1. 1
End of Project Report
MOMBASA BEACH
OPERATORS’ LIVELIHOOD
PROJECT
Dates: Dec 2011 to Dec 2014
Partners: The project was funded through a ST-EP Destination
Management Fund, a partnership between the Travel Foundation (TF) and
UNWTO ST-EP Foundation and was led by the Mombasa Coast and
Tourism Association (now known as the Kenya Coast and Tourism
Association, or KCTA).
Issue and Opportunity
Concern has been raised by tourism industry stakeholders of the falling
standards of beach tourism along the coast in Kenya and, according to the
Ministry of Tourism, although the tourism sector in Kenya grew by 15% in
2010 beach tourism declined by 16%. Many efforts have been taken to try
and resolve the issue, such as a $5 tax imposed on hotels to maintain
beach security and cleanliness however these initiatives have had little
success.
An exit poll undertaken in 2009 of 300 tourists departing from Moi
International Airport (MIA) found a 40% dissatisfaction rate with the Kenyan
coast beaches - harassment was reported as one of the main factors for
this. Harassment disturbs the beach atmosphere and leads to tourists
choosing to remain within their hotel grounds during their holiday. In
addition, tour operators and hotels were also reported to be advising
tourists against leaving the hotel grounds, in turn contributing to the
harassment problem as beach operators become increasingly desperate to
earn a living. As a result there are ongoing conflicts between hotels and
beach operators. This cycle has contributed to strong tourist dissatisfaction
with the beach product and it has been recognised that the local beach
operators must be part of any initiative for long-term, positive change to be
achieved.
In November 2011, a scoping visit was undertaken by TF and consultation
meetings were carried out with a number of stakeholders, the findings of
which form the basis of this project. The project is built upon the lessons
learnt from a 2009 TF project in Sri Lanka, which was set up to address a
similar issue.
DESTINATION
STATISTICS
In 2013, Kenya had 1.1
million visitors, attracted by
the destination’s beaches
and wildlife viewing
opportunities. This was a
decline of 12% on 2012,
mainly due to terrorism
related insecurity in Nairobi
and Mombasa.
Moi International Airport
Mombasa received 189,654
visitors in 2013. The direct
contribution of travel and
tourism to Kenya’s GDP was
4.8% in 2013.

2. End of Project Report: Mombasa Beach Operators Livelihood Project, Feb 2015
Context and scope
The beach operators trading along the North Coast had already developed an operational structure and this
project aimed to strengthen it. The project also complemented a Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) initiative
which aims to address some of the emerging threats to beach tourism in Kenya – tourist harassment, beach
insecurity, beach degradation and youth unemployment. As part of the KWS project no-trading beach zones
were planned and degraded beach areas restored.
This project focussed on working with the Mombasa North Coast Beach Operators, including safari guides,
massage sellers, boat operators, photographers, Samburu warriors, community traders and curio sellers,
who work in the following zones: Serena, Travellers, Whitesands, Nepture, Severin, Bamburi, Jomo Kenyatta
public beach, Reef, and Voyager to Nyali.
Project Aim
To support the long term sustainability of tourism along the Kenyan coast through minimising tourist
hassle and improving livelihoods for beach operators.
Objectives
1. Improve livelihood indicators for beach operators and other service providers, including income-
generating opportunities.
2. Improve relationships between the beach operators and other service providers, and hoteliers/tour
operators.
3. Improve the host-visitor relationship and visitor experience.
4. Develop a successful model of reducing tourist hassle that can be scaled up or replicated in other
destinations.
Project Activities
Professional Training and Capacity Building
The project has delivered a training and capacity building programme to 573 beach operators (195 safari
sellers, 137 massage sellers, 175 curio sellers, 27 boat operators, 9 photographers, 13 fruit and nut sellers, 9
community traders, 4 Samburu warriors, 3 tube renters and 1 camel rider). A training needs assessment was
carried out and a curriculum developed based on 21 workshops. The most well attended workshops were
‘Partnerships and relationship building with stakeholders’, ‘An introduction to Kenya tourism and the impacts
of tourism’, ‘Basic tour guiding skills’ and ‘Personal financial management and funding opportunities for
growth’. Beach operator association leaders also had leadership and workshop facilitation skills training.
Stakeholder Engagement
The project involved regular communication and
engagement with stakeholders beginning with a series of
sensitisation forums to introduce the aims of the project.
Stakeholders included hotels, tour operators and
government organisations such as KWS, Kenya Tourism
Board, Tourism Regulatory Authority, Tourist Police Unit,
beach operator associations and the local community
administrators. Towards the end of the project a
stakeholder workshop was held to discuss the sustainability
of the beach operator’s project and hotels, county
governments and other stakeholders agreed to take
responsibility for continuing to support beach operators in
securing a sustainable livelihood and reducing tourist
hassle. One hotel committed to helping construct
appropriate kiosks for the beach operators to sell from. The
Beach Livelihood project stakeholder’s conference
at Travellers Beach Hotel Mombasa

