Tourism records terrible results, but there is a ray of hope for 2015

Tourists arrive at the Malindi airport in Kilifi County on August 16, 2014. PHOTO | FILE |

What you need to know:

  • Insecurity has been the greatest threat to the industry since 2012
  • Ms Kandie recently announced plans to gazette tourism boards by the end of this year as a “Christmas gift to the sector”.

The collapse of tourism could top the list of major concerns among the Treasury economists as they plan for the future.

Since 2011, when there was a 16 per cent surge, growth in the number of visitors coming into the country has been slow. This has been the worst year yet.

The first hit was in 2012, owing to insecurity. Travel advisories had also been issued by the United States and British governments soon after the killings and kidnappings of foreigners.

This was also after Kenya sent its troops into war-torn Somalia to fight al-Shabaab terrorists and restore sanity on the Indian Ocean waters where piracy was rampant.
Things went from bad to worse in 2013 when Westgate mall in Nairobi, was attacked killing 67 people in September.

This year has not been any better. Last month, over 60 people were killed in cold blood in two separate terrorist attacks in Mandera County, further denting hopes for tourism.

RECENT EFFORTS

All these have over time watered down Kenya Tourism Board’s marketing of the country and reassure tourists of safety.

The single tourist visa in February this year has not helped even though it’s cheaper.

Earlier this year, President Uhuru Kenyatta also issued a directive to private companies to pay for their employees holiday and deduct such expenditure from their taxes.

“Through this measure, we shall directly give at least 25,000 Kenyans a chance to go for a week’s holiday every month at the expense of their employers, bringing over 300,000 additional Kenyan guests in our hotels throughout the country,” Mr Kenyatta said. This is yet to be implemented.

The government has also exempted all air-ticketing services by travel agents from Value Added Tax. This was to boost the country’s competitiveness as a preferred tourist destination in the region. The Kenya Revenue Authority was instructed to clear all outstanding income tax-related refunds owed to the tourism industry by May 29.

HIGH HOPES

Toursim board managing director Muriithi Ndegwa told the Sunday Nation that they were optimistic that 2015 will be better during the peak season.

He said: “We are working to diversify tourism products to include meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions as well as sports tourism, birding, agritourism and medical tourism. These will go a long way to ensure traffic into the country,” said Mr Ndegwa.

The board, he noted is on a campaign to diversify its tourist source markets to ensure stability even with fluctuating arrivals from its key markets.

“Kenyans can take advantage of the country’s rich cultural uniqueness and get to know their country better as domestic tourists,” he urged.

The board hope to increase tourists to two million from traditional, emerging and domestic markets including East Africa.

East African Affairs and Tourism Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie in May formed a recovery committee, which included members of the public and the private and technical advisers.

The committee is led by Ms Lucy Karume and is expected to release a report in January on the recommendations to what private firms and the government need to do to return the industry to its former glory.

Ms Kandie recently announced plans to gazette tourism boards by the end of this year as a “Christmas gift to the sector”.

“With the government working to deal with issues of insecurity, we can only hope for the best and we are sure to bounce back,” said Mr Ndegwa.