The Seven Seas Voyager docked at the Mombasa port with more than 1000 tourists and its crew members, The ship operated by Regent Seven Seas Cruises, docked on Saturday morning from Zanzibar with 688 passengers and 451 crew.
Seven Seas Voyager docking at Mombasa-Kenya.
The cruise ship and others had halted operations to Mombasa due to the insecurity and killings that rocked Kenya and some parts of Mombasa mainly by the militant group the Al-shabab. On December 9 last year, the luxury cruise ship arrived in Mombasa with 1,099 tourists and crew.
Another cruise ship is expected this month and another in February.Last year, the Kenya attracted more than 3,000 cruise tourists, compared with 900 in 2014.
Visitors arrive in Mombasa.
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala and Tourism Principal Secretary Fatuma Hirsi were at the port to welcome the tourists.
The CS said the arrival of the cruise ship a day after ushering in the New Year holiday was a major boost to the tourism sector in kenya and East Africa at large.
Mr Balala expressed optimism the sector would improve this year due to the calm enjoyed in the country. He said more tourists are expected to visit Kenya following the move by the US, UK and French governments to lift travel advisories.he however lamented that he expects the industry to fully recover by 2018.
He said the Kenya Tourism Board had been allocated Sh2 billion for marketing in both traditional and emerging markets to attract more international tourists.
Mr Balala said Kenya will in March participate in the Miami Convention in the US state of Florida to attract more cruise ships to Mombasa.
The tourists who arrived in Mombasa on Saturday are from the US, UK, Germany, Australia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, France, Ireland, Spain, Brazil and New Zealand.
Others came from the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Ukraine, Mexico, Russia and Portugal.
Upon arrival, some tourists travelled to the Shimba Hills Game Reserve and the Mwalughanje Elephant Sanctuary for game drives.
Others visited the Bombolulu Workshop Cultural Centre at Haller Park, while some enjoyed a tour of Mombasa town.
Some of the tourists that arrive through Kenya visit Uganda and Rwanda on short Gorilla trekking expeditions.