Forex inflows set for major boost on high tourist hotel bookings

More foreign exchange inflows are expected with major tourist hotels being more than 60 per cent booked for the next three months, underlining the rebound of the sector which had taken a hit from security concerns in the past few years.

A Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) market survey shows that August has the highest volume of pre-booking averaging at 62.4 per cent with some hotels at 83 per cent booked.

“Monetary Policy Committee survey shows strong forward bookings in major tourist hotels in Nairobi, Mombasa and Eldoret, indicates tourism recovery and confidence in the economy,” said CBK governor Patrick Njoroge.

Pre-booking in September are at an average of 51 per cent and 56.3 per cent in October. The rise in bookings coincide with the wildebeest migration, voted as one of the seventh new Wonders of the World in 2006, which attracts many wildlife lovers.

Dr Njoroge said he expected the booking to rise as more tourists made final plans to their visits supporting a growth in tourism numbers. Already, the numbers have been rising this year compared to last year.

Official data shows that the number of international visitors stood at 206,978 between January and March, up from 177,085 during a similar period in 2015 when arrivals slumped by 30.8 per cent. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data shows there were 202,644 overseas visitors between August and October last year.

Kenya Tourism Board projects that the sector will grow by a third this year, which equals to 400,000 tourists, to record a total of 1.6 million tourist arrivals.

The economy expanded at 5.9 per cent in the first quarter, faster than most analysts had predicted, with tourism sector being one of the key factors.

“The most notable improvement was a rebound in activities of accommodation and food services, which expanded by 12.1 per cent in the period under review compared to a contraction of 11.4 per cent during the same quarter in 2015,” the KNBS said in a statement.

The National Treasury allocated Sh4.5 billion to tourism promotion activities this year as it seeks to ride on the sector recovery to weather the slowdown in other sectors such as information technology.

Finance secretary Henry Rotich also offered tax incentives in the Budget, including exempting entry fees charged into national parks and commissions earned by tour operators from value added tax.

Chartered aircraft operators had indicated they would start weekly direct flights into the country this month following the President’s decision to waive landing fees for chartered tourist planes to attract European players.

TUI Poland Charter, whose chartered aircraft have a 180 passenger capacity, had said it would start flying directly to Mombasa’s Moi International Airport this month on a weekly basis.