Cruise ships stay off Kenya coast as tourism sector eyes market
Tourists disembark from a cruise ship. PHOTO | FILE |
What you need to know:
Cruise ships are regarded the world over as a high-yield market and the fastest growing form of tourism.
The battered tourism industry faces a long wait for the return of cruise ships to the Coast as the first month of the year ends without any signs of the prized vessels.
A shipping schedule prepared by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) this week indicates that no cruise ships are expected to dock at the Coast in the next 14 days even as officials maintained things could change within the year.
“It is too early in the year to conclude anything. Our fingers are crossed. Cruise ships will most likely dock at the port of Mombasa this year,” a source at KPA told Shipping & Logistics.
Maritime sector players have pegged their hope on the global shift to cruise ship tourism to boost growth as incidences of piracy attacks drop on the east African coast.
Majority of tourists who visit Kenya annually prefer to arrive by air. In 2013, however, a few of the 1.5 million visitors arrived by cruise ships to Mombasa and Lamu, alerting the sector to a hidden potential.
The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) quickly begun promotion campaigns that climaxed with a presentation at the world’s largest congregation of cruise ships in Miami. The efforts, however, failed to bear fruits as cruise ships shunned the Coast throughout 2014 after major source markets issued travel advisories citing terrorist attacks.
The KTB officials interviewed yesterday said Kenya, which has the potential to dominate cruise ship tourism, is currently lagging behind markets like Zanzibar due to the travel warnings.
Cruise ships are regarded the world over as a high-yield market and the fastest growing form of tourism.
The Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) estimates the economic impact of one tourist arriving aboard a cruise ship as equivalent to 10 charter aircraft passengers. The agency hopes to push for increased focus on the niche market during the first National Maritime Sector Conference to be held in Nairobi next month.
“A cruise ship docking at the port of Mombasa brings tourists not only to tour the port city and venture out into the hotels, but most important, they also visit the national parks, flying as far away as the Maasai Mara,” KMA chief executive Nancy Karigithu says in a concept note prepared to set the tone for the national conference.
She adds: “Such activities are a major source of foreign exchange to the country. There would also be the opportunity to send our well trained hospitality Kenyans to work on board such ships.”
Official statistics indicate that Africa is yet to make a significant impact in global cruise ship tourism. The Caribbean region currently dominates the segment, with 33.7 per cent of vessels docking at its beaches. The Mediterranean takes up 20.44 per cent, followed by Europe/Scandinavia (7.9 per cent), 6.18 per cent for Alaska and 6.05 per cent for Bahamas.
KMA officials say attracting cruise ships to Kenya will give visitors ample time to appreciate the country’s attractions that include wildlife, prime game fishing destinations and water tourism facilities.
