Over 7,500 hotel jobs lost as security alerts hit Coast bookings

Tourists at a Coast hotel. Photo/FILE 

By  MATHIAS RINGA

More than 7,500 hotel workers at the Coast have been declared redundant after security concerns pushed bed occupancy levels to a record low.

Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (KAHC) Kilifi chairman Philip Chai says 5,000 workers have been laid off in Malindi and Watamu this month, adding to the more than 2,500 jobs that were shed last month.

 

The job cuts are mainly in response to the travel advisories issued by Britain, the US, France and Australia following a string of grenade and bomb attacks largely blamed on the Islamic group Al-Shabab.

The association says bed occupancy has dropped to between 10 and 20 per cent and that 20 of the 30 hotels affiliated to KAHC have shut down.

“International tourists are hard to come by,” said Mr Chai.

Tourist arrivals in Kenya fell 15.8 per cent to 1.49 million last year as security worries kept visitors away. The UK is the country’s biggest source of visitors.
Travel agents said they hoped other destinations in the Rift Valley and around Mount Kenya would still attract visitors.

READ: Kenya’s tourism earnings drop due to rising insecurity

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday unveiled nine measures to stimulate domestic markets including employers paying for a week’s holiday for their staff and getting the cost deducted from their taxes.

The government will also remove the 16 per cent VAT on air tickets and park entrance fee to encourage more Kenyans to travel.

Industry players welcomed the incentives as they would cushion investors in the short-term but more will need to be done to sustain the industry.