3. End of Project Report: Mombasa Beach Operators Livelihood Project, Feb 2015
project achieved regular press coverage in the local media, including local press, TV and radio, highlighting
the importance of protecting the livelihoods of beach
operators on the Mombasa coast.
Relationship Building
As a result of the project, seven hotels now have either
formal Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) or informal
agreements with curio sellers to sell inside their hotels on
specific days of the week. At least two hotels offer beach
operators drinking water, and one allows beach operators to
use their washing facilities. Hotels are also more amenable
towards safari sellers speaking to guests inside hotels if
they have made a safari booking.
Formalising Management and Operational Structures
Beach operators have organized themselves into formal
associations with rules and regulations to self-police their
members. With support from KCTA, beach operators revised
their code of ethics and the constitution governing their
associations.
Regular Beach Cleans
The beach operator training also included workshops on
caring for the environment, and the beach operators decided
to collaborate with the County Government, hotels, tour
operators, KWS and the Ministry of Tourism to run a regular
beach clean, helping to improve the visitor experience.
Graduation Ceremony
A graduation ceremony was held in December 2014 for the
573 beach operators who completed the programme, where
beach operators were presented with a certificate and
branded project t-shirt to wear whilst working on the beach.
The graduation ceremony was attended by Mombasa
County Governor H.E Hassan Joho who declared his
support for the project.
Signing of M.O.U between Travellers Beach Hotel
and Coast Beaches Curio Operators Association
Massage operators participating in a beach clean
Mombasa Governor H.E Hassan Joho and KCTA
chairman Mohammed Hersi conferring certificate
to a Samburu curio seller
Safari sellers at the graduation ceremony
Beach Operators’ Association Chairman Euphesio
Nyaga speaking at the graduation ceremony

4. End of Project Report: Mombasa Beach Operators Livelihood Project, Feb 2015
Issues and Challenges
• Security challenges in Kenya, and warnings from the FCO advising against travel to Mombasa for
British citizens have led to large UK outbound tour operators withdrawing from Mombasa until at least
October 2015, considerably impacting visitor numbers in Mombasa and presenting challenges for
beach operators trying to build a secure livelihood. Misunderstandings about the prevalence of Ebola
in Africa have also negatively impacted visitor numbers in Kenya. Hotels were experiencing
occupancy rates of around 50% in July 2014. During a particularly testing period, beach operators
were offered a travel allowance to attend training.
• Due to the project scope limitations, 573 beach operators were trained from approximately 3,000 who
work on the north coast of Mombasa – there is a need to scale up the training to reach all beach
operators. The number of beach operators is also expanding daily as people are drawn to the
beaches looking for income generating opportunities.
• Some beach operators involved in the project were not in formal beach associations, leading to
communication difficulties and problems in tracking their progress.
• Some beach operators attended the training despite not being part of the initial project.
• Conflict between beach operators’ associations led to certain groups feeling unable to attend
workshops if others were also invited.
• Conflict exists between safari sellers and tour operators due to competition over product sales.
• There is a lack of coordinated approaches to beach management programmes run by different
organizations, with some NGOs attempting to implement projects without engaging stakeholders.
• During the project mid-point there was uncertainty over the project’s impact due to a legislative
proposal to remove beach operators from public beaches and move them to a dedicated market on
the hotel access road. However, this legislation was not passed.
• There is a lack of beach operator regulation on the beach.
Achievements to date
Improved livelihoods indicators of beach operators (including income generating opportunities)
During the final project evaluation, a sample of 20 beach operators who participated in the project reported a
number of improvements in livelihood indicators including: feeling proud about their work; feeling that their
family are proud of their work; feeling respected by the local community; good relationships with hotel
workers; getting on well with tourists; making friends with other beach operators; being able to offer new
experience to their customers; taking more pride in their appearance. These indicators were identified as
priorities by the beach operators at the start of the project.
Improved relationships between beach operators and hoteliers
Travellers Beach Hotel has signed an MOU with curio sellers to sell inside their hotel twice a week and six
further hotels have informal agreements in place to allow beach operators to sell curio, or meet safari
customers inside their hotels. Bahari Beach Hotel include the project in their welcome tour to encourage
guests to look out for beach operators who are part of the project. They treat the beach operators as equal
players in the tourism industry by giving them drinking water and shower facilities. Sarova Whitesands Beach
Resort also give beach operators free drinking water. At the beginning of the project, hotels communicated
with beach operators’ associations through the KCTA Project Manager. As the project comes to a close, the
leaders of beach operator associations feel confident enough to communicate directly with the hotel general
managers and a mutual trust has developed. There are also regular meetings between the beach operator
association leaders and hotel chief security officers to address beach security issues together, such as
intruders.

