The business community is already shaken by this misfortune and word is ripe with the hope that there will be a speedy quick-fix and resumption of normal operations at the airport.
I was jocking on Twitter that fortunes can literary change overnight and indeed we are seeing a shift of fortunes. Atlhough on the first day the effect may not be as such material but in the long run we shall start seeing these same effects.
Hotels in the big city of Nairobi had already made reservations for travellers whom being loyal to the hotel had made bookings in advance (I assume) while at the same time the bookings were cancelled not only for the travellers who were already enroute but also those travellers who may have had a panic spree from the spread and show of the fire by the international media. Conversely this is the high season when most tourists are comming to East Africa especially Kenya and Tanzania on safari trips. I would certainly say that majority of the trips to land in Kenya have either being cancelled or diverted to Dar-Es-salaam. The biggest loosers are the Hotels, Tour and Taxi Operators while the greatest winners of this calamity are the hotels and tour operators of Tanzania and Mombasa where the airports were receiving the stranded flights.
This opens and new begining and a lesson learnt to the business that heavily rely on tourism or rather who rely on these travellers to make a living. The lesson being that they either need to expand regionally, create mergers or even go into partnerships with others in the same industry in the region. This way these businesses may be able to cushion themselves against such huge drastic losses that occure overnight.
On the other hand the government needs to come out clear and swiftly of the cause of the fire. This way the should expeditiously and strategically come up with solutions to avert such a crisis in the future. This is the only way to restore the confidence that has been associated with JKIA as the best Airport in the reagion.
