Cruise tourism becoming popular in Kenya – KTB

The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) now says that cruise tourism has significantly increased this year compared to other years, with over 2,700 tourists having landed at the port of Mombasa aboard various cruise ships.

Speaking at the port after receiving 284 tourists who docked with MS Sliver Cloud cruise ship, KTB Managing Director Ndgwa Muriithi said Kenya, being a member of Cruise Indian Ocean Association, KTB has worked closely with Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to ensure Mombasa has become a popular port of call by cruise ships coming through the Indian Ocean.

Some of the tourists who arrived aboard the MS Silver Cloud will stay in local hotels for the Christmas holiday while others will be heading to their destinations by air.

Last week, Seven Seas Voyager cruise ship docked at the port with over 1,000 passengers.

Muriithi said the country is seeing the revival of cruise tourism after a long dry spell due insecurity caused by pirates in Kenyan waters of the Indian Ocean.

Muriithi noted that the coming of United States President Barack Obama, Pope Francis and the latest World Trade Organization (WTO) conference have played a great role in portraying the country positively.

KPA Operations Manager Twalib Khamis said the authority has invested heavily to make the port secure and meet international standards of ships and port facilities security code by installing CCTV cameras and access control systems at the port.

He added that they will participate in the Miami Convention next year, which is the major cruise tourism convention so that they can sell the port as a good cruise ship destination.