5. End of Project Report: Mombasa Beach Operators Livelihood Project, Feb 2015
During the baseline project evaluation, a sample of 20 beach operators who participated in the project rated
their relationship with hotels – 25% thought it was ‘very poor’ or ‘poor’, and ‘45% rated it as good or very
good’. At the end of the project, 75% of the beach operator sample said their relationship with hotels was
now ‘good’ or ‘very good’ and the remaining felt their relationship was ‘ok’. Beach operators commented on
the improvements saying, “they (hotels) respect our work and recognise that we are professionals”, and
“hotels link us to tourists who require our services, we work in harmony now.”
Beach operators graduating from this project will go on to become the first Mombasa beach operators vetted
and licensed under the Ministry of Tourism’s Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA), giving them an official role
in the tourism industry. The vetting committee will consist of TRA, KCTA, Tourist Police unit, KWA and beach
operator association leaders. The Safari Seller’s Beach Operators’ Association has also developed a code
of ethics which they self-police and deal with issues such as if safari sellers take fees and fail to meet the
guest.
Improved host-guest relationships and visitor experience
The Kenya Tourist Board has reported that beach hassle is now the seventh reported reason for visitor
dissatisfaction in the Mombasa International Airport 2014 exit survey, compared to the primary reason for
visitor dissatisfaction in 2010.
Despite the drop in visitor numbers, anecdotal evidence from hotels indicates that guests have noticed less
hassle on the beach, and one hotel reported positive guest feedback about the curio sellers selling inside
hotels. Visitors can now easily recognise beach operators who have participated in the project by their
branded t-shirt which display their membership of the relevant beach operator association, and can also read
about the project through promotional posters displayed in hotels.
Mr. Kiuru, General Manager at Travellers Beach Hotel said, “I have been involved in many beach projects
that have failed but this has been a great success, because we changed the approach. We are no longer
getting reports from our guests of tourist harassment at the beach.”
Increased commitment amongst key decision makers and tourism businesses to support the
livelihoods of beach operators and replicate the model to reduce hassle in other destinations
During the beach operator’s graduation ceremony, the Mombasa County Governor H.E Hassan Joho
publically pledged to fund and support a further 500 beach operators through the programme in 2015.
Hoteliers have demonstrated their commitment to supporting beach operators by building strong working
relationships with them, and offering in-kind donations such as use of their conference rooms for training
workshops.
The project’s success has attracted interest from other destinations neighbouring Mombasa: Kilifi County
Government invited the Technical University of Mombasa to run a 10 day training course for 200 beach
operators; Kwale County Government is interested in delivering a capacity building project for beach
operators, and Project Manager Julius Owino was invited by Lamu County Government to run basic training
for beach operators on communications, selling skills and personal hygiene. He also helped beach operators
in Lamu develop their own code of conduct and ethics.
“I am more
appreciated by other
stakeholders like big
hotels which never
recognised us before.
This is a new dawn
for the beach trade.”
Harrison Munyoki,
Curio Seller
“My
communication
with clients has
improved, my sales
have increased and
I am able pay my
son’s school fees.”
Christine Amondi,
Massage Seller (r)

6. End of Project Report: Mombasa Beach Operators Livelihood Project, Feb 2015
In order to inspire other destinations to set up similar projects to support beach operators, Project Manager
Edward Wangechi delivered a presentation at the ‘How warm is the welcome’ seminar for tourist boards and
tour operators organised by TF in London, UK in April 2014. Contributors to the LINC (Linking communities
with tourism) project in Sri Lanka, which the Mombasa project was built on, also gave a presentation, leading
to cross-destination discussion and learning.
Lessons Learned and Next Steps
• There is a need for a clear county beach management policy and regulations.
• Informal agreements with hotels need to be formalized so that changes in hotel management or
ownership do not impact negatively on the ongoing implementation of the project.
• Work needs to be done to differentiate the safari seller’s and tour operator’s products to offer a
greater choice to visitors and reduce competition so that both excursion providers can access the
tourist market.
• A single, inclusive beach operators’ association should be created to reduce conflict between different
factions.
• Work is required to ensure replication efforts by neighbouring county governments are based on an
integrated programme of training, stakeholder engagement and relationship building with the private
sector, rather than a training only approach. KCTA could form this link between its private sector
members and the county governments.
• The project could be expanded to reach tuk-tuk riders and taxi drivers, where visitors are reporting
problems with overcharging, security concerns and stopping at commission paying souvenir shops.
• Hotels could support curio sellers by inviting curio sellers to sell permanently inside their hotels, and
offering differentiated products in their own shops.
• Further beach operator training curriculum could include at least one field trip to a major national park
for safari sellers to develop their practical skills.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Explore our online Reducing Tourist Hassle toolkit to address negative host-visitor experience. For more
information on the Mombasa Beach Operators’ Programme, please contact Isabel Kearney, Destinations
Programme Officer via email (isabel.kearney@thetravelfoundation.org.uk) or call +44 (0) 117 9273049
Project Manager Edward Wangechi at the ‘How warm is the
welcome’ seminar in London
Project Manager Julius Owino delivering training to
beach operators in Lamu