Tourism slump destroys livelihoods at the Coast

Friday last week was a divine day for Ms Alice Masila. It was the first day in more than a fortnight that she recorded a profit in her business of hawking soapstones on the beautiful Diani beaches in the South Coast.

Every day for the past two weeks, the 62-year-old mother-of-nine would wake up at 6am and, after completing household chores, would go to work, only to return home empty-handed and disillusioned.

There were simply no customers for her egg-shaped soapstones, which she sells at Sh200. Her husband is in the same business but is old and frail, so he operates from a stand while his wife treks along the beach in search of customers.

The couple has been in this business for the past 35 years and it is the family’s only source of income. However, it has not been easy these past few months.

Ms Masila sold three lesos from her wardrobe to replenish her dwindling stock. But it was not until Friday that she sold the first item from her new stock — to a group of journalists on assignment.

“I have never seen such a situation since I started doing this business. Even in low seasons in the past years business has never been this bad. It is a desperate situation that needs immediate intervention,” she told Smart Company.

The collapse of tourism in the coast region, precipitated by ruthless terrorist attacks and resultant travel advisories, has robbed Ms Masila’s family of its only means of a livelihood.

Travel advisories

“The government must first make sure that safety is restored, then persuade the Western governments to lift the travel advisories that have brought this misery to us,” she said.

Sometimes she has to walk half the 36km between her house in Likoni and the beaches of Diani, as she cannot afford the Sh140 bus fare.

Most of the international visitors currently arriving at the hotels are Chinese, whom Ms Masila claims are only interested in deep sea diving and fishing.

“Most of our customers are Europeans from Germany, the United Kingdom, and America. They have a high appetite for these products and are willing to pay for them. The Chinese visitors don’t even seem to notice our presence on this beach,” she said.

Her story paints a grim picture of the status of one of the most important pillars of the Kenyan economy, a sector that is the source of the livelihoods of more than 10 million citizens.

The downturn has led to job losses and pay cuts as cancellations have seen hotel occupancy go down to about 20 per cent, leaving the industry to operate below a third of its capacity.

Last year, the country earned Sh96 billion from 1.52 million international tourists.

The Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers last week estimated industry losses so far at Sh40 billion, with at least 20 hotels closing down. The ripple effect is huge.

“Traditionally, we reduce the workforce during the low season, which is between May and mid-July, by sending contract employees on leave. We then recall them at the onset of the high season but this year, unfortunately, we have been forced to send more on leave instead,” Baobab Beach Resort general manager Silvester Mbadi said.

Mr Mbadi added that the hotel has had to cut its high season rates from Sh9,450 a night to Sh5,800 in an attempt to improve bookings ahead of the peak of the high season in September. Currently, the bookings for September and November are about 20 per cent of the hotel’s capacity.   

During the same period last year, Mr Mbadi said he had to refer visitors to other hotels since the rooms at his hotel were all booked.  

The situation is even worse in the neighbouring Leopards Beach Hotel. When we visited on Friday, there were only about 60 visitors at the hotel, whose bed capacity is over 400.

Only 100 of the hotel’s 350 workers were on duty. And those who were lucky enough to be still working have had to take a 50 per cent pay cut.

Mr Daniel Makwata, 32, is one of the lucky ones. The father of two says his life has drastically changed over the past several months.

“I had to send my family back home because I honestly can’t afford to have them around. I would rather they go stay in my rural home because there they don’t have to pay any rent. Again, they can get some of their food such as vegetables from the farm, which reduces expenses,” Mr Makwata said.

He works only two weeks in a month to allow another employee to work the other half. His daily wage of Sh460 is hardly enough to pay rent, feed his family, and pay school fees for his two daughters.

“You see, we had to come up with a plan to ensure that none of us goes hungry or is kicked out because of rent arrears. Life has become very hard for us. The government officials responsible for this industry need to come to the ground to see the real situation in order to understand what kind of measures they need to take to rectify it,” he said.

Some workers claimed that their wages have been delayed for as long as a month, leaving them in a state of desperation.

Pay cut

“First, all of us had to take a pay cut, but the truth of the matter is that most of us have not even received any payment for weeks,” a security guard at the hotel said.  

The economy of the coast region is heavily dependent on tourism and the whole region is feeling the effects of the sector’s slump.

Farmer’s Choice coast area manager Lilian Obeto said her company’s sales for the region, which mainly supplies pork products to the hotels, have declined by more than 30 per cent.

It is the same story among taxi drivers, beach operators, and entertainment joints in the region.

“The industry is literally on its death bed and unless something drastic is done, many people will be subjected to poverty and suffering. And the effect will definitely be felt in the national economy,” said Mr Harald Kampa, the chairman of the Coast chapter of the Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers.