Coast hoteliers say tuk tuk traffic driving business away

Mombasa city centre roads have been hit by a traffic congestion crisis following a rapid increase in the number of tuk tuks.

Tourism investors now want the county government to address the tuk tuk menace, which they say is getting out of hand.

Kenya Coast Tourism Association chairman Mohamed Hersi said travelling in the city had become a nightmare.

The hotelier said tourists were spending many hours stuck in traffic as they head to hotels in the North or the South Coast, and in a sector where convenience is highly regarded, the tri-wheeled vehicles were driving away their business.

Mr Hersi added that some holidaymakers had ended up missing flights at Moi International Airport after being delayed on the roads for hours.

He said it had become difficult for hotels to take tourists for tours of the town owing to the snarl-ups.

“We want the county government to tackle the tuk tuk menace as they have become a major stumbling block to smooth flow of traffic,” he said.

Mr Hersi, who is also the chief executive officer of Heritage Hotels, stressed the urgency, noting that the high tourist season will begin in the middle this month.

Apart from causing jams, he said, the tuk tuks were too noisy, making visitors to avoid coming to the town for walks and sight-seeing.

Kenya Association of Tour Operators Coast branch chairwoman Monika Solanki said the jams caused by the tuk tuks were also affecting safaris.

Tour operators taking tourists to the Shimba Hills Game Reserve or Tsavo East National Park often spend a lot of time on the roads as a result of traffic jams, she said.