Tourism players count on charter flights during this high season

A number of charter flights are expected to land at the coast in December, giving tourism a major boost.

The increase is a major boost to tourism that has been slowly picking up following several travel advisories by the European markets.

Some of the major operators in the world have also resumed charter flights to the coastal Kenya.

Already, TUI Netherlands and TUI Belgium have started operating direct flights to Mombasa five years after they suspended their operation due to insecurity at the coastal region.

TUI, the largest tour operators in the world, resumed charter flights to Mombasa this month.

More visitors are expected during the holiday as Qatar Airways is expected to make its inaugural flight to Mombasa in December.

The State-owned airline will join other international carriers such as the Turkish Airlines, RwandaAir and Ethiopian Airlines to fly tourists directly to the coast region of Kenya. Kenya Tourism Federation chairperson Mohammed Hersi said already 20 charter flights fly tourists to Mombasa every week up from five that used to operate in the area last year.

“Many airlines are coming back and that is very good news for us because it means more tourists will come here and that is good business,” he said.

Mr Hersi said negotiations with the United Kingdom were ongoing for their airlines to resume operations in Mombasa after they were suspended following an upsurge in insecurity in the country.

“We are pushing for more to come to Mombasa. That is more critical to us. The sky is not the limit,” he said.

Tsavo and Amboseli tourism circuit chairperson Willie Mwadilo said the area had recorded a massive booking with a high number of tourists being locals.

Mr Mwadilo, who is also the manager of Sarova Taita Hills Game Lodge and Sarova Saltlick Hotel, said they had recorded full bookings until February next year.

“Besides the increase in the number of international tourists, domestic tourism has also picked up,” he said.