Players in Kenya’s tourism and hospitality sector are holding their breath following recent events leading to protests across the country.
- Some players in the industry chose not to comment on the effect of the demonstrations on the security sensitive sector while the Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers (KAHC) and the ministry of tourism and wildlife reported few postponements of bookings, mainly events.
- In an interview with media outlets, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers Mike Macharia noted that the impact of cancelation would be huge on the industry which relies on international market, with tourism being a key foreign exchange earner.
- While downplaying the impact of the protests to the industry, he shared same sentiments as CS Alfred Mutua noting that the industry has received requests for cancellation.
“We have a few postponements of bookings mainly of events but we are also receiving new bookings. Our upward trends may have been slightly slowed down but the sector is stable and we are ready for the high season which is ongoing,” noted Alfred Mutua, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife.
“We are lucky that we have not seen a major dent or cancellation as a result of what has been happening. However, if the unsettledness continues, it will have a negative impact on the sector leading to a reduction in our earnings, possibility of loss of jobs and freezing of new opportunities especially, to graduates aiming to join the tourism and wildlife sectors for their livelihoods,” Mutua added.
The tourism and wildlife sector is one of Kenya’s largest employers, with 80 per cent of the employees being the youth. Last year, the tourism sector contributed about KSh 353 billion to the Kenyan economy, and this year has been on an upward trend to contribute significantly more, with the target set at KSh 700 billion per year in the next few years.
In the last two years, the industry has come from 1 million to 2 million visitors by end of last year. The government’s projection is to get 3 million by the end of this year, and 5 million visitors in the next 2 to 3 years.
Kenya has witnessed demonstrations in the past few weeks, resulting from a majority’s disagreement with the Finance Bill 2024, which aimed at raising more money for the government to finance its 2024/25 budget.
Following pressure from the public, President William Ruto rejected the bill instead taking the route of austerity measures to finance the KSh 3.9 trillion budget.
Ruto said the government would be going into austerity, starting from his office with budget cuts on travel, hospitality, and renovation allocations. He also prepared Parliament, Judiciary, and the county governments to be ready to live within their means following the rejection of the Finance Bill 2024.
Other areas includes elevating the war against corruption to curb wastage of public resources through theft.
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