Tough year for Coast tourism as Zanzibar, Tanzania benefit

Tourists sunbathe at the Baobab Beach Resort in Mombasa. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

What you need to know:

Region has been losing visitors to neighbouring destinations for fifth year running

The tourism sector at the Coast experienced a difficult period in 2013 due to the March 4 General Election uncertainties, the global recession and terrorism threats.

The Westgate Mall terrorist attack in September and riots which engulfed Mombasa in October triggered tourist booking cancellations and dampened the high tourist season.

It was only during the Christmas holiday that hotels got busy, and the boom is expected to come to an end soon after New Year’s, when most patrons return to work and schools reopen.

Other challenges blamed for the decline include poor infrastructure, non-refurbishment of hotels, untrained hotel workers, harassment of tourists by beach operators, and unreliable power and water supplies.

Uncertainties over the last General Election dealt a blow to the sector as potential tourists seeking holiday elsewhere. Chartered flights from Europe to Mombasa dropped to below 10 per week, compared with between 17-22 flights in the same period in 2012.

From mid-July to November, hotels in Mombasa had average occupancy of 50 per cent compared to between 70 and 80 per cent in the same period in 2012.

Hotels at the South Coast had an average occupancy of between 30 and 40 per cent while those in Malindi and Watamu averaged at between 20 and 35 per cent, compared to between 50 and 70 per cent in 2012.

In the better part of the year, hotels in the resort towns of Mombasa, Diani, Malindi, Watamu and Kilifi had to depend on conferencing and domestic tourism as international holidaymakers were hard to come by.

In the last five years, the region has been losing out tourists to Zanzibar and Tanzania, which have more modern hotels, cleaner beaches, and where tourists are not harassed.

Leading tour operators and travel agents from Europe have often expressed concern over the degeneration of standards in the region due to non-refurbishment of hotels, some of which date back to the colonial era.

On wild safaris, the region has been losing out potential international tourists to Tanzania as parks there charge gate fees of between $35 (Sh3,045) and $40 (Sh3,480) per person compared to the $65 (Sh5,655) and $80 (Sh6,960) charged in the Kenyan parks.

Tour packages have become more expensive following the introduction of Value Added Tax on the tourist transport.

Apart from Tanzania, Kenya also faces stiff competition from South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, all of which offer inexpensive game drive fees.

For tourism to recover between 2014 and the coming years, there is need for national government and the Coastal county governments to maintain peace as well as address violent crime, as well as the terrorism threats posed the Al Shabaab militia.

There are calls for investors to modernise tourist facilities and train hotel staff in effort to offer quality accommodation and services to guests, and for government to allow more international airlines to operate direct flights from Europe and Asia to boost tourist numbers, to cushion the sector from the effects of chartered airlines.

Meanwhile, the setting up of new facilities such as the Billionaires’ Resort in Malindi and the Leopard Beach Resort luxurious pool villas in Diani could help attract high-end holidaymakers to the region.