Save us from pain of terrorism, Coast pleads with Uhuru

Thousands of people at the Coast are staring at economic doom as the effects of insecurity brought on by terrorism intensify.

And contrary to common belief that only the hospitality industry was adversely affected, all sectors are suffering.

Agriculture, manufacturing, fishing, transport and retail trade have all been hit hard.

For many of those affected, the pain is aggravated by the fact that they do not know how bad things can get before they look up again, if ever.

They are now appealing to President Uhuru Kenyatta to address the security concerns of western nations who are the main source markets so that tourists can return. Once this is done, the President should intercede directly with his counterparts especially in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Tourism started spiralling downwards in May last year after the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Australia issued travel advisories warning their citizens against non-essential travel to Mombasa and other coastal towns following terror attacks and threats issued by Al-Shabaab.

Shortly after the travel advisories were issued, more than 500 British tourists were evacuated from the South Coast and other parts of the region.
Subsequently, almost all European chartered airlines pulled out of the Mombasa route, triggering an international tourist drought.

Currently, only German leisure airline Condor operates two charter flights a week from Frankfurt to Mombasa.

WORKERS SENT HOME

According to Mr Silas Kiti, the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (KAHC) Coast branch vice chairman, about 40,000 hotel workers across the region are at home following the tourism slump.

More than 40 hotels have been shut down in resort towns of Malindi and Watamu in Kilifi County, Diani in Kwale County and in Lamu County.

The KAHC official said hotel occupancy in Mombasa is currently averaging at between 20 and 25 per cent, Malindi and Watamu at 10 per cent and Diani and Lamu at below 10 per cent respectively.

“At the moment, the sector is facing its worst moment as international tourist numbers have hit the lowest ebb due to the travel advisories which were issued by some Western countries,” he said.

“Hotels which are open, are depending on conferences and domestic tourists to stay afloat as foreign holiday makers are very few,” he explained.
Last month, Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA) national chairman Joseph Ole Keyua said 10,000 permanent hotels workers in the region had been sent home on unpaid leave.

He said other permanent workers had their salaries reduced by 30 per cent as hotels grappled with low business.
Mr Keyua added that 18,000 members of the union who were working in the hotels on contract had also been laid-off.

“At the moment, 28,000 of our union members including permanent workers are at home. We are not sure when they will resume work.”

Kenya Association of Tour Operators (Kato) Coast branch chair-person Monika Solanki said about 1,000 tour vans across the region are idle due to lack of international tourists visiting the national parks and game reserves.

IDOL TOUR VANS

As a result, she added, more than 5,000 workers in the sub-sector have been laid off as visits to the parks had significantly dropped.

The Kato official explained that the number of tour vans heading  to Tsavo East National Park are about five a day down from between 50 and 70.
“About 1,000 tour vans are idle following massive decline in international wildlife enthusiasts visiting the parks while over 5,000 workers have lost their livelihoods,” she said.

“Tour operators don’t know what to do with the vans as they cannot convert them into matatus,” she added.
Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Mombasa branch executive officer James Kitavi said members were losing about Sh1 billion a month following the tourism downturn.

He noted that almost all businesses in Mombasa depended on tourism.
“The tourism decline has adversely affected our members’ businesses. Traders lose more than Sh1 billion a month,” he said.
Mr Kitavi said the industry’s setback was slowing down economic growth and job creation.

Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) Coast chapter chairman Munir Thabit said manufacturers have been hit hard by the industry’s poor performance.

Manufacturers of soft drinks, cooking oil, sugar, salt, dairy products, tea, coffee, tomato sauce among other products have experienced a drop in sales following the closure of hotels.

“The tourism slump has hurt the manufacturing sector as the closure of hotels has adversely affected the sale of products,” he said.
Manufacturers of lubricants, he added, had also lost business as tour vans’ trips to the parks and game reserves have significantly dropped.
“The tour companies used to buy lubricants from manufacturers in bulk when tourism was doing well,” he said.

During low season, he said, hotel owners used to buy building materials such as cement, paints among other products for renovating their facilities.
But this time round, he explained, many investors lacked cash flow for buying materials for refurbishing their hotels.

Kongowea Market Central Committee chairman Ali Mtsumi said the more than 10,000 traders at the giant wholesale market have lost sales of about 60 per cent in the aftermath of the tourism downturn.

He said suppliers who used to buy vegetables and fruits from the market owe traders more than Sh30 million in unpaid bills after they were supplied with vegetables and fruits.

During tourism boom, he added, traders used to buy vegetables and fruits from farmers in Nyahururu, Kakamega, Kibwezi, Kabete and other parts of the country.

DROP IN VEGETABLE SALES

Following the downturn, he said, traders have reduced the tonnage of vegetables and fruits they buy from upcountry farmers as the hotels which are open buy little food.

“Thousands of traders at the market are now struggling to make ends meet as demand for vegetables and fruits has significantly dropped,” he said.
“Demand for beef and chicken has also plummeted robbing livestock and poultry farmers of livelihoods,” he added.

Mango and pineapple farmers from the Coast who used to ferry their fruits to the market are counting their losses as the fruits are rotting in farms due to low demand from the hotels.

A Lamu fisherman, Ahmed Shaban, said they used to reap a windfall from the sale of lobsters but since tourism took a dive, their catch goes to waste.
He noted that fishermen have nowhere to sell their fish as most of the hotels in Lamu have been closed down.

“We face difficulties in selling lobsters and prawns as foreign tourists who used to feast on the expensive seafood are no more,” he lamented.
The Coast area, from Kiunga in the north to Shimoni in the south has nearly 30,000 fishermen most of who depend on the tourism market.

Naivas Nyali branch manager Stanley Kariuki said the supermarket was losing sales of Sh5 million a month in the wake of the tourism decline.
He notes that before the tourism downturn more than 10 hotels used to buy assorted merchandise from the supermarket.

“Our supermarket sales have dropped sharply following the closure of hotels in Malindi and Diani,” he said.
Tourists going on safari, he added, also used to buy products from the supermarket, saying the decline of visitors to the national parks and game reserves had affected business.

SOLD NOTHING IN 2 MONTHS

A curio dealer, Esther Wanzila, said she has not sold a single curio in the last two months.

Apart from the curios, Ms Wanzila added that she also used to sell locally made clothes and shoes to the visitors. She could make up to Sh2,000 a day.
“I spend several weeks without selling clothes and shoes while there are no more buyers for the curios,” she says.

“Most often, it’s European and American tourists who buy curios as souvenirs. The locals rarely buy artifacts,” she explains.

She said thousands of curio dealers in the region were living in misery as a result.

Mr Edgerton Mazai, a taxi driver based in Shanzu, says the livelihoods of thousands of taxi drivers across the region have been shattered by the tourism slump.

He explains that when tourism was vibrant they used to make a fortune since they would take tourists to Mombasa for tours, to Haller Park and to discotheques.

Mr Mazai says in a good day by then he could get home with Sh8,000 but in the aftermath of lack of international tourists, he now spends up to a week without a customer.

“In the real sense of the matter, taxi drivers at the Coast are hit hard by lack of customers as we mainly depend on European tourists,” he explains.

To revive the ailing industry, tourism players, manufacturers and other sectors called on the Government to address the security concerns raised by some Western countries for the travel advisories to be lifted.

They said since the travel advisories were issued May last year the sector has been brought almost to its knees.

On the other hand, they suggested that President Kenyatta hold talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama to seek a lift of the travel advisories.