa. From the East African region, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines operate daily scheduled flights to the coastal city.
Kenya Tourism Federation chairman Mohamed Hersi said the government should open the skies for more international airlines to fly to the region.
He noted that when more airlines operate flights to Mombasa, international visitor numbers would soar and uplift the hotel industry.
He said time had come for airlines which are interested in flying to the Coast to be given the go ahead to attract more tourists to visit the region for holiday.
“Regional airlines RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines have been boosting tourism in Mombasa as they have been operating scheduled flights from Kigali and Addis Ababa,” he said.
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