(4 minutes read)
· The East African Business Council (EABC) took upon itself
the task of development of tourism sector in the region and called
upon member countries to pool additional funds available for the
tourism sector
· Travel cancelations to the region by foreign tourists are
expected to reach about 6.2 million, with the effects to be felt
across affiliated industries and the rest of the economy, according to
the report by travel trade
· According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO),
international tourist arrivals contribute 44% of the African tourism,
while the share of domestic tourism is 56%
The East African Business Council (EABC) took upon itself the task of
development of tourism sector in the region and called upon member
countries to pool additional funds available for the tourism sector.
It is estimated that the region is staring at a revenue loss of more
than US $5.4 billion in 2020 due to the covid-19.
The fund mooted is for protecting jobs, sustain the self-employed,
support companies’ liquidity, operations and accelerate fast recovery.
The impact of the pandemic on the tourism sectors of Rwanda, Burundi,
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan is huge.
Kenya has already taken a lead in the matter and earmarked US$5
million to fund the nation’s tourism recovery plan. Tourists have
canceled bookings that left tour operators and other stakeholders in
the disarray.
Travel cancelations to the region by foreign tourists are expected to
reach about 6.2 million, with the effects to be felt across affiliated
industries and the rest of the economy, according to the report by
travel trade. For instance, tourists visiting Serengeti in Tanzania
dropped to 24 from a peak of 6,000 per day before the pandemic. Rwanda
is not far behind. Its parks dotted with gorillas and stretches that
are used for trekking bear a deserted look. A visit to gorilla
spotting trails would fetch US$560 in Uganda and still higher in
Rwanda at US $1,000. The conferences also have come down, which used
to bring business travelers in large numbers, particularly in
countries like Rwanda and Uganda. Over 20 meetings scheduled for
March and April in Kigali were indefinitely postponed. These
conferences would have generated close to US$8 million. The spread
effect of these cancellations would affect the revenues of hotels,
tour operators and a host of people who are dependent on tourism
sector directly or indirectly.
According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), international
tourist arrivals contribute 44% of the African tourism, while the
share of domestic tourism is 56%. The estimates of WTO are that world
tourism arrivals could decline by 20%-30% in 2020. This will cause
losses of up to US$450 billion in international tourism. That will
also reflect on the tourism revenues of the African countries.
