The tourism sector has seen the number of tourists visiting the country grow over the past few months.
It is this move that triggered the Government to rename the Ukunda Airstrip to Diani National Airport from April 25 as Kenya is eyes more tourists visiting the country.
Renaming the airstrip will significantly attract bigger airlines, and more visitors to the South Coast as Diani is globally known for its white sand beaches.
According to the Tourism ministry’s director of public communication Mulei Muia, the renaming will play a key role in attracting more charter flights to the region.
“Its significance is basically to attract more tourists to Diani and hence open up the tourist’s resort town to great charter flights into South Coast. That is going to be a big boost for the tourism sector,” Mr. Muia said.
Previously, the airstrip was well known to visitors to Kwale County, primarily Diani, followed by Tiwi and Msambweni.
Many key players have welcomed the renaming citing that the runway has been quite busy of late due to the growing number of tourists.
Last year, a directive was issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta to offer a visa on arrival for all the continent’s nationals touring the country. A move that saw the number of tourists from Africa increase significantly.
