Tourism
Tourism professionals have called for speedy resolution of the issues fueling anti-government protests to save the sector from losses.
Tourism Professionals Association (TPA) Chairman Ray Mutinda said even though the sector was steadily recovering from the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the protests which have gripped the country for the last one month threatened to reverse the gains.
Mutinda said the industry expected to fully recover this year by registering over 2 million tourists expressing fears that the protests were set to affect the growth. Even though no cancellations have been made, Mutinda said the protests were slowly giving the country a bad name.
“July to October is our peak period. This is the time our hotels are usually fully booked but this is not likely to happen due to the ongoing protests,” he said. The chairman called for a middle ground between the Generation Z (Gen-Z) and the government to ensure that the projected growth for the tourism sector is not interfered with.
Speaking during the TPA’s Annual General Meeting in Kisumu, Mutinda added that the association was pushing for the enactment of the Tourism and Hospitality Practitioners Bill 2023 to enhance professionalism in the sector. The bill, he said will ensure that only qualified professionals are allowed to work in the sector.
This, he said follows concerns over infiltration of quacks in the sector which is giving it a bad name. “These measures require a proper legal framework that is why we are pushing for the bill which will ensure that all workers in the sector register with the association,” he said.
Kisumu County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of Tourism Faridah Salim said the sector remains a key contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) calling on the national government and other stakeholders to address the security concerns posed by the national wide protest to protect the sector.
“When we have protests like this many visitors tend to avoid visiting our country. Therefore, we must strike middle ground and ensure that the programmes of the sector run uninterrupted,” she said