Swiss International Hotels dumps Mt Kenya resort plans

Global hospitality group Swiss International Hotels has abandoned plans to develop a previously announced resort in Mount Kenya due to the prevailing unfavourable environment.

In a statement, Swiss International Hotels Service AG together with its affiliates and Mlima Kenya Holiday Homes said they “have mutually agreed to forgo their plans to develop and manage the proposed Swiss International Hotel Mount Kenya in Naro Moru, Nyeri County.”

“The coronavirus pandemic has challenged many tourism industry players to step back to re-assess and re-strategise. The parties have chosen the path of flexibility as they assess the needs of the new normal,” they said in the statement.

The firm indicated that they would, however, continue with other existing projects in Kenya.

The Tourism ministry had said the sector has suffered a Sh80 billion loss in revenue in 2020 as a result of the restrictions on hospitality and aviation.

Swiss International Hotels & Resorts made its entry into the Kenyan market late 2016 with the 133-room Swiss International Lenana Hotel on Ralph Bunche Road in Nairobi.

In the same year, the multinational partnered with Mount Kenya Holiday Homes Ltd in a mixed development venture where 283 houses will be sold out and leased back to the global brand for use as rental villas.

The development was to include a clubhouse, a nine-hole reversible to 18 hole golf course as well as a 75-bed suite hotel.

The firms during the announcement of the property had indicated that Sh7 billion was to be injected into the five-star resort surrounded by 281 villas, apartments, townhouses and an all-suite hotel near Naro Moru town.