Virus disruption chance to reinvent our tourism sector

Police officers patrol a deserted Plaza beach in Mombasa. Local and international tourists have kept away due to the Covid-19 pandemic. [Omondi Onyango, Standard]

The beaches and hotels at the Coast are nearly empty.

This was especially amplified in August, a month characterised by busloads of school children and church faithful going down to Mombasa and other coastal towns to enjoy a few days of sun and sand.

Dowry negotiations and weddings are also popular in August. The horror accidents of August did not happen this year, with reduced travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.

I guess we can, therefore, deduce that the heightened accidents are as a result of increased travel and not ghosts or careless drivers as some have alleged.

Covid-19 has given us a chance to do a free experiment. 

On my first visit to the Coast since Covid-19 came ashore, I was pleasantly surprised to find a full plane (except first class). The economy seems to be picking up after five long months.  

The investors in the tourism sector, which was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, should be congratulated for their resilience. I feel for men and women who built hotels or restaurants, probably with loans and then just before opening, Covid-19 struck. 

Some hotels along the Coast are empty and your visit is celebrated by everyone. The receptionist is also the cook and cleaner to cut costs. 

Give credit where it is due, domestic tourists are keeping this sector alive. It has been suggested on several occasions that when all is said and done, domestic tourists are the key stakeholders in the sector. Waiters should take locals seriously despite their rare tips. 

It is not all bad news; we can use the Covid-19 interruption to redesign our product offering, specifically for locals. We could even become region-specific. I have argued that our deserts to the north are great attractions; they could rival those of Dubai. 

Ndaka-ini dam should be ringed with hotels like Naivasha. The same should apply to Masinga and other dams with water sports. Counties have a thinking holiday to repackage their attractions from history to natural beauty. 

Tourism needs a lot of creativity. What else do you see in Mombasa beyond the beaches and Fort Jesus? Why is the port not a major tourist attraction? How many local tourists have been inside a ship?  

I recall visiting the port of Hamburg in Germany and one of the highlights of my visit was a boat ride around the port, admiring big ships loading and offloading.  

Where are our floating hotels like those in Dubai? Is the Tamarind still operational?

Where are the ferries from Mombasa to other coastal towns? Why should I drive from Mombasa to Malindi or Lamu? The sea is the most under-exploited resource both for tourism and other economic activities. Where are the factories to process fish in our 200km economic exclusive zone?  

What of mangrove forests and the indigenous cultures? Why can’t I spend a day with a Tchoni, Rabai or Giriama family, eating their food and learning their dances? I noted several hotels now hire locals to prepare traditional food alongside Western and Eastern cuisines.  

The rich coastal history from the Arabs, Omanis, the Portuguese, the Indians to the Chinese and the present has not been packaged very well. And no one has ever explained to me if jinis are real or not?  

Why don’t we sell “sea therapy?” There is something therapeutic about walking by the sea. The elderly love it and even in colonial times, some settlers ended up at the Coast on doctor’s orders. 

More attractions? What of the historic old town and its narrow alleys? Some of the houses there could be over a 1,000 years old. In silence, I hope the gentrification of the old town and high rise buildings will not destroy the history and heritage hidden therein. Lamu and Watamu are great attractions drowned by Mombasa’s hubris. 

We can say confidently that once Covid-19 runs its course either through herd immunity, vaccine or treatment, tourism will recover. 

Tourists will be back in droves, attracted by our fine weather, the coastal hospitality and prestige that comes with visiting Mombasa, Watamu and their beaches. My hunch is that tourism should have recovered to at least 80 per cent by the end of 2021.

Do not worry about the more than 90 per cent drop in arrivals this year. Things can only get better. To share the sentiments of Mohammed Hersi, a key player in the sector, I hope the 2022 polls will not disrupt the recovery. 

In the meantime, players in the industry should take advantage of this forced break to rethink the next phase of tourism beyond the beaches and the sunshine. The diversity in Kenya’s history, landscape, geography, cultures and wildlife have hardly been exploited. 

We should not rest until we can get 50 million tourists, equivalent to our population, like France. Maybe Covid-19 is the disruption we needed to reach that milestone. 

The writer is an associate professor at the University of Nairobi