Mombasa hoteliers fear decline in holiday bookings due to insecurity

Hoteliers at the Coast are worried that tourist bookings for the festive season might decline further if the insecurity in Mombasa Town is not contained.

Kenya Coast Tourist Association chairman Mohamed Hersi said it would be difficult for hotels to get enough bookings during Christmas and the New Year holidays.

He urged security personnel to hunt down the perpetrators of violent crimes in Mombasa.

International bookings, he added, were on the decline as charter flights from Europe had declined to six a week compared with 20 in the same period in 2013.

The rising insecurity in Mombasa, he said, could jeopardise the government’s efforts to seek a review of travel advisories issued by western countries to their citizens.

Hotel occupancy in Mombasa is now at 35 per cent, compared with 70 per cent in the same period in 2013, according to the hotelier.

Hotels in Diani, Kwale County, are occupied only up to 18 per cent, while those in Malindi and Watamu in Kilifi County are 20 per cent occupied.

“It should be noted that without peace in Mombasa, it will be a daunting task for the tourism sector to recover.

“Hotels had started to register bookings for the festive season but the spate of violent crimes in Mombasa is worrying us,” said Mr Hersi, who is also the Heritage Hotels chief executive.

He said Mombasa leaders should help in tackling violent crime among youth on the island.

Mr Hersi reminded Mombasa residents that security was paramount for sustainable tourism and investments, the creation of jobs and economic growth.

Mr Paul Kurgat, the president of the Coast chapter of SKAL International, a global tourism lobby, asked the government to deploy the General Service Unit to patrol Mombasa streets to curb violent crime.

“Time has come for the GSU or even the Kenya Defence Forces to be deployed in Mombasa to deal with the criminals who are killing innocent people.”

Mr Kurgat, who is also a marketing manager at Ashnil Hotels, said insecurity had risen in Mombasa, dealing a blow to tourism in the Tsavo East and Amboseli national parks.

Lodges and camps had an average occupancy of five per cent compared with between 70 per cent and 80 per cent in the same period last year, he said.

More than 7,000 hotel workers at the Coast have been left jobless due to a huge decline in international tourist arrivals, according to the hotel manager.

DOMESTIC TOURISTS

Due to the dwindling numbers of international tourists, hotels in the region are depending on domestic visitors, including those expected during the festive season.

Mombasa County Tourism executive Tumbo Odhiambo downplayed their concerns about insecurity, saying the numbers were down due to other factors, including the harassment of tourists and poor infrastructure.

He said the maltreatment of tourists on beaches had contributed to the decline in arrivals.

“In Egypt and South Africa, there is so much violent crime yet the two countries continue to attract huge numbers of international tourists.

“There is a need for stakeholders to find ways of addressing other issues affecting the industry rather than dwelling on insecurity in Mombasa as the cause.”

However, Mr Tumbo said the county government planned to establish an inspectorate to enhance security on the beaches and other tourist attractions.

They were speaking at the Travellers Beach Hotel in Mombasa on Tuesday during a beach management conference attended by hoteliers and tour operators.