Why Naivasha will never be the same again
There is no gainsaying the hosting a major sporting event boosts the profile of the country and city.
Who will not want to visit Naivasha after the WRC Safari dust settles down?
However, sporting events are only for a few days and once done and dusted and the television cameras depart, infrastructure remains.
Rightly so, a group of Naivasha business community are leaving nothing to chance.
Sam Weru, Chairman of Naivasha Municipal Board is leading the campaign to leverage on a share of the whopping Sh 6 billion the event will pump into the Kenyan economy.
Weru and his group have contrived to explore possible impact of hosting a WRC extravaganza on the lakeside town providing priceless advice for would be hotel investors.
Weru and his team have been talking some lessons from.big cities which have previously hosted events of this magnitude.
He reckons that the commercial facet is not only good news for investors who had been readying themselves to enter the Naivasha landscape with new hotel developments since the hosting announcement was made by FIA President Jean Tidy in September 2019.
“Naivasha has many high-quality hotels, beaches, picturesque landscape and wonderful weather all year round.” Weru quipped.
“We expect teams and others coming for the rally to block-book more something closer to 50,000 bed-nights prior to the start of the event in an effort to sustain the demand .
Safari’s elaborate logistical aspect means Naivasha is at the present undergoing a major facelift on its infrastructure.
The fast-growing hospitality industry, recent re-carpeting of Moi South Lake Road; a state of the art asphalt Service Park (which will also be used for tarmac racing later) and most importantly the timely upgrade of Naivasha Level 5 Hospital are some of the milestones associated with the fabled WRC Safari Rally Kenya slated for June 24-27.
Weru is equally excited about Kenya’s longstanding motor rallying heritage and by extension, the commercial value which comes with the hosting of a WRC.
He is urging all and sundry, more so hospitality players, to bolster service delivery in a bid to leverage on direct revenue the local community will savour as a result of hosting the event.
Boost to local business
When the Safari dust settles, the event will abound with benefits for a wide range of the local business community starting with the ‘mama mboga’, fishmongers on the beaches, petrol stations, restaurants, garages where employment opportunities for the youth will be created during the running of the event.
“It’s a major milestone for us in Naivasha. We are ready to host as many guests as possible with our vast bed capacity.
So we would urge the local community to not only embrace the event but also strive to enhance quality of service delivery.
Hoping that the COVID-19 situation will have improved following the rollout of the vaccine by the Government of Kenya, we anticipate about 50,000 guests to occupy our hotels.
During the event we will also urge visitors to observe environmental ethics, requisite safety standards as stipulated by the FIA as well as Government protocols on Covid.
We will definitely provide an enabling environment for the Safari to be a success,” Weru remarked.
Excitement is also palpable in Naivasha given the fact that Level 5 Hospital facility will now have the capability to facilitate evacuation during the race weekend of Safari what with the designated helipad, ICU and HDU.
Upgrade of Level 5 Hospital
Chairman of Naivasha Level 5 Hospital Dr Simon Kanyingi reckons that the new facility will be a major boost to the Safari organisers when complete.
Kanyingi added that in case of any eventuality, “the Hospital has the capability to offer emergency medical services without having to depend on Nairobi.
The new hospital facility which comprises a state of the art outpatient wing, an ICU and HDU will be complete by May 30. When complete, it will have capacity to take care of the WRC event.”
New hospitality hotspots
New hotels expected to host thousands of guests associated with Safari are coming up In a big way.
One of them to lately join the growing list of hospitality industry hotspots in Naivasha is Hylise Hotel.
Hylise has been hosting all officials of Safari when they come to town.
With prospects of many thousands of visitors, hoteliers are hoping to make a killing from hosting the FIA event.
Weru went on: “Investors are also eyeing superior returns from new properties that are entering Naivasha markets.
There is no doubt that hosting a major sporting event boosts the profile of the country and city. Who will not want to visit Naivasha after seeing Safari route on WRC live TV coverage?
The amount of publicity Wil definitely sell Naivasha a world leading tourism destination.
We are sensitising existing hoteliers while also providing some advice for would be hotel investors.”
Naivasha prides itself as a hospitality heaven, with luxurious hotels like, Enashipai Resort, Sawela, Sopa and Simba lodges, Crayfish Camp and Lake Naivasha Country Club. Many of these hotels have been booked in advance by teams and official of Safari Rally.
“While in Naivasha, our guests can engage in a nurmber of activities like hiking and many more.
We are urging the business community to moderate prices for the guests and not to overprice the services offered,” Weru noted.
Weru is excited about the impact and benefits of the FIA event towards the local community.
Weru went on: “The WRC Safari Rally isn’t a small event. When it comes to town it’s a big big animal.
As a result of hosting the event there is a lot of infrastructure coming up. The service park is under construction.
Once the event is done and dusted, the infrastructure will remain.here wth us. It is our hope to always continue hosting the event.
The tree planting excerise announced last year by CS Amina Mohammed will also help improve the catchment area of Lake Naivasha. We see lots of employment opportunities for the local community who will directly benefit form the event.”
Naivasha is synonymous with Kenya’s vibrant sports tourism and indeed the rally-sport. - EDWIN OTIENO
