Travel advisories and high taxes are slowly killing the tourism industry

Kenya’s hospitality industry has finally rung the alarm bell on one of the mainstays of the Kenyan economy – tourism. Last week, the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers announced that hotel bookings in coastal resorts like Mombasa had sunk to an all-time low.

Hotel occupancy in the coast region has been averaging between 20 and 40 per cent in the low tourism season, but even the Easter break – traditionally a period when hotels at the coast experience higher occupancy rates – has not helped to attract more tourists.

This Easter, very few hotels experienced 100 per cent occupancy. The Association said that crime and terrorism threats had forced many international tourists to seek beach holidays elsewhere. (READ: Coast hotels lower prices to boost Easter bookings)

My niece, who is a travel consultant, told me that travel advisories cautioning tourists against visiting the country had made things worse. Apparently, when a country issues a travel advisory, insurance companies follow suit by refusing to honour insurance claims made in the trip, even if it is for a minor medical expense.

“If anything happens to the tourist in such a country, they are expected not to present any insurance claims to their insurance companies,” she said. This has severely impacted on tourism, and pushed many tourists to other destinations like Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi.

NEW FEES

However, Richard Corcoran, the managing director of Liberty Africa Safaris, says the blame for the slump lies squarely on the shoulders of the government. In a hard-hitting commentary published in the Sunday Nation, Corcoran stated that newly introduced VAT and rising park fees have substantially increased the cost of a holiday in Kenya and the country’s appeal among safari enthusiasts. (CORCORAN: Kenya must save its tourism from a slow death)

What’s worse, the new levies were imposed abruptly and without consultation with tour operators who are running into losses because their bookings were made prior to the imposition of VAT.

In addition, rising levels of poaching, including in the prized Maasai Mara game reserve, have reduced wildlife numbers in several parks. Some conservationists are blaming the rising demand in China for ivory and rhino horn and the commensurate increase in the number Chinese people living in Kenya in recent years.

It has been alleged that some these Chinese workers could be linking up with poachers and exporting the ivory. I find it strange though, that people with a Buddhist tradition (which espouses non-violence towards all living creatures) would think nothing of using tusks and horns from brutally slaughtered elephants and rhinos. Though the Chinese government has said it is fighting trade in ivory, it is clearly not doing enough.

Encroaching settlements in protected areas have also forced many wild animals to migrate to Tanzania, which could be a death sentence for Kenya’s tourism.

However, I still believe that Kenya is one of the best tourist destinations in the world as it offers a variety of experiences, from mountains, to lakes to savannah and beaches. We have an advanced hospitality industry that is much better and experienced than that of neighbouring countries.

Our flora and fauna have been protected by the State, which benefits enormously from the taxes generated by this industry. Yet the State is sitting back and watching this industry die. This is economic suicide. The government must save the industry before all the tourists head south.

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Talking of hospitality, I am sure every Kenyan will agree that while hotel staff treat foreign tourists with utmost courtesy, they tend to ignore you if you are Kenyan. I have experienced this especially at the coast, where even low-life backpackers and sex tourists are treated with utmost respect, while the Kenyan domestic tourist is given the cold shoulder.

This has significantly marred the domestic tourism experience and driven many Kenyans to seek holidays abroad.

Kenyans treat each other badly, and not just in hotels. The most annoying habits of Kenyans from all walks of life is not returning official phone calls, not replying to emails in a timely manner, and not answering the phone courteously, even if these actions lead to more business.

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