Tourists flock Baringo for Easter holiday
Lake Bogoria Spa Resort has recorded a boom in bookings as local and foreign tourists visit Baringo County for the 2014 Easter holiday. The county has various tourist attractions including the Lake Bogoria National Reserve and Lake Baringo. PHOTO/SULEIMAN MBATIAH.
What you need to know:
- Lake Bogoria Spa Resort near Lake Bogoria National Reserve is the biggest beneficiary.
- It is the only hotel in Kenya with natural warm water which is considered medicinal.
- Other major hotels in Baringo County whose bookings have risen during the Easter holiday include Soi Safari Lodge at the shores of Lake Baringo and Kabarnet, Sinkoro and Paradise - all in Kabarnet town.
The tourism sector in Baringo County is enjoying a boom during this Easter holiday with most hotels in the area being fully booked since Thursday last week.
Lake Bogoria Spa Resort near Lake Bogoria National Reserve is the biggest beneficiary with the management grappling with the high turnout of tourists seeking accommodation.
According to the hotel General Manager Lydia Dentewo, their facilities are almost stretched to the limit following the high tourist turnout.
“Nearly all our rooms are fully booked yet we are still receiving requests from our clients.
We are setting up more than 60 corteges and another 150 rooms which are nearing completion to cope with the high number tourists seeking accommodation,” Ms Dentewo told Nation.co.ke during a tour to the hotel over the weekend.
MEDICINAL SPAS
She said that the fact that Lake Bogoria Spa Resort is the only hotel in Kenya with natural warm water which is considered medicinal is also another major factor which has played to their advantage.
Senior warden in charge of Lake Bogoria National Reserve William Kimosop said that they were expecting to have received more than 180,000 tourists by the end of 2014, up from 105,000 in 2013.
Tourists from China are leading the pack with their turnout standing at 3,000 in the in the past two months alone.
“It is true heavy rains experienced last year slowed us down a bit as it submerged some hot springs at the reserve after the lake broke its banks but tourism has picked up now,” said Mr Kimossop.
He said that the heavy downpour also rendered many roads leading to the reserve impassable but added that this has since been addressed with the county government creating diversions in the reserve.
The warden said that unlike in the past, domestic tourism is also beginning to thrive in the area with the number of Kenyans touring the reserve also increasing.
HERITAGE SITE
Mr Kimosop said that the move by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) to list the reserve as one of the world heritage sites has also boosted its marketing status as it has opened the area to the outside world.
He said that in line with devolution, the Baringo County government has re-organised the tourism sector in the area to come under one name - Baringo County Reserves - in a bid find new products to market the area.
Other major hotels in Baringo County whose bookings have risen during the Easter holiday include Soi Safari Lodge at the shores of Lake Baringo and Kabarnet, Sinkoro and Paradise - all in Kabarnet town.
