Charter flight from Bulgaria arrives as govt ramps up Tourism recovery
A charter from Bulgaria Sunday arrived at the Kenyan coast as the government continues to facilitate charter flights from overseas in order to boost the recovery of the tourism sector, which was among the key sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The flight, European Air chartered by Abax Bulgaria limited arrived with over 149 travelers on board who included 35 travel agents from Bulgaria.
With the onset of the pandemic, the government banked on such flights in order to attract visitors from the Eastern European region, not deemed traditional source markets for Kenya's tourism.
The charter is an addition to one from Romanian and Ukraine which arrived in 2021 and have so far made 49 rotations into the destination
While receiving the flight at the Moi International airport Mombasa, Kenya Tourism Board, Director of Marketing, Fred Okeyo said charter flights from the European market have continued to play a key role in the recovery of Kenya's tourism industry which has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The charter flights we have been receiving the signal the growing confidence in Kenya's preparedness against COVID-19. It also indicates that travelers want to come to Magical Kenya to experience our diversity in offering and hospitality," he said.
"Our tourism products including safari and beach resonate well with the needs of consumers from the emerging markets of Eastern Europe. We must explore all the available markets and tap into them, and this can only be done through innovation and value addition to be above the rest, this is especially now more important," added Okeyo.
He said that Bulgaria flight is a signal of this growth and confidence in Magical Kenya as a preferred destination globally. The arrival numbers from Bulgaria have been incremental over the last few years with Kenya receiving 1,272 visitors in 2019, 277 visitors in 2020, and in 2021 362.
