Tourism players demand application of new law

By Macharia  Kamau

Nairobi, Kenya: Tourism industry players want the government to fast-track the implementation of the Tourism Act.

The industry also wants the East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism Ministry to develop policies that would enable the sector tap into the devolved system of governance.

The Tourism Act has been in place for more than a year now but is yet to be implemented fully, which has left the industry in limbo.

The Act changes key government agencies running the tourism industry including changes to their approach to business. The Act also sets up a number of institutions that are yet to be established.

The partial implementation has also left all tourism corporations without boards of directors, which have made decision-making at the agencies close to impossible.

Clear picture

Chief Executive of the Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF), Ms Agatha Juma said the piecemeal implementation of the Act had affected the functioning and to an extent held back the industry.

“When the Act is implemented fully, we can have a clear picture of the industry’s needs and be in a position to chart a way forward, “she said. She spoke yesterday at the launch of Tourism Network, a multi sub-sectoral stakeholder platform for regional associations and businesses in the sector to scout opportunities and lobby devolved governments.

The push for the implementation of the Tourism Act is raging despite an uncertain future for some of the agencies created by the Act.

A report by the Presidential Taskforce on Parastatal Reforms is expected to further complicate the implementation of the Act, with proposals that some agencies – across all industries including tourism – should be scrapped and others merged.

Edith Bosire, chief execute Eco-Tourism Kenya said the industry needed a policy to enable investors tap into opportunities at county level, where investors and communities can engage in different tourism segments that are currently under-exploited.