Political uncertainty will kill tourism, leaders told

Rising political temperatures in the country are hurting tourism, beach operators in South Coast have warned.

Diani South Coast Local Association of Local Tours Operators (SLTO) and South Coast Beach Operators (SCBO) on Saturday said foreign tourists have cancelled their hotel bookings due to political uncertainty.

The two bodies with a membership of over 3,000 said unless things change, the sector will be crippled.

Owners of gifts shops, massage parlours and boat operators are among those hardest hit.

SCBO secretary general Justus Kioko said the situation is so bad that a curio seller is now getting one customer a week down from around 10 a day.

"The few guests we have are local tourists who do not have a lot of interest in what we sell or games such as snorkelling," Kioko said.

Mr Gideon Kibindu, a tour operator, says a single firm would have up to 14 vehicles transporting about 65 tourists to Tsavo National Park in a week. However, today, several tour firms have to combine efforts to fill a six-passenger van in a week.

"As we talk now, many tour firms and hotels have closed down. Tourism is dying. It is ironical that Diana Beach does not have visitors at the moment even after it was voted the best in Africa," Kibindu said.

He called on political leaders to sort their differences amicably. He also called on the Kenya Tourism Board to increase its efforts in marketing Kenya as a tourist destination and help source for new markets.

Kafaya Rimo, the secretary general of SLTO, said some foreign tourists cancelled their bookings after seeing pictures and videos of violent protests in the media.

He said while tourism had been contributing up to 60 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, this has since dropped to about six per cent.

"The government and the opposition most end the protests. We don't want the events of 2007/2008 to be repeated in 2017," he said.

Ms Salome Mathenge noted since the 2007 post-election violence, the sector has never recovered.

Tourism has been ailing since Western powers issued security alerts warning their citizens against travelling to Kenya due to insecurity. And now, protests to push for electoral reforms, it appears, are complicating the situation even further.

CORD leaders want IEBC reconstituted and all commissioners and staff sacked ahead of the 2017 General Election.