The government has signed a lease with Bamburi Cement Company in which the company will donate a piece of land to the Tourism ministry through the Kenya Tourist Development Corporation for the construction of a conference centre in Mombasa.
The planned construction of the 5,000-capacity conference centre, which was mooted some time mid last year, is part of the government's plan to rebrand Mombasa as business tourism hub, a shift from the leisure tourist destination it currently is.
Tourism minister Najib Balala said the conference centre, which will be constructed through the Private Public Partnership joint project, will give an opportunity for Mombasa to host business conferences as part of business tourism attraction project. "We want to change the tourism sector in Mombasa from the leisure tourism to business and conference tourism. This will have more yields for this region," Balala said.
Balala challenged the hoteliers at the Coast to upgrade and refurbish their facilities in readiness for the expected shift to business and conference tourism.
The minister said the infrastructure in Mombasa including roads and other amenities also need a facelift if Mombasa is to become the destination of choice for business tourists.
He said a dual carriage from Nyali bridge to Mtwapa and other roads increased to have more lanes. "We support the hotel along the Coast. But it is high time hoteliers start investing at this time when tourism is going to the second level of investing in conference tourism," he said.
Whitesands and Serena beach hotels in the North Coast and the Leopard beach resort and Leisure Lodge in the South Coast came under particular praise from the minister, who however said more upmarket facilities are needed.
Balala said the tourism sector in Kenya is at times hampered by the shortage of beds. He the increase in bed capacities will positively change the sector particularly in Mombasa.
The Mvita MP also called for a change on the reliance of charters. He said his ministry, the Transport ministry and the Kenya Airports Authority are working on a national strategy to increase international airlines to other major towns in Kenya including Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret.
He said the strategy, which will enable the government to plan for the next five years, will hopefully be ready by end of the year. He said work on a new airport in Nairobi, the Greenfield Airport, will start later this year and be ready in the next to years. "The PM was recently in New York to source funding for this project. We want it to go in tandem with the government plan," said Balala.
No comments:
Post a Comment