City hospitality and tourism industry stakeholders have asked the government to consider thorough renovation of Wilson Airport following several runway mishaps recently involving local aircrafts.
Lead by Mr. Hasnain Noorani, Managing Director for PrideInn group of Hotels said that Wilson airport’s bad reputation is hurting city travel and hospitality industry especially following the United Kingdom’s travel warning to its citizens over the use of planes that operate at Wilson Airport.
“The airport, which is mainly used for domestic and regional flights as well as charters is in need of serious attention. We are concerned about its state following several incidences. We earn from accommodating and transferring guests from the Kenyan airports. Should they not be looked at, this will hurt our business through a severe decrease in bed occupancies within Nairobi city,” said Mr. Noorani.
Nairobi is one of the East Africa’s most visited cities, but such warnings may hurt its hospitality sector.
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“We are deeply concerned that other countries could follow suit from the UK travel advisory in what could seriously hurt the travel and hospitality business in the city. We call upon the Kenya Airports Authority and other relevant agencies to urgently intervene and reconstruct the Wilson Airport runway,” added Mr. Noorani.
Ms. Farzana Zahir, Sales and Marketing Director PrideInn Hotels, called for quick renovations of the airport saying visits to visits to Nairobi this season have increased.
“The high tourist season has already begun and Wilson Airport may be overwhelmed with the increased number of carriers plying the region. It’s better they speed up renovations to ensure smooth operations for our guests and tourists,” said Ms. Zahir.
Passenger traffic at Wilson Airport rose by 27.8 percent to an all -time high of 528,000 passenger in 2017, from 413, 146 in 2016, official data shows.
Traffic to the airport, one of the busiest in Africa and Kenya’s second busiest, has increased by 53 percent to 100, 000 in 2017 from 65,000 in 2008.
