This archive report was first published on 30 June 2020.
Kenya's tourism sector has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the sector losing approximately Sh80 billion since the outbreak of the virus in December last year.
According to a report by the National Tourism Crisis Steering Committee, the sector's revenue plummeted by 50% to Sh80 billion, with the second half of the year being as good as zero.
Wildlife and Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala attributed the massive drop in revenue to the grounding of the aviation sector, which is the largest contributor to tourism.
“We lost 50 per cent of our revenue of Sh160 billion with the second half of the year being as good as zero,” said Balala at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi.
He also projected that for the first half of the current financial year, Kenya will get just 30 per cent of expected revenue.
The report, dubbed ‘Impact of Covid-19 on Tourism in Kenya, The Measures Taken and The Recovery Pathways’, sampled the significant effects of the Covid-19 on the sector, including pay cuts, job losses, and unpaid leaves.
Eight one per cent of respondents noted that their organisations had reduced the number of employees due to the pandemic, while 85.5 per cent respondents reported that their organisation had taken a pay cut to survive the loss of revenue.
The tourism market also suffered significant loses, with 65 per cent cancellations by domestic tourists, 38 per cent by regional visitors, and 81 per cent by international tourists.
However, the report is optimistic that the sector will bounce back once parks are reopened, with some of the suggested pathways including special, discounted rates and waiver of cancellation fees depending on the season.
Product improvement is another area the report reiterates has to be taken care of alongside price revisions for tourists.
“Develop competitive airline packages that will encourage more Kenyans to move from one county to another for holidaying purposes. The current packages charged by the local carriers (both private and public) are not friendly to many Kenyans thus halting domestic tourism movements,” notes the report.
Tomorrow, the CS will launch the tourism sector protocol to guide operations in the sector, and hinted that domestic tourism will start in July.
“Of course we know there are some international tourists coming in December for the holidays but proper recovery will be in the summer of 2021,” said Balala.
