Seafront hotels in Diani Beach are bracing for the peak tourism season as holidaymakers flock back to the sandy beaches while bed occupancy increases.
Hotels, lodges and other accommodation
facilities are reporting heavy bookings for the upcoming Christmas and New Year
holiday weeks.
In some cases, this year's occupancy rates
are a stark contrast with the last two years' numbers, when the travel industry
was suffering losses due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Diani Beach in Kwale County is the
preferred holiday destination for many Kenyans and foreign visitors and each
year it receives a record number of holidaymakers arriving to savour its
beautiful sandy beaches and tropical ambience.
The Beach has been voted the best beach
destination in Africa six years in a row by the World Travel Awards.
Stakeholders in the hospitality industry
say beach hotels and other tourist establishments are reporting brisk
reservations and bookings, ahead of the Christmas and New Year festivities.
Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and
Caterers (KAHC) Coast branch Executive Officer Sam Ikwaye says the festive
season looks promising for those in the tourism, travel and hospitality
industry.
Ikwaye says advance bookings and
reservations witnessed had been 'very encouraging,' with local holidaymakers
accounting for the highest percentage.
"The signs are that this will be an
extremely busy and fully booked festive period," said Ikwaye adding that
hotel bed occupancy is currently oscillating between 80-90 percent.
Ikwaye says industry players are expecting
hotels to be fully booked 'and it looks like it will be a bumper December and
New Year holiday season'.
He noted that hotels have organized various
events to mark the December and New Year festivities among them water sports,
family dinners and live entertainment to keep holidaymakers happy.
Speaking during a consultative tourism
stakeholders' forum at Neptune Paradise Beach Resort and Spa, the KAHC
Executive Officer attributed the rise in bed occupancy to the improved levels
of consumer confidence within the tourism and hotels sector.
Ikwaye says the return of international
tourists shows that they have confidence in the country's political stability
after the hotly contested August General Election.
He urged the Kenya Ferry Services to
improve services noting that the number of passengers and motorists using the
Likoni Channel is expected to rise during the festive season.
He says the transport crisis in the past at
the crucial crossing channel had dealt a major blow to the tourism industry in
Diani Resort town.
Ikwaye says perennial delays often lead to
tourists who are on holidays in Diani to miss their return flights at the Moi
International Airport, Mombasa.
Baobab Beach Resort and Spa General Manager
Jeff Mukolwe says as the peak tourist season swings into high gear high
occupancy rates are expected in the coming days and weeks.
"Hotels are receiving advance bookings
and we feel that it's going to be a pretty good season for the tourism industry
players," said Mkolwe, adding that his hotel is already hosting 700
guests.
"We are actually expecting an increase
in foreign and domestic visitors this holiday season if the enhanced bookings
and reservations we have had in the past few days are anything to go by,"
he said.
The veteran hotelier said there were many
domestic tourists from Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nyeri and other
upcountry towns flocking the region.
"But we also have a modest rise in
international tourists from Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, USA, Britain and other
European source markets," he said.
Mkolwe says most beach hotels are expecting
100 percent bed occupancy in the coming days, adding that hoteliers were making
'efforts to improve safety and security of their guests'.
"We are very busy and happy with how
the season is turning out. Christmas and New Year are looking very good and
most hotels are fully booked with domestic and international tourists,"
said Mkolwe.
Kwale County Commissioner (CC) Gideon Oyagi
says security has been tightened ahead of the Christmas and New Year festive
season in anticipation of high numbers of both local and international
tourists.
Oyagi says police have beefed up security
for the festivities to effectively deter criminal activities.
He says police have started securing places
of worship, public beaches and other tourist spots to ensure a peaceful
environment before, during and after the December and New Year celebrations. -
Kna
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