Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has said the Ministry of Tourism has set aside Ksh500 million for its post Coronavirus (Covid-19) recovery plan
He said this at a tourism stakeholders meeting held in Nairobi which brought together Nairobi hoteliers, tour operators, travel agents, and airline representatives. The meeting had been convened by the Ministry of Tourism to discuss the preparedness of the Government in relation to tourism following the global Covid-19 crisis.
“Part of this money will be used to restore destination confidence to ensure that Kenya remains as a preferred travel destination globally while the rest will be used for the post Coronavirus recovery strategy in all our key source market” Said CS Balala
He added, “The Government is prepared and committed to ensure that covid-19 virus does not get into the country a reason why President Uhuru Kenyatta formed a taskforce to coordinate Kenya’s preparedness, prevention and response to the disease”
Apart from the isolation centre at Mbagathi Hospital, every County will have an isolation ward for COVID-19 virus. Currently, the Ministry of Health is overseeing the training of 5000 doctors and nurses to ensure that the country is well prepared in case the pandemic strikes. Kenya has also been selected as the hub for CDC Africa which ensures that the country is at the centre of eliminating the disease.
During the meeting, the stakeholders through the Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF) Chairman Mohamed Hersi said that they were ready to work collaboratively with the government to ensure that Kenya’s tourism remains at the top and also expressed their gratitude to the ministry for the synergies between its departments, Tourism and Wildlife and other key state departments such as Immigration and transport that support the tourism business.
The stakeholders also urged the public to desist from spreading fear and creating perceptions that the conditions were bad while also remained confident that the government was working to ensure that Coronavirus does not get into the country.
Despite the fact that Kenya has not reported any Coronavirus case, Kenya’s tourism industry has been one of the most hit sectors due to the global nature of the crisis, especially with most of the key source markets in Europe and Asia reducing travel.
