Tourism stakeholders drawn from the coast region have expressed their dissatisfaction with the ministry of health directive that requires all tourists to show proof of vaccination before accessing their facilities.

Led by the Kenya Coast Tourism Association KCTA chairperson Victor Shitakha, they described the directive as draconic and illegal only meant to destabilize the already struggling industry that was picking up its pieces.

Addressing the media on Wednesday  afternoon, Shitakha said that most of their facilities in the region ignored the illegal and ill-advised directive that he said when announced led to the cancelation of a number of bookings in several hotels.

He said that the industry was expecting to capitalize on the festive season with hotels which were not operating fully beginning to pick up but the directive threatened to derail that.

“They chose December when business was booming, Mombasa and the region was just starting to pick up. Hotels were full with 90 to 100 percent bed occupancy and bookings, tour operators had business coming in and then this draconic and illegal directive is given,” said Shitakha.

According to Shitakha, most of the hotels ignored to implement the directive allowing people to come in choosing to rather follow all other laid out protocols put in place to combat the pandemic.

“We would like to ask the ministry of health to be sensitive with the hotels and the tourism industry, we have gone through a lot and just when industry is picking up they come with such kind of directives,” said Shitakha.

According to the directive, the government was going to deny all unvaccinated Kenyans from accessing government services in all public offices.

Further, it ordered all hotels, bars, restaurants, public parks and game reserves, the transport sector all to ask for proof of vaccination before allowing people in.

The implementation of the directive was however halted by the High court though the health ministry still insisted on its full implementation and was to come into place starting December 21st.

Shitakha said that they were not against vaccination arguing that getting vaccinated was not an obligation but rather a choice for one to make individually adding that denying people services or blocking them from accessing certain places was going against constitutional rights.

He added that it seemed as if there was a deliberate attempt to scuttle the tourism industry in the region and the country at large.  

He added that the industry was the most hard hit by the pandemic when it first struck in March 2020, they were forced to put in place and implement expensive protocols outlined to combat it.

“They offered us a Sh3 billion stimulus package which was supposed to cushion the industry, and then they turned it into a loan where you could take so little only to upgrade your hotel,” he said.

He further took issue with the National Industrial Training Authority now requiring them to pay training levies saying that it had nothing to do with the hospitality industry.

He said that the industry was already paying a percent percent levy to the tourism fund as required by the law.

Shitakha further took issues with the Tourism ministry for failing to speak on behalf of the sector adding that the ministry had failed the sector and had not done enough to protect it.

The minister for tourism Najib Balala was present when his Health counterpart made the announcement two week earlier to the December 21st set deadline.

“He should have spoken on behalf of the tourism industry, I have nothing against him and neither I’m I blaming him as an individual, Balala is my good friend. I’m only blaming the ministry and some team players within it for failing to speak on our behalf when the directive was being issued,” said Shitakha.

He further blamed the Labour ministry for failing to speak on the matter affecting an industry that employs a big number of people who were rendered jobless for some time occasioned by the pandemic.

On his part Kenya Union Of Domestic Hotels Educational Institutions Hospitals & Allied Workers (Kudheiha) Mombasa branch Secretary Zack Osore called on the government to consider engaging the tourism and hospitality operators to find alternative ways to addressing the outstanding issues in order for the sector to fully recover and create more jobs.

"We are telling the government to reconsider this directive since many employees have lost hope of retaining their livelihoods" said Osore.