Scheduled flights to New York herald new opportunities for local businesses

Ross Evans group operations director at Hemingways Collection

The scheduled Kenya Airways flights between Nairobi and New York herald new opportunities for local businesses and leisure tourism, Hemingways Collection Group Operations Director Ross Evans, has said.

He said the shortened flight hours means US leisure travellers will have more time to spend and experience what Kenya has to offer.  

“We expect this move to boost the market with Nairobi strengthening its position as a regional hub for corporate travel. Along with the direct routes, the actual flight times have been well thought out with both legs being overnight flights,” said Mr Evans.

Figures from the Kenya Tourism Board indicate that tourists from the US grew 16.3 per cent to 95,771 between January and October last year, up from 82,363 visitors recorded in the same period in 2016.

The numbers are expected to go up this year on the back of increased confidence from foreign visitors, growth in domestic tourism and the direct flights to New York.

“Currently, many visitors from the US spend little time in Nairobi and miss out on some of our country’s fantastic attractions and culture,” Evans said.

Kenya Airways has already started booking travellers on the flights, which are scheduled to kick off in late October.

GAVE GREENLIGHT

The US government gave the greenlight to the direct flights after Kenya met stringent conditions, key among them security enhancement at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Users of travel website Trip Advisor, under its annual Travellers’ Choice awards, recently ranked Nairobi third in the Top Travel Destinations for 2018.

The World Travel and Tourism Council forecasts business and leisure spending in Kenya to grow at an average rate of five per cent annually with business tourism spending projected to reach Sh252 billion by 2025.

Leisure spending is expected to reach Sh400 billion over the same period. 

 

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