Hoteliers eye conferences to grow numbers

A traditional dancer entertains tourists from Warsaw city in Poland soon after disembarking from a charter flight at the Moi International Airport, Mombasa. [File, Standard]

At least 10 charter flights are flying to Mombasa, boosting the nascent meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) tourism at the Coast region.

On Tuesday, hoteliers in Coast said they have shifted focus to MICE to sustain the numbers of guests expected to drop after the December holidays.

A spot check revealed that some hotels are still busy, particularly those with overseas contracts, with MICE expected to end after the winter in April 2025.

Mohamed Hersi, Pollmans Tours & Safaris Group Director of Operations, said hotels with overseas agents were reaping big from MICE.

“It is still a busy season as the first quarter, January and April, is a period for meetings and conferences,’’ said Hersi, a veteran hotelier at the Coast.

He said that despite the unfulfilled pledge by the government to allow more direct flights to Mombasa, at least 10 charter planes fly to Mombasa from Europe.

Hersi, who oversees Baobab Beach Resort & Spa in Diani, Kwale, Taita Hills Safari Resort, and Salk Link Lodge, said several hotels have expanded their conference facilities to tap MICE business.

Baobab Beach Resort& Spa has upgraded all its 190 rooms and a swimming pool at Taita Hills Safari Resort and Salt Lick Lodge have also received facelift.

Mombasa Tourism Council (MTC) chairman, Sam Ikwaye, said domestic tourism arrivals have slowed down following the start of the school calendar.

“Conferences and meetings are coming up early in the year. There to do aggressive marketing to grow arrival numbers in 2025,” Dr Ikwaye said.

Ikwaye said the high peak seasons are April, August, and December, which operate outside school calendars.

“That is why in November and December hotels were extremely busy following the long holiday seasons,” he said.

He said that MTC is this year prioritising newer experiences and packaging more authentic experiences.

“I hope other counties will take advantage of the devolution of local tourism to promote new experiences in the counties,” Ikwaye added.

He noted that the new Dongo Kundu bypass has transformed the South Coast as tourists can now easily access the destination.

Hotelier and tourism consultant Titus Kangangi, a director at Safron Garden Resort in Malindi, said that occupancy was good during the last two weeks of December 2024 and the 1st week of the new year.

“We are now seeing a drop with most hotels in Malindi averaging 50 per cent bed occupancy owing to harsh economic times and the back-to-school rush as the year academic term begins,” Kangangi said.

He revealed that while they had good business during the December period, food and beverage spending dropped by nearly 30 per cent below last year, with most travellers choosing to stay away from extra activities of additional costs.

“Overall, January and February look very slow as at the moment with current average bookings below 40 per cent,” he said.

Skal Kenya Coast President and proprietor of Jacyjoka Holiday Apartments in Nyali Mombasa county, Janet Chamia, said there was little activity now that the back-to-school season is here.

Chamia called on the industry players and the government to work together and capitalise on the impressive ranking of Kenya as the third-best destination in Africa for conference tourism.

“A 2023 report by the International Congress and Conventions Association (ICCA), which ranks countries and cities according to the number of rotational ICCA meetings a destination hosts in a year. Gave us the accolades,” she said.

South Africa claimed the first position by hosting 98 conferences; Rwanda was second, with 32 conferences while Kenya hosted 21.

ICCA is a global community and knowledge hub for the international association and governmental meetings industry.

It specialises in the international association’s meetings sector and has 1,100 member organisations in 100 countries. The ICCA analysis of over 10,000 meetings, signalling Kenya’s remarkable progress.

Globally, Nairobi surged to the 111th position in 2023 from its previous standing at 292nd, based on the global tally of meetings held.

The advancement underscores the thriving opportunity of the Meetings, Incentives Travel Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE), known as the Business Events industry in Kenya, reinforcing its reputation as a premier destination for international events.

In 2023, arrivals on business and MICE accounted for 24 per cent or 461, 042 of the total 1.9 million international arrivals, according to data from the Tourism Research Institute.
This was after 875, 272 (holiday/leisure) and 465, 851 visitors who were in the country to visit friends and relatives.

International meeting planners rely on the ICCA network for solutions tailored to their event objectives, including venue selection, technical and strategic advice, delegate transportation assistance, full convention planning, and ad services.

People increasingly prefer Kenya to host conferences, exhibitions, and corporate gatherings of global significance.