New hotel to boost tourism in Mombasa

By Philip Mwakio

A boutique hotel that will be located near the Mombasa's Moi International airport is nearing completion.

The 98-roomed four-storey Jambo Village Airport Hotel, built using imported materials from China, is expected to boost the scenery of the Airport Road and offer air travellers accommodation and comfort.

Proprietor Simon Ndolo said that apart from targeting air travellers, the new facility will boost Coast hotel bed numbers as domestic and regional tourists visiting Kenya rise.

"We have spared no effort in giving Mombasa and Coast tourism real comfort, and leisure as facilities being put up at hotel are up to standard,’’ he said.

The hotel has put up special rooms on the lower floor and facilities, which disabled guests can use with ease.

The Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (KAHC) Coast branch chairman, Titus Kangangi welcomed construction of the new, classy hotel.

The announcement came as a number of hotels at the Kenyan Coast closed down during this low season to carry out renovations.

In the South Coast, the idlyic Kaskazi Beach Resort is carrying out renovations and expected to feature 50 rooms at the start of the high season in mid-June.

Coast’s largest five-star tourist resort, Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort and Spa, is also carrying out a massive upgrade with a Sh400 million injection for the facelift.

Meanwhile, a new tour firm is set to start marketing Kenya exclusively in France to tap the lucrative French tourist market. Immensity Tours and Travels, which has opened an office in Mombasa, is already working with several Coast hotels, lodges and tented camps ahead of the tourist high season.

Managing Director, Manaseh Masindet (Kenyan) and Jean Jaques, a French national, are the brains behind the new tour company. Masindet, who once worked with the Kenya Tourist office at the Kenyan embassy in Paris, said that French tourists are keen on sampling Kenya’s beaches, and experience its wildlife Safaris.