TPS Eastern Africa's Mara Serena Safari Lodge in the Narok County.
Kenya's tourist industry has been buffeted by security worries. FILE
PHOTO | EMMA NZIOKA
By Reuters and BD Reporter
In Summary
- The hotel chain said its net profit stood at Sh41 million in the period compared to Sh141 million a year earlier.
- Kenya's tourist industry has been buffeted by security worries.
- Its Tanzania and Ugandan businesses delivered good performances.
TPS Eastern Africa,
the owner of Serena Hotels and Lodges, reported first half of the year
after-tax profit down by almost three quarters on Thursday, saying the
Kenyan tourist business had been hurt by a spate of militant attacks and
travel warnings by several Western nations.
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The hotel chain said its net profit stood at Sh41 million in
the period compared to Sh141 million a year earlier. However, it said
its Tanzania and Ugandan businesses delivered good performances.
"The group faced a challenging business landscape in Kenya during the first half of year 2014," said TPS in a statement.
The business outlook for this year's peak season, running from July to October, was at "satisfactory levels", the firm said.
Kenya's tourist industry has been buffeted by security worries.
In September 2013, Somali-linked Islamist militants
attacked Nairobi's Westgate mall and left at least 67 people dead.
Since then, a series of attacks, many of them along the coast, have
prompted several Western nations to warn their citizens against travel
to some areas in Kenya.
The security worries and travel advisories have
emptied many beach resorts as well as hurt bookings on Kenya's popular
inland safaris, damaging an industry that is a vital source of income
for the country.
When the Kenya Tourism Board said this month that
arrivals in the first four months of the year were down just four per
cent from a year earlier, TPS said the numbers underestimated the
problems facing the industry.
TPS Eastern Africa said the introduction of Value
Added Tax on tourism services and park fees in Kenyan had made the
country uncompetitive relative to other similar destinations.
The firm, which also operates in Rwanda and
Mozambique, said sales fell to Sh2.71 billion from Sh2.92 billion, while
earnings per share plummeted to Sh0.13 from Sh0.69.
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