Tourism Resumes As Security Is Beefed Up Along The Coast

February 6th, 2012 | admin | Travel, Vacation

A new strategy to improve beach security along the Kenyan coastline has started to yield results with many more tourists deciding to visit the beach instead of staying in their hotels. The plan to streamline all of Mombasa’s beach operations which has been the consistent source of major conflict between the government and various beach operators, has begun to take shape at the cost of Sh150 million for the new beach management programme. Stakeholders in the tourism sector, beach operators, curio sellers and other market traders have begun to relocate their activities along the beach stretch from Mtwapa Creek to Tudor.

This buoyed up security has not only enticed tourists to the beach but it has also attracted more people in Kenya’s coastal region to take a Kenya safari. 2000 operators have been designated to prevent tourists being hassled on one of Kenya’s most popular beaches in a joint project set up by the Kenyan government and the Kenya Wildlife Service.

Unlike taking a Tanzania safari last year, the safari industry in Kenya took a battering in tourist numbers, as the threat from the Al Shabab militia, the Somali based terrorist organisation was at an all time high with 2 kidnappings of tourists from Kenya’s northern eastern coast.

Many of the larger hotels along Mombasa beach front including the Sarova, Voyager Beach, Travellers, Whitesands & Neptune Beach have now begun to put their sun beds back out onto the beach in the wake of new and improved security, rather than only confining them to the hotel compounds.

It seems as though Kenya’s quick actions regarding it’s security may have saved it’s tourism industry and whilst the end of 2011 was somewhat of a bleak year for the country, 2012 looks as though it may be one of the most successful yet. Instead of heading out to Africa next year on a Botswana safari don’t disregard Kenya as a destination just because of the threat from the Al Shabab Militia.

The owner of one of Mombasa’s beach front hotels said that over the 2011 festive period there were no incidents involving the harassment of it’s guests which in comparison to last year when 50% of the guests complained is a great turn up for the books.