This archive report was first published on 24 August 2021.
Published on August 24, 2021, a report by the East African Business Council (EABC) revealed the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector in East Africa.
The report, titled "EABC Studies on Impact of Covid-19 on Selected Sectors: Tourism & Hospitality Industry; Light Manufacturing Sector and Agriculture & Food Security," found that the pandemic resulted in a loss of $4.8 billion and two million jobs in the tourism sector in 2020.
According to the report, 4.2 million foreign tourists were unable to travel to their preferred East African Community destinations, causing a ripple effect across affiliated industries and other sectors of the economy.
Tourism is one of the leading foreign-exchange earners and fastest-growing sectors in the EAC, with the majority of tourists originating from Europe, the USA, and parts of Asia.
"It is estimated that tourism jobs in the region dropped from about 4.1 million to 2.2 million," said John Bosco Kalisa, EABC chief executive officer. "Visitors to national parks declined significantly by about 65 percent and, therefore, negatively affected wildlife conservation efforts in the region," he added.
The study also showed that bed occupancy in hotels significantly dropped during the pandemic, with hotels in the region registering average occupancy rates of below 30, according to Mr. Kalisa.
The study was carried out by the EABC with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the African Economic Research.
"The study found that 26.5 percent of businesses lost their entire projected revenues during the pandemic period; 44 percent lost 75 percent; 17.6 percent lost 50 percent of their projected revenues," the report stated.
In response to the findings, the private sector is calling on governments to create affordable loan schemes to support the tourist sector and to review the tourism regulatory framework to accommodate working from home and the use of digital platforms among others.
