The hospitality industry is banking on the Safari Sevens series happening this weekend, as local and international rugby players camp in Nairobi for the annual extravaganza.

The series, which is a boon to sports tourism has a huge potential to generate a very wide-range of economic spin-offs.

Coming a few days after Eliud Kipchoge became the first man to run for less than two hours in a marathon, the event, which is organised by the Kenya Rugby Union, had been allocated Sh20 million by Kenya Breweries Ltd as part of a sponsorship deal.

The deal goes a long way to show how business can leverage sports in a symbiotic relationship. 

Fans will have an option of buying Tusker, the sponsoring product, instead of tickets, to watch the matches which begin today.

The current political stability and heightened security are expected to support the industry’s performance going forward with tour operators having reported good tidings after the high season with the wildebeest migration having started early.

Globally, sports tourism is worth an estimated $600 billion (Sh60 trillion), and its expected to continue growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.6 per cent between 2019 to 2028 according to the World Trade Organisation.

Already, several hotels have been fully booked in Nairobi by fans and rugby teams from across the globe.

The event, which coincides with the long Mashujaa Day weekend, will light the sector up until Monday, which has been declared a public holiday.

A spot check by Business Hub revealed that most of the major hotels are fully booked.

World class

PrideInn hotel says they have been receiving a steady flow of rugby enthusiasts and players from local, regional and international teams throughout the week.

“Our rooms are so far 90 per cent booked. We are expecting 95 per cent occupancy by the weekend. We want to assure all players and fans that PrideInn will deliver the world class service and accommodation,” said PrideInn Hotels managing director Hasnain Noorani.

Noorani said they are hosting international fans and teams from among others Russia, Zambia, Spain, Uganda and Kenya.

Sports tourism can help increase the number of international tourists who are expected to grow by 10 per cent from last year’s, according to Tourism Cabinet secretary Najib Balala, despite a slight drop in the first half.

The projection, pegged on a strong performance by the US market which grew by 9.4 per cent in the first half of the year to close at 110,668 compared to 101,167 same period last year, will also boost well performing markets such as France, China and Uganda, which was the second top source after the US.