Mohammed Hersi . A hotelier passionate about Tourism & Governance in Africa

Waking up to this from our key partner in emerging market Estonia.

“Hi Mohammed .TK has cancelled its MBA ( Mombasa ) flights from 28oct 2023 until end of March 2024. So I guess Kenya authorities did not give flight permit to TK ( Turkish Airlines) .”

Well while we continue to self sabotage, Turkish Airlines are now flying to 3 cities in South Africa. Joburg 3 . Cape Town & Durban. Emirates also fly to these 3 cities. Joburg 3 daily. Cape Town 2 daily . Durban daily flight .

They also fly to 3 cities next door Tanzania. Dar. Kilimanjaro ( Arusha) & Zanzibar.

They also fly to 3 cities in Egypt. Cairo. Hurghada. Sharm El sheikh.

So please don’t ask me why these destinations receive more tourists. You DONT WALK OR DRIVE TO DESTINATIONS YOU FLY.

Turkish also fly to 2 cities in UAE Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Guess what ? They have been allowed to fly 5 times a day into Dubai home to Emirates Airlines which means the more the merrier.

Scarcity mentality is serious mental block for African countries and African leaders.

I truly weep for Mombasa , I wait to see if denying Mombasa acess will save our national carrier. GOK can continue bailing KQ that is not in my control but surely please allow rest other of other genuine business to also thrive . We pay taxes and we don’t seek any bailouts to thrive.

Turkish Airline is NOT your traditional airline, Turkish is the only airline that flies to 320+ cities globally . In Germany alone 15 and 10 in the US , 5 in UK which means you can come to Mombasa from virtually every corner of the world .

When you allow these flights into Mombasa , you are also supporting Diani Kwale County, Malindi Watamu Kilifi County, lamu in Lamu County Tsavo Taita Taveta County & Amboseli Kajiado County.

Your excellency William Samoei Ruto CS Hon Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen I thought we badly needed forex inflow yet we are refusing to pluck this low hanging fruit. Hon Owen Baya Hon Mohammed Ali Governor Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir Governor Fatuma Achani- Governor Kwale County Governor Gideon Mungaro Kilifi you surely need to address this from a political platform. Tourism is YOUR lifeline as coast counties . Counties are fighting for the sectors that help their local economies you should equally speak up and do it in assertive way. Tea, sugar and coffee are getting even financial support we are NOT even asking for bailouts we just want a level playing field .

NB: Turkish. Qatar. Rwandair have all been flying into Mombasa before Covid crisis. KLM were to fly in Dec but same fate they were denied the chance to connect Mombasa. While we deny Mombasa our national carrier is busy hopping around Africa flying Nairobi. Livingstone in Zimbabwe then onwards to Cape Town which is similar to Mombasa .

With No Visa to South Africa kicking in it means even the little domestic that was coming our way will now head to Joburg. Durban and Cape Town. If you are keen enough you must have noticed that South Africa Tourism board are now aggressively promoting SA in Kenya be it YouTube ads , Twitter promotions and FB sponsored ads purely targeting Kenyans.

On one side we denie the global source markets to come to Mombasa while South Africa is also coming to pick what is domestic and regional. If our national carrier was a serious outfit they should have been flying Joburg Mombasa to help us also target South Africans.

Well trust me it is hard to remain an optimist in such circumstances totally frustrating and I mean it TOTTALY FRUSTRATING. How do you deny yourself easy come FOREX?

Mohammed Hersi
Chairman
Diani Hospitality Owners Association.