Tourism gamers welcome Uhuru’s new order on Covid-19 restrictions

Tourists arriving at Moi International Airport (PHOTO: Omondi Onyango)

The lifting of the cessation of movement in Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado, Nakuru and Machakos counties has been described as a great relief to the ailing tourism sector.

The players cited the five counties, which were closed for about a month, as the lifeline for tourism on the coast.

In his Labor Day speech, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the lifting of the partial lockdown in the five counties whose Covid-19 positivity rate had risen sharply before the ban was imposed.

” It’s good news for the tourism industry, especially on the coast. Tourism arises when travel and accessibility work. The closure of Nairobi and other four counties had essentially restricted access to the coastal region, ”said Sam Ikwaye, executive officer of the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers Coast Branch.

“Airlines, Madaraka Express and even buses have not made connectivity easier and have choked the coastal region. By opening the conference and all tourism circles can function,” added Dr. Ikwaye added.

Solomon Wao, chairman of the board of One World Adventures, a destination management company with offices in Nairobi and Mombasa, said the suspension of the movement was a great relief given that the majority of domestic tourists populating the coastal destinations are from Nairobi and neighboring areas come highland locations.

” We are equally relieved because that means that despite the entry into the low-tourism season, we can continue to receive hotel and flight bookings to Mombasa. We look forward to all the companies that this step will generate for us, ”said Wao.

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He said as a whole, they had planned a number of activities for the domestic market, including an entertainment event on Nyali Drive that would combine music, culture, beauty pageant and automobile challenge on May 15 at the Reef Hotel.

” We look forward to resuming business after we lost Easter as the lockdown prevented compatriots from traveling to Mombasa and the coast. It should never be lost to us that the Department of Health’s Covid-19 protocols remain high on our priority list as we strive to stay safe and virus-free, “Wao said.

Plaza Beach Hotel’s general manager Dennis Gwaro said reopening the districts means guests can travel to their favorite resorts for vacation.

” It will be a relief for hotel owners who had to dig deeper into their pockets to keep hotels open even with almost zero occupancy.

“When guests come in, employees we sent home can come back to work. When business resumes, we can also set off invoices to our suppliers who have tried to get paid for various services rendered,” so Gwaro said.

Janet Chamia, Chair of the Kenya Association of Women in Tourism in Mombasa County, welcomed President Kenyatta’s move and said she remains optimistic that they will get visitors from the affected areas once rail, air and road transport resumes.