With Piracy Threat Faded, Kenya Plans Cruise Ship Rebirth
By Joseph Akwiri
MOMBASA, Nov 18 (Reuters) – East Africa’s largest port of Mombasa will spend 100 million shillings ($980,392.16) to construct a brand new cruise ship terminal geared toward boosting tourism, port administration stated on Wednesday.
Piracy within the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean struck a serious dent into cruise tourism within the area, however the trade has rebounded since 2011, with enhanced naval patrols and deployment of armed guards on vessels.
“Before we used to receive 40 cruise vessels per year with 40,000 tourists,” ports spokesman Hajj Masemo informed Reuters, including the quantity had dropped to close zero because of piracy.
“But the vessels are now coming back, and we need to encourage this to boost our tourism,” he stated.
The port had obtained 2,000 vacationers on cruise ships this yr, and that quantity is anticipated to succeed in 5,000 by finish of the yr, he stated.
Work on the brand new facility will start subsequent yr and can take a couple of yr to finish, he stated.
The Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers stated it welcomed the mission however stated the federal government should additionally enhance roads, ferries and the “cleanliness of the city” to draw extra guests.
Tourism is a large income for Kenya, nevertheless it has been hit onerous lately by a sequence of assaults by Islamist extremists from neighboring Somalia. ($1 = 102.0000 Kenyan shillings) (Editing by Edith Honan/JeremyGaunt)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015.
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