Direct Flights from Mumbai to Boost Kenya’s Tourism and Hospitality Industry

PrideInn Group of Hotels in Kenya has welcomed the move by Air India to resume direct flights between Mumbai and Nairobi from September, terming at it a huge opportunity for local hospitality business and leisure industry.

The Group Managing Director PrideInn Group of Hotels, Hasnain Noorani, has said that the development is a welcome boost for the hotel as a majority of the hotel’s business guests from Asia are from South Asia.

Hasnain has added that the shortened flight hours would bring added benefits to the tourism industry.

“This direct flight is sure to boost tourism and trade in East Africa. Passengers from all around South Asia will now be able to take a short flight to Mumbai, make their connection and arrive in Nairobi or Mombasa nearly half the time that it previously took,” Hasnain said.

“This new flight opens up a number of opportunities not just for Kenya, but for other East African countries, as well. We expect this to boost the corporate market within Nairobi strengthening its position as a regional hub for corporate travel. Along with the direct route, the decision by Air India to resume flights has been well thought out,” Mr. Hasnain said.

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Figures from the Tourism Research institute indicate that tourists from India accounted for a 6.17 percent market share represented by 125,032 travelers between January to December, in 2018.

Numbers of tourists from India are expected to go up this year on the back of increased confidence from foreign visitors, growth in domestic tourism and largely with the planned direct flights to Nairobi from September this year.

Reduction in flight times, Hasnain added, means South Asia leisure travelers will have more time to spend experiencing all that Kenya and East Africa has to offer.

“Currently many visitors from South Asia spend very little time in Nairobi and miss out on some of our country’s fantastic attractions and culture especially in Mombasa and other major towns like Kisumu,” Hasnain noted said.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) forecasts business and leisure spending in Kenya to grow at an average rate of five percent annually business tourism spending is projected to reach 252billion shillings by 2025 while Leisure spending is expected to reach 400.6billion shillings over the same period.

2019 is hence expected to witness the consolidation among consumers of emerging trends such as the quest for ‘travel to change and to show’, ‘the pursuit of healthy options’ wellness and sports tourism, ‘multigenerational travel’ as a result of demographic changes and more responsible travel.

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