The tourism season on the Kenyan coast has just ended and already the industry is preparing for even more presences from next July.
The recovery that was heralded as far back as 2022, with the end of the pandemic period, has not only come true but has exceeded even the most optimistic expectations, allowing hotels, resorts and tourism-related activities to recover and be able to organise themselves in the best possible way for what could be the year of the definitive revival. The 2023-2024 season could start as early as the first weeks of July, when NEOS charters will probably resume the route from Milan and Rome to Mombasa and at the same time some airlines will increase flights to the coastal city from the end of the month.
In June, on the other hand, scheduled flights to Nairobi, coinciding with the start of the great wildebeest migration between the Maasai Mara reserves in Kenya and the Serengeti in Tanzania, are already registering good bookings.
The new Kenyan Minister of Tourism, Peninah Malonza, has already attended a number of international trade fairs, first and foremost the German one in Berlin, focusing on less virtual marketing (it is about time) and on new events capable of attracting travellers from all over the world. Soon the dates for the first Maasai festival, to be held in August, will be announced, and the focus will be on sports tourism (enhancing events such as international golf and kitesurfing tournaments and other disciplines capable of attracting a 'niche' but substantial audience and enthusiasts) and cultural tourism, although greater efforts will have to be made in the latter area. In the meantime, the hour of renovation has come for many facilities, to bring hotels and other hospitality venues up to modern standards, something that in recent years only lodges in the Savannah and some luxury resorts have done.
As always, it would also be important for Kenyan institutions to work on improving connections (discussions are already underway with the Jambojet company to increase flights from Nairobi to coastal destinations, particularly Malindi) and roads, such as the coastal road that is supposed to connect Malindi with Watamu, which has proved to be the most popular and popular destination for foreign tourists this year.
In all this discourse, the return of the Italians is a fact that should make us reflect and in times not suspected our ambassador, Roberto Natali, meeting with the main ministers of the Ruto government, reiterated the importance of the presence of our compatriots for tourism and its induced activities, talking about the problems to be solved that are already on the institutional tables, such as the simplification of online visas and tax relief from double taxation, which will facilitate pensioners and visitors to Kenya who want to move to do business.
The revival of Kenya in fact does not only mean weekly holidays in renowned paradises, but also a return to considering this country as a place where one can start again, invest and improve one's quality of life.