Vacations Blog

Kilimanjaro airport is having a facelift, which is due to be completed by 2015 in the effort to attract more world-class airlines. This new project is funded by a 57.5 billion shilling grant from the Dutch government. The funds granted by the Dutch government is set to increase tourism from 650,000 to a million people per annum as well as doubling the regions horticulture exports rather than sending them all through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi In a statement buy the Chief Executive Officer Marco van de Kreeke of the Kilimanjaro Airport Development Company (KADCO) the funds are set to be used to resurface the taxiways, runways and the airport aprons. The funds have also been set aside to build a new taxiway to increase the capacity of the newly expanded terminal building which is set to see further upgrades to accommodate the growing number of tourists in the Northern Tanzania region.

A Tanzania safari is the reason so many tourists visit this area of East Africa as the nation is home to the highest concentration of animals anywhere in the world. Kilimanjaro Airport (KIA) has been named the gateway to the north of Tanzania and was the first airport in the country to be privatised. This new investment is hoped to boost tourism in the region making Tanzania’s northern circuit one of the most popular in Africa.

Above all, the region is most famous for hikers wanting to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and the highest freestanding mountain in the world. Hikers travel from all 4 corners of the globe and fly through Kilimanjaro Airport to embark on a hike up this majestical mountain. The Tanzanian authorities have had to respond to the decline of tourism in the country throughout 2008-2009. To mitigate the situation the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) began to intensify it’s effort to revamp domestic tourism and by initiating a thorough marketing campaign the number of tourists in the region grew by 19.3%.

Kilimanjaro airport is in major competition with other airports around the African continent in a bid to attract more tourists to the region. A Kenya safari is becoming ever more if not as popular as safaris in Tanzania so by 2015 Kilimanjaro’s new revamped airport should be pulling in close to a million tourists per annum.

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 beach operations which has consistently been a perennial source of conflict between the government and various beach operators, has begun to take shape courtesy of a beach management programme costing Sh150 million. Stake holders in the tourism industry, curio sellers, beach operators and market traders have all begun to relocate their activities from Mtwapa Creek all the way 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 Namibia 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.

Narok county council have stated that from today the only way to get in and out of the Masai Mara National Reserve is by using a new electronic ticketing system. All visitors to the Masai Mara will now need to purchase a Smart Card from the Equity Bank before embarking on a trip to the Reserve. The Equity bank has signed a 10 year deal with park authorities to collect entry payments and also payments for optional activities including balloon safaris and camping. “The electronic ticketing system will reduce those with intentions of corrupt practices” says Council chairman Jackson ole Kamoye.

Has the Kenya safari changed for good? The answer to that at the moment is certainly no, but it’s a great step forward for the tourism industry in Kenya as the Masai Mara is one of the most visited parks on the African continent. The smart card is the sole way to pay for your entry to the Mara which makes the process much more straight forward and much more transparent.

I would imagine that parks and reserves all over Africa will be monitoring the progress of the smart card system in the Masai Mara with the hopes of introducing a similar system into their countries establishments as well. Perhaps soon you too could be picking up a smart card to head out on your Botswana safari. Corruption in Africa at all levels is well above average and it seems Kenya is keen to stamp this practice out. A payment of cash at the park gate is the usual method of entry but it’s easy to see how your money can sometimes go straight into the back pocket of the park warden. It may be worth checking before you head out on your next Namibia safari that a scheme like this hasn’t already been implemented.

The new smart card system benefits tourists greatly if they are on a self-drive holiday and are heading to the Masai Mara. Now there can be no confusion about which currency you must pay in and exchange rates at the time, it’s just a simple swipe of a smart card once on your way in and then again on your way out.