Narok loses over Sh2b revenue due to Covid-19 Pandemic

Entrance of the Maasai Mara National Game Reserve. [Courtesy]

Narok County government lost Sh2.25 billion tourism revenue at the world-famous Masai Mara Game Reserve last year.

This followed the ban on international flights at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Governor Samuel Tunai, who is also the Tourism Committee Chair at the Council of Governors, said the loss was occasioned by an international travel advisory issued by many countries.

“The county usually gets annual revenue of about Sh2.5 billion from the Masai Mara and we lost about 90 per cent of the collection as no visitors visited the game reserve,” he said.

At the same time, Tunai said 80 per cent of Easter holiday hotel bookings at the game reserve were cancelled after the government restricted movement in five counties to curb the spread of Covid-19.

“During this season of the third wave, already 80 per cent of bookings have been cancelled meaning most hotels will be forced to lay off their employees,” he observed.

The county boss reiterated that the sector was slowly recovering from the losses made last year but unfortunately, the third wave of Covid-19 has once again hit the tourism industry.

He, however, lauded the measures put in place by the government to curb the spread of the virus, saying the move will minimise deaths caused by the disease.