Minimum Tax
The High Court in Machakos made a ruling to suspend Minimum Tax till the determination of a constitutional application is heard. This gives the industry some relief as we seek to have the tax regime reviewed by government.
EATP Board
The East African Tourism Platform Board led by KTF Vice Chairman, Fred Odek held its first meeting since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. The board looked at its overall strategy and made proposals on the way to increase cross East Africa tourism.
KEPSA AGM
Kepsa held its AGM and the undersigned was elected to serve another term on the board through FKE. Mohammed Hersi was elected to lead the tourism sector board and will be deputized by Fred Odek. The highlight of the AGM was the election of the first ever Lady Chair of Kepsa in the person of Flora Mutahi, who is a former KAM Chair and owner of Melvin’s Tea. We wish her the best as she takes over the reins in a very trying economic and health environment.
WTM Africa Virtual Exhibition
Our members got an opportunity to attend WTM Africa virtually through a sponsored programme under EATP. This was a great opportunity to pick up on B to B meetings since the suspension of trade shows due to Covid-19.
Work Permit Committee
The work permit committee which is chaired by PS Toursim, Safina Kwekwe met twice over the period and considered work permit applications from our members. The committee now meets every month which has greatly eased the pressure on application recommendations.
Presentation to Parliament through Min of Labour
We made a presentation to the CS Labour, Hon Chelugui with due regard to the impact of the recent lockdown of the 5 counties which he in turn presented to Parliament for consideration.
Meeting at OP
We held two meetings at OP where the team was very helpful in the reopening of the 5 counties that were on lockdown. We continue our engagements with OP on other areas such as minimum number of participants at meetings in our properties. We are also seeking a new policy on fully vaccinated travelers and the need for PCR tests.
Vaccine Roll Out
As part of our engagements with government, we were able to secure the inclusion of tourism industry workers within the first phase of vaccination. In this regard, CS Tourism, Hon Balala rolled out a vaccination programme in Nairobi after which we convinced the counties of Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale to administer vaccines to our staff. This exercise was largely successful but was hampered by the shortage of vaccines. We plan to continue once vaccines are made available. Under Kepsa, we have launched an initiative where privates sector will support vaccine roll out by committing to paying for their workers.
Meeting British High Commission
We held a meeting with the British High Commission in an effort to understand the decision to include Kenya in the red list. The representative informed us that this was based on scientific considerations and that a good number of people arriving in the UK from Kenya has tested positive to the Delta Variant of Covid-19. We are still in touch with the High Commission as we have received new information that we would like to share with them.
Meeting Tanzania High Commission
Following President Suluhu’s successful State visit to Kenya, we met with the Tanzanian High Commissioner to look at ways of enhancing our trade relationship especially on tourism.
Covid Meetings Weekly
We continue to attend and input in the weekly Covid-19 meetings under Kepsa. We have met for a total of 53 times over the last year and intend to continue till we mitigate the effects of Covid-19.
Lifting of Lockdown on Labour Day
The cessation of movement within the 5 counties was finally lifted by HE President Uhuru Kenyatta on Labour Day. We urge all our members to continue observing Covid-19 protocols and trust that once we roll out vaccinations as a country, the option of new lockdowns will reduce.
Technical Committee on Developing Standards for Spa and Wellness
Under the auspices of the Tourism Regulatory Authority, we took part in a workshop for the development of standards for Spa and Wellness products. The workshop report will be shared with members once concluded.
Kenya MICE Brand Launch
Tourism CS Najib Balala launched the Kenya Mice Brand under the Mugumo Tree in Westlands Nairobi. This initiative is meant to grow the business of meetings in the country and will be spearheaded by the Kenya National Convention Bureau.
Glass Crasher
One of our members is developing a glass crasher and has the message below:
One of the problems with most hotels and lodges is how to remove bottles from the location. Bottles take up a lot of space and we always used to have a nightmare with them. We tried supplying Kitengela glass, then we used to donate them to somebody who used to recycle, and that went bear shape. So by crushing the glass you can either use it as sand or transport it and sell it as sand to a builder. It can be used just like sand or even as a terrazzo finish. The machine is simple made in Kenya and very hardy. The cost is about Kshs 175,000.
Kindly refer to the attached brochure.
Media Engagements
Below are links to the various media engagements that we had:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG9ymKInxWw