The Kenya Ports Authority is working with international shipping lines, Trade Mark East Africa and Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa to revive the cruise ship tourism in the region.
The cruise ship business was among the hardest hit sectors by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cruise tourism has a potential to contribute positively to economic growth by generating revenue and creating jobs.
Kenya has not received any cruise ship since the onset of Covid-19 in March 2020, despite the government putting up a magnificent Sh350 million cruise ship terminal at the Port of Mombasa.
The Mombasa cruise ship terminal was expected to enhance passenger handling capacity and support growth of the country's tourism sector.
The terminal, which comprises duty-free shops, restaurants, conference facilities, immigration offices and offices for key stakeholders in the industry, was completed in 2019.
On Tuesday, KPA acting managing director John Mwangemi hosted cruise ship experts from France, officials from PMAESA, Trade Mark East Africa, Kenya Tourism Board and shipping agents.
Jacques Massoni, a cruise business expert from Marseille Provence France with over 40 years in the business, urged stakeholders to collaborate to attract more cruise vessels to the African circuit.
This African circuit includes the Seychelles-Madagascar-Dar es Salaam-Zanzibar-Mombasa route.
“Africa has unmatched potential if barriers to the business are significantly cut to bare minimum,” Massoni said.
Massoni shared details of how they have been able to welcome more than one million cruise ship tourists every year in France.
In 2018, France received about 500 cruise ships and some 1.7 million cruise passengers.
The Mombasa port meeting, according to KPA head of corporate affairs Bernard Osero, was meant to work on possible ways to revive the cruise ship business, especially the Indian Ocean circuit.
Cruise ship tourism circuits, which usually begin in September to around March, takes about two to three years to plan.
“In the meeting, which was spearheaded by PMAESA, we were looking at how to resuscitate cruise tourism in this region. We need to look at where we are and where we are going post-Covid period,” Osero said.
He spoke to the Star in a phone interview.
He said with the completion of the cruise terminal at the Port of Mombasa, KPA has the responsibility of engaging stakeholders on the strategies for promoting and marketing Kenya, as well as the region as the preferred cruise destination.
“We invited experts to share their experiences and how they have been able to attract more tourists in the Mediterranean circuit,” Osero said.
He further said good infrastructure, tourism products, security and safety-first approach are the key starting points.
After Tuesday's meeting at the port, KPA management took the delegation to the Port of Lamu to see how best they can also incorporate Lamu in the cruise tourism circuit.
The first three berths of the Sh40 billion Lamu port are already operational.
“Before the construction of the Lamu port, cruise ships used to dock in the deep seas before the tourists boarded a smaller vessel to the Island. However, with the port completed, we can now accommodate the bigger vessels,” Osero said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
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