Born, raised and schooled in Laikipia, John King’ori has always had a passion for tourism. This motivated him to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management.
Today, John is an enthusiastic hospitality and tourism destination management expert, who has built his credentials working with tourism stakeholders in Laikipia. These include his earlier work with the County, as a private sector representative for the Laikipia Tourism Association, and now a camp manager and guest host at a tented camp in Mugie Conservacy.
Ekorian’s Mugie Camp offers the freedom to rekindle the soulful relationship we each have with the wild. Ekorian is designed as a family-friendly camp with six en suite tents, two of which are family tents. Notables in camp include:
- An Ekorian’s Explorer Program The program keeps kids engaged, entertained and educated as part of their stay. Through this program kids can learn about communities, culture, conservation and interpretation of nature. The program also encompasses other fun-filled activities around the camp.
- Personalized activities with opportunity for freedom and flexibility. Ekorian’s does not adhere to strict schedules and allows guests to slot in activities they enjoy the most and do them at their convenience.
- Kayaking on Mugie dam offered by Mugie Camp is qualified as a national signature experience by the Kenya Tourism Board under Magical Kenya’s Signature Experiences Program.
Other activities at Ekorian’s are:
- Petting Tala, the giraffe
- Guided bush walks
- Open game drive cars
- Camel rides/walks.
- Tracking/walking with blood hounds
- Learning about cattle ranching and its integration with conservation.
- Perfect choice sundowner spots
- Bush meals
Enjoying a light moment before sunset 📸: mireilleferrari
What was the effect of Covid on Ekorian’s Mugie Camp?
At the onset of Covid in 2020, Ekorian’s Mugie Camp went through a four months of total closure.
This meant loss of business and consequently loss of income through cancellations. We appreciate the few that chose to postpone their safari.
Ekorian’s Mugie Camp did not lay off employees, and instead developed maintenance work shifts at reduced earnings. This adversely affected our employees and their dependents. These work shifts without any income to the company was financially draining on the company reserves.
After re-opening in July, overseas travellers were not able to make holidays in the country because of the international travel restrictions. This meant that a substantial amount earned through foreign tourism earnings was lost.
However, as a company we were kept afloat by the residents; the domestic market was pivotal to our tourism businesses
Later on, this was halted by the national inter-county travel restrictions by Kenyan authorities. This meant that the few resident travellers we relied on were not able to travel for holidays outside their county of residence.
Re-opening came at a cost as we moved to comply with measures that were put in place by the Ministries of Tourism and Health.
Various governments started lifting international travel with regulations including quarantine, PCR tests, and later on vaccination certificates.
This was a relief, but these regulations were not convenient to everyone. Timing was a big factor and this coupled with uncertainties in government regulations discouraged international travel.
Uncertainty around reservations and cancellations were another challenge. These challenges were propelled by unpredictable requirements on international travel, discouraging travelers in making reservations. People testing positive close to and/or on travel dates still remain a challenge, which results to more loss of business/income.
Recovering from Covid
Ekorian’s like many facilities in the landscape are currently in recovery. This is thanks to relaxed domestic and international measures.
Vaccines have played a huge part in the government reducing restrictions hence allowing more people to travel.
The easing of measures by UK and UAE governments also gives Ekorian’s and many in the tourism sector optimism. It’s only a matter of time before normalcy is restored. While we remain vigilant in the fight against the pandemic, we urge governments to follow suit and relax strict international travel measures to boost tourism recovery.
You can enjoy a stay at Ekorian’s and their numerous offerings by booking a stay.
For enquiries, bookings and reservations.
Call; 0722692708 or 0714797931
Email; mugiecamp@ekorian.com or operations@ekorian.com
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