Christmas cheer comes with offers and steep rise in cost of transport

Christmas is here again, and the usual hype built up around this season is not any different from other years.

Many Kenyans deserve the fun after a long year and those that are not rushing upcountry will most likely be making their way to the coastal beaches in Mombasa and Malindi, or to the Maasai Mara, Naivasha and other spread-out tourist attraction sites in the country.

Many of the passengers and the shoppers the Nation spoke to said this festive season seemed happier as there is no tension like last year when Kenya was reeling from the shock of two consecutive general elections.

CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT

“The environment is conducive this year. There were very many uncertainties, politically and economically, at a similar period last year,” said Ms Stella Nyaguthi, a hawker at the busy Tea Room bus terminus in Nairobi.

Hotels, airlines and supermarkets have, as usual, continued to convince Kenyans to spend some more cash. In the majority of the towns, most shops you come across have the words “sale” or “Christmas offer”.

A surge in bookings for the Madaraka Express, popularly known as the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) train, between Nairobi and Mombasa, has also been reported.

The largest bank by assets — Kenya Commercial Bank — appears to have drawn on the fact that Kenyans are spenders and announced zero per cent interest rate on loans acquired through the micro-lending app KCB-Mpesa if repaid on the same day.

AIRLINES BUSY

The Nation has established that local airlines are busy in the countdown to Christmas with record high bookings.

Airlines that spoke to us said chances of getting an economy class ticket, which is the cheapest from Nairobi to Mombasa, were slim. The ones available require deeper pockets.

Kenya Airways on Twitter announced last-minute deals to or from Mombasa on selected dates this December.

Prices of air tickets have significantly gone up in the past one month as more passengers seek to travel by air. Those who have been booking from last week are paying almost double the price, compared with travellers who booked in November.

KISUMU FLIGHTS

And, for the first time, the cost of flights to Kisumu ahead of Christmas overtook those on the Mombasa route on increased demand.

Those travelling to Kisumu from Nairobi on Jambojet will pay Sh14,500 on December 21, the highest at the weekend, to Christmas day.

The highest price on Jambojet to Mombasa from Nairobi over the period is Sh11,500 and will reduce to a low of Sh4,500 on December 24.

Passengers travelling to the lakeside city ordinarily would pay Sh4,500 and Sh6,500 for a one-way ticket.

The cost on all routes will come down on Christmas day as the number of those seeking to travel reduces significantly.

Major shopping outlets have slashed their prices ahead of the busy Sunday and Monday, hoping to cash in on the prevailing shopping mood.