Excitement as government announces opening of new tourism college at the Coast

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Players in the hospitality industry at the Coast have welcomed, with much relief, the pronouncement by Tourism Principal Secretary Julius Bitok that the Ronald Ngala Utalii College in Kilifi will start operations in September this year.

 Construction of the massive training facility has been delayed for over a decade and a half, leaving little to celebrate as hospitality labour continues to suffer from inadequate training facilities.

 Led by chairman of the Mombasa Tourism Council Dr Sam Ikwaye, the industry players cautioned that while the opening dates are too close, it is much welcomed to have the college finally operate.

 ''Its operationalisation has been delayed for a very long time. The rollout should be thought through and should not stop for any reason once launched because we want to use it for capacity building of our workforce needs here in the entire region throughout the year,'' Dr Ikwaye said.

 He stated that the industry lost some significant professionals to better opportunities on cruise ships and other jobs, and there is thus a need to fast-track manpower development while allowing workers an opportunity to continue working.

Mombasa hotelier, Janet Chamia and proprietor of Jacyjoka Holiday Apartments welcomed the announcement on the college opening, terming it a game changer for the Kenyan hospitality industry.

Seafarer and a former hotelier Nelly Adams said that courses to be offered on seafaring for cruise ship workers will help them upgrade their skills.

" We have waited for too long, and it is good to hear that this college will be starting to admit students before the year ends," said Adams, who works for one of the largest cruise lines.

During a recent visit to the college, PS Bitok, who was accompanied by Kilifi Governor Gedion Mungaro, TF board chairman Mr Samson Some and acting CEO David Mwangi, said the college will officially admit its first cohort of 1,000 students in September 2026, signalling its operationalisation after more than a decade.

''The college construction now sits at 95 per cent with final preparations underway to receive the inaugural class. We have the necessary arrangements in place to make this a reality,'' the PS  said.

Ronald Ngala Utalii College, built on a 40-acre site in  Vipingo overlooking the Indian Ocean, has an initial admission capacity of 1000 students with plans to expand and accomodate 4000 students, making it one of the largest hospitality institutions along the East African Coast.

The PS said that the government is considering bringing on board a private investor through a Public -Private Partnership (PPP) to fast-track completion and operation of the planned tourist hotel within the college.

Mungaro said the functioning of the college will go a long way in addressing the shortage of certified professionals required in the growing blue economy, particularly in the seafaring industry.

An estimated 10,000-plus Kenyans today work onboard international cruise liners that sail the world's oceans and rivers.

Ikwaye said that the next gap is for the industry to work with the Tourism Fund to fast-track production of a training workforce that has correct industry experience to work as a faculty and use the college together with existing hotels under the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers to compliment trainings and placements.

 Ikwaye said tourism professionals can now champion regulated practising regulations as we work towards the tourism and hospitality professional bill currently in the parliamentary process.

 ''We hope with Ronald Ngala Utalii College, we can now have a clearance centre where tourism and hospitality professionals, together with the industry regulator -Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA) can work to realise a better tourism industry with well-trained professionals.