Friday January 11, 12:04 PM
Kenyan hotels lose 60 mln dollars over poll unrest
NAIROBI (Thomson Financial) - Kenyan hotels have lost around 60 mln usd in cancellations so far this month due to safety fears sparked by post-election violence, an industry group said Friday.
Hotel bed occupancy in Nairobi and in the popular Indian Ocean town of Mombasa has slumped by more than 50 pct, at the height of the tourist season, the Kenya Tourism Federation said in an advert in the Business Daily newspaper.
'The post-election week of violence and anarchy has caused untold damage to the tourism industry, laying to waste years of planning and concerted marketing,' it said.
Tourism is Kenya's leading foreign exchange earner, and last year brought the country more than 60 bln shillings (900 mln usd).
But bans on charter flights from countries including Britain, which provides the largest number of foreign tourists, have led thousands to cancel their holidays.
More than 5,000 clients have cancelled their bookings on chartered flights each week since the crisis began at the end of December, and some 20,000 hotel workers may lose their jobs in the next two months if it is not resolved, the Kenyan tourist group said.
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