Kenya is eyeing to become the second major destination for cruise ships in Africa after Egypt following its search for new deals during the recent cruising conference in Miami, USA.
The authorities expect the cruise ship business to take off from November when the construction of the terminal to receive the ships is completed.
In 2017, Kenya failed to attend and showcase its cruise ship product to Miami — which was hosting the world’s largest cruise ship conference — due to the delays in the construction of the facility at the port of Mombasa.
The construction of the Sh350 million world-class cruise ship terminal at the port, which was initially set to be completed in 2017 but was pushed to 2018 and later to November this year, is 40 per cent complete.
Kenya’s plan to have a California-based operator of luxury cruise ships make Mombasa a home port for its vessels to boost arrival of holidaymakers from the United States went a notch higher after officials of the Kenya Ports Authority attended the world’s largest cruising conference last week.
