Hotels in Tsavo and Amboseli National Parks report tourism boom

Local tourists on holiday at the Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge within the Tsavo West National Park

Hotels in Tsavo and Amboseli National Parks have recorded full bookings, tourism players in the industry have said.

The tourism players said they had been receiving booming businesses in the recent past. They attributed this to the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga and operationalisation of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

The players said the rehabilitation of the Voi-Mwatate-Taveta international road that links Kenya and Tanzania and other East African States had been a major facelift to the tourism industry.

Hoteliers interviewed said hotels are fully booked with domestic and foreign tourists including conferencing and were optimistic that the bookings would continue up to December to early next year.

The chairman of the Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers in Tsavo and Amboseli Willy Mwadilo said hotels in the region had recorded a high number of domestic and foreign tourists in the recent past.

He revealed that the bed occupancy is 100 percent and they are still receiving many bookings and inquiries.

Mr Mwadilo said the tourism business is now promising and are still receiving many inquiries, thanks to the handshake between President Kenyatta and NASA leader Odinga.

“Foreign visitors have confidence in visiting the county following the handshake,” the Sarova Taita Hills and Salt Lick Lodges General Manager told the press at the hotel on Sunday.

“There are many conferences that have been lined up and we are happy that tourism activities are recovering very fast. For now business is good and tourists are visiting the park in full. We have many guests in our hotels and more are expected as the year comes to an end,” he said.

Mr Mwadilo said they were receiving guests from the European Union, Mombasa, Makueni counties and from upcountry and as far as Tanzania.

“We have a quite a number of visitors from the county and outside. Some of the visitors are coming from as far as Serengeti and Ngorongoro national parks in Tanzania because there is accessibility of the road from Arusha-Moshi-Taveta border town to Voi town,” said the official.

Mwadilo pointed out that some hotels in the region have been equipped with new vehicles among other equipment to benefit from the now rejuvenated tourism activities following the operationalisation of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) that passes through the Tsavo National Park and rehabilitation of the Voi-Mwatate-Taveta highway.

Mwadilo further said the rehabilitation of roads is also crucial to the survival of small businesses in the region as majority of traders get most of their supplies from Taveta border market widely known for its wide range of goods sourced both locally and from Tanzania 

He said investors had been shying away from the region owing to poor state of the roads but with the completion of the road more investment is going on.