Tourism boost as ship with 1000 visitors docks in Mombasa

The tourism sector once again received a major boost after more than 1,000 tourists arrived at the port of Mombasa on Saturday.

This comes even as Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala confirmed that tourism stakeholders and government officials would be attending a major international meeting in the US as an effort to market the country as a tourist destination.

Speaking at the port of Mombasa after the arrival of the cruise ship, Balala said the meeting dubbed Miami Convention would kick off on the 14th of March.

The general manager of Abercrombie and Kent tour company Anthony Chege confirmed that more than ten cruise ship vessels are expected in Mombasa this year.

The tourists aboard the Sevens Seas Voyager are from the US, Europe, South Africa.

This comes just a week after yet another cruise ship carrying 684 tourists docked in Mombasa.

Earlier on, the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) had indicated that cruise tourism significantly increased in 2015 compared to other years.

KTB Managing Director Ndegwa Muriithi said Kenya, being a member of Cruise Indian Ocean Association has been working closely with Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to ensure Mombasa becomes a popular port of call by cruise ships coming through the Indian Ocean.

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