INDUSTRY: After Christmas and New Year holidays that presented a brief window for tourism sector players to make money, the multi-billion shilling sector has experienced sharp decline in business in the first two weeks of 2021.

Kenya Coast Tourism Association chairman Victor Shitakha attributed the sharp decline to the reopening of schools and the scarcity of foreign arrivals owing to prolonged restrictions orchestrated bu Covid-19 pandemic.

At PrideInn Paradise in Shanzu, Shitakha said the five star hotel is now at eight per cent guest occupancy while Flamingo resort is at 14 per cent, driven mainly domestic tourists.

“It’s terrible, hotels are doing badly in business because people are economically strained by  fees after schools reopened.

“Currently, if there is any hotel doing well in the entire coastal region it is at 14 per cent occupancy down from 100 per cent in December,” he added.

The tourist establishments are now hoping for a sector rebound in the Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) tourism as it now remains the only alternative after foreign tourist arrivals significantly declined last year due to Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

“Meetings are coming up and that is the only hope we have, you know foreign tourists can no longer be depended on owing to travel restrictions due to Covid-19,”he added.

Robert Kiri, General Manager at Sheraton Beach Villagio in Mombasa blamed continued restrictions, especially the  dusk-to-dawn curfew for the decline in numbers as many guests are uncomfortable with limited dinner hours.

“Many guests feel the time to have dinner is too short because of the curfew therefore they get discouraged, it’s our appeal to the government to remove some of the restrictions that will help the sector grow,” he said.

“We are struggling business has not come back as it was before,” Shitakha who also doubles as General Manager of Pride Inn Flamingo Beach Resort, in Shanzu told Business Hub yesterday.

Tourism destinations, Shitakha  said should brace for slow international arrivals because in addition to the Covid-19 pandemic which has taken toll on the lucrative sector, the situation may worsen in as the country heads to General Election in 2022.