160 tourists from Bulgaria arrive in Mombasa for 10 day visit

The tourism sector at Coast has received a major economic boost after the first chartered flight from the republic of Bulgaria flew in 160 Bulgaria tourists for a 10-day holiday.

The aircraft, operated by European Air, landed at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa on Sunday Morning from the Bulgaria capital, Sophia.

Kenya tourism Board marketing director Fred Okeyo noted that the flight arrival signaled hope for Kenyan tourism, which has suffered heavily due to COVID-19 pandemic.

“The New charter from Bulgaria is a show of confidence in our Country at a time when the sector is recovering, we want to assure our tourists that we are ready to host them,” said Okeyo.

Bulgaria is the latest European Market following a significant growing interest in Kenyans tourism products. The second charter flight will arrive on February 26, 2022 in the new rotational charter programe.

“We trust that they are going to be very good ambassadors in their country, and we are happy as a destination and hope we will continue to get more tourists from Bulgaria,” he added.

Polmans tours and Safaris managing director Mohamed Hersi said Kenya is now looking to tap onto the Bulgarian market that has proven to be a potential market.

He said Kenya is still in negotiations with other source markets like Russia, Turkey among other European countries.

Hersi expressed fears that the sector may experience a slowdown owing to political heat in the country ahead of the upcoming elections.

“We urge our politicians to campaign peacefully so that they don’t affect growth in the tourism sector. The sector is on an upward trajectory since 2021 and we are looking forward to another rebound in the second quarter of the year,” Hersi said.

Ian Popov, one of the tourists, expressed his excitement for his first visit to Kenya, saying he hopes to tour the Tsavo National Park as well as sample the Kenyan coastal beaches.

Bulgaria head of delegation representative in Kenya Georpi Pase said that the arrival of the new airline served as testimony to the excellent bilateral relations between Kenya and Bulgaria.

“We are excited to be in Kenya for the first time, Kenya is a great country that every tourist wants to visit, and we are ready for a game drive at Tsavo National park, it has been my dream to visit Kenya,” Popov said.