Peter Leshan and Harrison Kivisu 

The resurgence of Covid-19 infections in the country and Europe has dashed hopes of Kenya receiving foreigners escaping the winter season abroad.

Hoteliers at the Coast and Masai Mara Game Reserve had hoped to record first international arrivals from Europe starting this month to February next year due to significant drop of Covid-19 cases last month.

“Resurgence of the virus, which we did not anticipate has shattered up our plans. 

We have been forced to cut rates by up to 50 per cent as we try to tap into the potential of local tourism, which has since September reduced to a trickle,” says Tom Were, the general manager of Ashnil Group of Hotels.

Consequently, the hoteliers say most establishments will start sending their staff on long unpaid leave until April while some will close until June when the annual peak season in Masai Mara begins.

“We had hoped that international arrivals would resume before the end of the year, but this second wave has thrown the spanner in the works,” he said.

He, however, says its facilities in Masai Mara and Tsavo National Park will remain open hinting that they will be forced to reduce rates further to attract local tourists.

“Until we go back to where we were before the pandemic struck, we will continue offering rates attractive to locals,” said a hopeful Ashnil.

All high-end hotels in the Mara have slashed their prices in desperate attempts to attract locals and confidence tourism as flights in and out of the famed game reserve reduce.

For the first time since the establishment of the reserve, this year’s peak season saw reduced air traffic between Nairobi and Masai Mara due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Completion of upgrading of Narok-Sekenani road to bitumen, would have also eased travel by road if business was good.

Few watched the migration 

Daniel Soit, a tour guide and driver at Sarova Mara Game Camp, said most clients since August, when Kenya’s airspace was opened, have been local Indians adding that few tourists witnessed the departure of wildebeests from the reserve to Serengeti in Tanzania compared to previous years because of depressed arrivals.

While hotels in the Mara are recording low business volumes, those in Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Selous national parks are reportedly busy.

Nick Murero, the Mara-Serengeti Ecosystem coordinator for Lake Victoria Basin told Travelwise that most tourists coming to the country are from China and South America, adding that South African numbers have also been significant.

“Hotels here have been busy since June when Tanzania lifted travel restrictions and opened its airspace,” he said on phone.

Nakuru-based Dickson Ritan, the Central Rift Conservation Area warden for the Kenya Wildlife Service said since August, hotels in Lakes Nakuru, Elementaita and Naivasha have been in business, adding that most of their clients are locals.

Rebranding Mombasa

Meanwhile, the tourism sector in the coast region is devising ways to rebuild trust and confidence among foreign and domestic travellers to sustain demand for holiday and investments.

 The Kenyan Coast that forms one of the critical pillars of Kenya’s tourism circuits is banking on recently unveiled new brands that will position the region as a destination of choice ahead of the end of year holiday festivities.

Tourism sector players are optimistic about the new development as part of the efforts to revive the sector, which has slumped due to the pandemic, terming it a game changer in the multi-billion sector.

 Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) CEO, Betty Radier says the rebrand is key to showcase the diversity of Kenya’s tourism offering to the discerning travellers.

She noted that the region has not realised its full tourism potential for various reasons, such as the lack of product differentiation in the various destinations and challenges of insecurity in some areas, which go on to affect the entire region.

“Revamping and creating awareness of the Kenyan Coast and its various brands that make it unique and diverse will be crucial in our efforts to market the destination by repositioning the Kenyan Coast as a destination of choice,” Radier said.

 Hasnain Noorani, chairman of the Kenya Coast Working Group said rebranding the destination will give a good platform to trade partners to market their products and offerings at the coast.

“When people think about the Kenyan coast in terms of tourism, the first thing that comes to mind is the beach.

But the Coast is much more than this, it is about fantastic cuisine to suit all, culture, history, art, good weather and fantastic hospitality.

This is what we want people to see when they make their choice for travel,” said Noorani.

 This is as the players called on the government to consider easing travel restrictions in and out of the country saying Kenya was losing big to other destinations like Zanzibar and Tanzania.

 Kenya Tourism Federation Chairman Mohamed Hersi said travelling hours for tourists from European countries were affecting foreign tourism turn around because of the imporsed dusk to dawn curfew, therefore, many tourists opt to visit neighbouring countries.

 Speaking during the launch at the iconic Fort Jesus monument, Mombasa county Tourism Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS} Joseph Boinet reiterated the government’s commitment to support the sector to get back on its feet.

He challenged hospitality players to leverage on the emerging marketing technologies to market the brands in some of the potential tourism countries Kenya has depended on.

“We all know that the Kenya Coast forms the critical pillars of tourism in the country and, therefore, we as a government reiterate our commitment to supporting it fully,” said Boinet, speaking on behalf of tourism cabinet secretary Najib Balala.

“The differentiation of the tourism circuits is part of our broad strategy to promote Kenya’s diverse tourism industry.

I commend the private sector, especially for playing a great role in this journey,” he added.