This archive report was first published on 26 July 2019.
On September 1, Air India will resume direct flights between Mumbai and Nairobi, a move that has been welcomed as a huge opportunity for local hospitality business and leisure industry.
According to Hasnain Noorani, Group Managing Director of PrideInn Group of Hotels, the development is a welcome boost for PrideInn as a majority of the hotel's business guests from Asia are from South Asia.
"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," he said.
Figures from tourism Research institute indicate that tourists from India accounted for 6.17 percent market share represented by 125,032 travelers between January to December, 2018.
With the planned direct flights to Nairobi from September this year, these numbers are expected to go up on the back of increased confidence from foreign visitors, growth in domestic tourism, and largely with the planned direct flights.
Reduction in flight times 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," he said.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), business and leisure spending in Kenya is expected to grow at an average rate of five percent annually, with business tourism spending projected to reach Sh252bn by 2025 and leisure spending expected to reach Sh400.6bn over the same period.
