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Hotels Up For Sale As Tourist Numbers Dry Up Along Kenyan Coast

Hotels Up For Sale As Tourist Numbers Dry Up Along Kenyan Coast

From Business Daily

The decline in the tourism sector is expected to worsen this month as more hotels at the Coast plan to shut down as international visitors continue to stay away.

The Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (KAHC) said a number of hotels will suspend operations by end of this month, rendering hundreds more jobless.

The KAHC Kilifi branch chairman Philip Chai said that some investors have put their hotels on sale after they lost hope on sector recovery.

“International holidaymakers are no more. Hotels have closed down in Malindi and Watamu and sent workers sent home,” Mr Chai said.

“The few hotels which remain open have occupancy of below 10 per cent. Some of them will close down by the end of this month.”

At least 22 hotels in the resort towns of Malindi, Watamu and Mambrui have shut down since last year, sending home 2,500 workers. He called on the Government to woo European chartered airlines to encourage them to resume flights to Mombasa.

The Kenya Association of Tour Operators Coast branch chairperson Monika Solanki said 70 tour firms have laid off more than 1,000 workers due to lack of safari enthusiasts.

Read more at Business Daily