South Coast hoteliers say unfazed by Brexit

A section of hoteliers in Kwale County have said Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU) will not affect tourist arrivals into South Coast.

They say numbers are unlikely to fall because most of the region’s market depends on Germans and Italians. Swahili Beach Resort General Manager Jeff Mukolwe says since Kenya faced some insecurity challenges three years ago, the British market had nearly collapsed and most hoteliers now depend on German and Italian markets.

“Currently we will not feel any impact of the British exit from EU because we lost that market three years ago,” he said. He at the same time cautioned that were it to happen to German or Italian markets the Coast should forget tourism all together.

Mukolwe noted that current statistics of British tourists in South Coast hotels is very low unlike the Germans and Italians. “You may only find two or three British tourists in Diani unlike the Germans and Italians who are here in large numbers,” he said.

He urged leaders to conduct their politics and campaigns in civil manner so as not to plunge the country in economic oblivion. Effects of negative campaigns and politics he said are so dire and might affect everyone.

“Tourism is the backbone of our economy, therefore let every citizen especially the political leaders take into account the effects of negative campaigns which affect all businesses, “ Mukolwe said.

Echoing Mukolwe’s sentiments, Leopards Beach Resort General Manager Mohammed Omar said the Ministry of Tourism was still in the process of wooing back the British market to Kenya but it had not picked up. “It is difficult for now to determine its impact on Kenyan tourism until the market fully recovers which will take some time,” Omar said.

Omar, however, said that hoteliers are still optimistic and hoping that the incentives put forward by the ministry and Kenya Tourism Board will assist in recovery of the markets.

He also noted that from July tourism stakeholders are expecting some charters from Poland which will be a big boost. “With these charters coming in from next month we believe the industry will rebound and come back like before,” Omar said.