Tourism boost as Turkish Airlines makes first, direct flight to Coast
http://www.nation.co.ke/image/view/-/1637330/medRes/434064/-/maxw/600/-/konbk7/-/PIX1.gif
Some of the 150 Turkish tourists who arrived at Moi Airport, Mombasa, on December 05, 2012 as Turkish Airlines made its maiden landing direct from Instanbul. Laban Walloga | NATION
The ailing tourism industry at the Coast got a boost on Wednesday when a Turkish Airlines’ plane made a maiden scheduled flight to Mombasa with 150 tourists.
The entry of Turkish Airlines to Mombasa comes at a time when tourism in the region has nosedived, owing to a spate of violent crime, chaos in Mombasa in August, Tana clashes and the Al Shabaab threat.
The number of tourists visiting the Coast fell by 22 per cent in the first eight months of the year, compared with last year.
Holidaymakers who visited Mombasa dropped to 121,472 between January and August this year, compared with 156,521 in the same period last year.
The start of scheduled flights from Istanbul to Mombasa by Turkish Airlines is expected to reduce Moi International Airport’s reliance on seasonal charter flights which hurt tourism during the low season.
Most chartered airlines from Europe normally withdrew their flights to Mombasa during the April to June period due to low passenger numbers and resume flights from July 15 when tourism starts to pick up.
Kenya Airports Authority chairman Mutuma Mugambi said the inauguration of scheduled flights by Turkish Airlines to Mombasa was a major boost to tourism.
He said plans were underway for KAA to transform Moi Airport from being a dominant seasonal air charter flight facility to scheduled flights to promote tourism and other economic activities.
He said the opening of Istanbul-Mombasa- Kilimanjaro corridor would connect the Coast to over 69 international destinations that Turkish Airlines operates.
He said KAA was undertaking expansion of airports and airstrips in Nairobi, Kisumu, Isiolo, Embu, Nyeri and Mombasa at a cost of $1 billion over the next five years.
Nee het zijn niet alleen Turken, ze vliegen ook vanaf AMS en BRU (± 800 €uro 3 weken in April 2013)