MOMBASA (Kenya), Dec 27 (NNN-KBC) — Kenya on Christmas day received another cruise ship at the Port of Mombasa with at least 500 tourists.
The cruise ship, MV Nautica had 572 tourists on board who were welcomed by Tourism Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza and officials from the Kenya Ports Authority and the Kenya Tourism Board.
While receiving the tourists, the CS noted that this is the second cruise ship to dock at the port in less than a month following the arrival of MV World Odyssey which docked at the port in November with about 800 tourists.
Malonza said the arrival of the tourists will inject more income into the country’s economy.
“I can without doubt say that out of the arrival of this cruise ship, over Ksh100 million will be injected into the local economy through tourism activities including visits to different attraction sites and hotel accommodations,” she said
“We expect to have at least three more cruise ships by the end of March 2023″said the CS Penina Malonza.
Malonza said her ministry will be actively engaging with relevant stakeholders, among them the Ministry of Transport and tourism operators to ensure that the cruise industry benefits from the presence of relevant infrastructure at the Kenyan coast.
The CS announced that plans were underway to improve facilities and services including diversification of excursions that shall be marketed to cruise passengers on expeditions in the destination.
The Government, she said, will also continue to develop and implement tourism policies that will improve the experience of tourists visiting the country, and specifically at the coast region.
“In line with this, the government has already put in place infrastructure projects such as the upgrade of the Moi International Airport in Mombasa and Diani Airport in Kwale county, as well as road infrastructure to support tourism”
“Plans are underway to further enhance the cruise tourism experience with Mombasa Port becoming an integral part of this initiative by improving its facilities and services, including shore excursions that will take cruise passengers on expeditions around Mombasa Island and its environs,” she said.
The ship will leave Mombasa territorial waters after one day excursions by the holiday makers in Tsavo National Park and a tour of Mombasa tourist attraction sites. It will then visit Zanzibar and then Cape Town in South Africa before heading to Japan
Before docking at Mombasa Saturday night, the vessel had cruised from the Mediterranean Sea in November heading to Dubai then India.
Captain Geoffrey Namadoa of the KPA said that KPA had invested heavily in the Sh1.3 billion cruise ship terminal at the port and focused on branding the terminal as the best in the region and Africa at large for cruise tourism.
“The coming of this second cruise ship in less than a month is indeed a testimony that our marketing strategy is working,” he said.
Namadoa also revealed that plans were already underway to turn the ferry services into local cruises around the coastal waters to add value in the wake of the construction of the ambitious Sh85 billion Likoni Gateway Bridge. — NNN-KBC