The government in collaboration with tourism stakeholders is coming up with protocols that will ensure gradual reopening of the tourism sector, National Treasury CS Ukur Yatani has said.
Government will also provide temporary support to enable horticultural farmer’s access the international markets, among other measures to cushion the economy from effects of Covid-19.
Some of the measures that the government is progressively rolling out to support recovery of the tourism sector include temporary lifting of the ban to hold meetings in private hotels, till the end of the pandemic.
The government had last year banned use of private facilities as an austerity measure to cut on wastage.
It insisted all state related meetings, training and workshops be held in government institutions.
In his talking notes for an interview with Reuters on Friday, seen by the Star, Yatani said the government is also implementing a waiver of landing and parking fees, “ in order to facilitate movement of cargo, both air and sea, in and out of Kenya during and after the pandemic period.”
This will boots fresh produce exports.
The country’s horticultural sector, mainly flowers, has been hard hit by disruptions in international travel and closure of key markets in Europe in the wake of the coronavirus.
The markets are however slowly opening up with demand for fresh produces growing.
Transport CS James Macharia a week ago said the government has approached 12 airlines to complement the efforts of Kenya Airways in keeping horticulture export business afloat, a move that will also ensure jobs in the sector are saved.
“We have approached 12 other airlines to make sure they can complement the two freighters owned by Kenya Airways,” Macharia said at one of the daily government briefings on Covid-19.Meanwhile the government will support the hotel industry including availing a credit facility to help with renovations.The sector has been thrown into a spin with hundreds of hotels closing across the country, as more than 50,000 workers remain at home on unpaid leave.“We will provide support for hotel renovations through soft loans to be channeled through the Tourism Finance Corporation and promoting aggressive post Covid-19 tourism marketing,” Yatani said.He said while Covid-19 is largely a health sector issue, its impact to the domestic economy is also being felt in trade, which has been disrupted mainly on imports from China and the rest of the world, as well as exports to Kenya’s trading partners.Tourism services have been affected following hotel cancellations occasioned […]
