Travel sector performance dips by 10pc on back of coronavirus
By Christopher Owuor, March 5, 2020Lewis Njoka and Noel Wandera
Coronavirus fever has locked down China and the effects continue to spread across continents, both directly and indirectly with Kenya’s travel sector revealing its performance has dipped by 10 per cent.
As the world reacts to cushion economies, Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) members experienced a six per cent decline in February, peaking to 10 per cent in March.
“We have seen a significant decline in bookings. We had a six per cent overall loss in February which is increasing to 10 per cent in March because travel into China has been cancelled,” said Kata chief executive Agnes Mucuha .
Matters will get worse, with last Friday’s move by the High Court to suspend flights from China over the outbreak. Fears come This comes amid cancellations by regional carriers, Kenya Airways, RandAir and Air Tanzania over the same issue.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says more than 92,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide with the number of deaths from the virus hitting 3,110.
Mucuha said it was difficult to apportion a quantum value on the losses because the impact was residual. However, she said except for Italy and China bookings, the travel market in Kenya remains stable.
Kenya halted direct flights from Italy’s northern cities of Verona and Milan, which usually head to the Kenyan coast. Northern Italy has seen Europe’s biggest cluster of coronavirus cases.
Last month, Kenya Airways and RwandAir suspended all flights to and from China until further notice.
Contingency measures
The CEO, who was speaking in her office yesterday said Kata was confident the contingency measures top stakeholders like the government, International Air Transport Association (IATA) and WHO were putting in place would contain the spread of the virus.
IATA has begun contacting aviation regulators across the globe with the request that the rules governing the use of airport slots be suspended with immediate effect and for the 2020 season, due to the impact of Covid-19.
Reuters reported that the global industry body had estimated Coronavirus disruption could cost African airlines $40 million (Sh4 triilion), a potentially devastating hit to often struggling airlines, counting on lucrative Chinese routes to fund expansion.
Airlines around the world have suspended or modified flights after the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus, which began in mainland China late last year and has now spread to more than 60 countries around the world.
The lobby estimates that global hit to the aviation industry is projected to be $29 billion (Sh2.9 trillion) this year – a 4.7 per cent industry-wide drop in revenue per passenger kilometre.
Speaking at an aviation conference in Addis Ababa, Tewolde GebreMariam, chief executive officer of Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier, said the virus had slashed passenger demand.
Ethiopian Airlines has faced criticism online for not cancelling flights to China like neighbours Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.
Looking forward, Kata chief executive Agnes Mucuha said the outbreak of the virus was food for thought for African countries to bolster intra-Africa trade and break over reliance on China for imports.
Global concerns have seen the fight against the virus receive a boost with the World Bank announcing a $12 billion (Sh1.2 trillion) kitty to help developing countries curb the new scourge.
In a statement, the World Bank said the Sh1.2 trillion intervention was an initial package meant to offer immediate support to countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak.
“This financing is designed to help member countries take effective action to respond to and, where possible, lessen the tragic impacts posed by the Covid-19,” reads the statement in part.
Face masks
The government has banned the export of face masks, especially the N95 and 3-ply surgical masks used in combating the virus saying the country would need them if the virus found its way here.
So far, the country has about two million face masks on standby according to Kemsa CEO Jonah Manjari.