KEMPINSKI DROPS ZANZIBAR
Information was confirmed today that Kempinski Hotels will be ending their management involvement in the ‘Zamani Zanzibar Kempinski’ with immediate effect. The shock news for the Zanzibari tourism sector were elegantly smoothened over by information from Kempinski Hotels that the management agreement with the owning company ASB Tanzania Investments Limited had run its course and was not being renewed by mutual consent. It was not immediately clear if ASB would be seeking a new management company for the property or opt for direct management, as the name ‘Kempinski’ which has been shining alongside the Zamani is now being taken down and off the stationary.
Kempinski is now left with two properties in Tanzania, the ‘Bilila Safari Lodge’ in the heart of the Serengeti and the Dar es Salaam showcase ‘Kilimanjaro Kempinski Hotel’.
The company was only recently rumoured to be pursuing a hotel project in the UNESCO World Heritage Site protected old ‘Stone Town’ in Zanzibar, which proved to be somewhat of a PR nightmare for them but it could not be ascertained that the plans for the old ‘Stone Town’ had anything to do with the company’s decision to end the management agreement or if in fact it was ABS which ‘pulled the plug’ following a ‘disappointing overall performance in recent years’ as a source close to the property in Zanzibar has claimed.
Kempinski then quelled speculation immediately on their overall future in Tanzania, denying any plans to pull out from their remaining two properties, a statement which will be tested as time goes by.
Watch this space for breaking news from the Eastern African and Indian Ocean tourism, hospitality and aviation sectors.
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