Boon for coastal tourism as cruise ship with 700 tourists arrives

Christmas season has started at the coast with good tidings. 

A cruise ship with 700 passengers arrived in Mombasa today morning (Christmas day).  

'Ms Nautica' was welcomed with - to use local lingua- shangwe na deremo! 

The 181-metre long Nautica is owned and operated by Oceania Cruises. Its arrival means the Kenyan coast is reclaiming its reputation as one of the favourite attractions for tourists. 

In February 2019, the then Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala announced an ambitious plan of introducing a cruise ship on the Indian Ocean.

CS Balala was speaking after meeting cruise operators at a convention in Miami, USA.

“We are working on a modality to have a cruise operator to be home-based to do the Indian Ocean circuit but it takes long term planning,” CS Balala said.