Hoteliers face tough times as low season hits tourism hard

Bed occupancy rates in hotels at the coast have dropped sharply following onset of the tourism low season, hitting operators hard and putting thousands of jobs at risk.

Average occupancy has nosedived from highs of 90 percent last month to between 30 and 40 percent currently, marking the end of the annual peak season.

To remain afloat, hoteliers have since January 15 sent some of their staff on leave and put others on alternating shifts, while others are contemplating shutting down for renovations.

Kenya Coast Tourism Association chief executive officer Julius Owino said hotels are offering special packages for events such as Valentine’s Day to attract domestic tourists.

“The situation remains promising with Mice [meetings, incentives, exhibitions and conferences) being our lifeline during the low season. We’re happy the government is holding most of its meetings in our establishments,” he said in an interview.

Big hotels and resorts with facilities to host Mice events have also stepped up their marketing efforts to attract business travellers and employees of non-governmental organisations.

Kenya Union of Domestic Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers estimates that more than 2 million people were employed in the tourism and related sectors before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many of them have now either lost their jobs or taken pay cuts. Mr Owino expressed concerns over the looming elections, urging politicians to conduct peaceful campaigns to avoid affecting the tourism sector.

Hotelier Mohammed Hersi in an interview urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to allow World Tourism Organisation to take charge of global travel and tourism.

“Travel is not just for leisure it is also for business and it's about time the world reopened. It is about time Covid-19 is removed from the pandemic category to an endemic for the industry to sustain,” Mr Hersi said on Facebook. “Spanish flu lasted two years killing close to 50 million people. We have also gone through 24 months and it is now clear that infections are dropping and fatalities have also dropped globally.”

Tourism players at the coast now are urging the government to deploy resources to support investors and workers in the industry.

“We need to do more to support our domestic market as this is likely to be the new trend in the wake of the pandemic,” said the Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers chief executive Sam Ikwaye.

Governor Hassan Joho urged the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife to market Mombasa as a Mice hub.

He said his administration is banking on opportunities in the blue economy and tourism to promote trade through the African Continental Free Trade Area.

“Mombasa is strategically located to promote investment in the blue economy, whose potential is yet to be fully tapped. We have helped boost security, health and safety . Our beautification programme has made Mombasa a liveable and enjoyable place to do business,” said Mr Joho last Thursday. He urged the national government to implement the open skies policy to allow direct flights to Mombasa. According to the latest data released by the Tourism Research Institute, earnings jumped 65 percent to Sh146.51 billion last year, up from Sh88.56 billion in 2020.

Uganda and Tanzania were the major tourist source markets for Kenya after the United State of America (USA), as the country registered a 53.29 percent growth in 2021, at 870,465 tourists compared to 567,848 in 2020.

Domestic bed nights grew by 101.3 percent between 2020 and 2021 while international bed nights grew by 0.05 percent.

Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala, however, said the numbers are still low, while attributing the losses to cancelled trips, low occupancy and disruptions to foreign and local travel.

CS Balala attributed the suppressed growth in the first quarter of 2021 to the spread of the Delta variant, while expressing optimism that the sector will fully recover with high international visitor arrivals as countries continue to enhance mass vaccination globally.

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