The national government has been asked to continue effecting the strict rules of the covid-19 pandemic to prevent other sanctions from the international states, tourism players in Malindi have said. – By Ramadhan Kambi.
After the United Kingdom(UK) imposed sanctions on Kenya, there are increasing fears that the United States(US) could also follow suit.
One of the sector players Freddie di Curatolo who is also the spokesman of the Italian community said they are worried about the third wave of covid 19.
Mr Curatolo said the banning of United Kingdom tourists from visiting Kenya together with the plan for the USA to do the same shall have negative repercussions to the sector.
Speaking to journalists in Malindi he said they hope Italy would not issue such sanctions for Kenya and called on the government to continue issuing strict measures to reduce the spread.
“Kenya is now on the spotlight worldwide due to the increased cases of corona, so they will now have to react otherwise we will have other countries reopening next months because they worked well and their people respected the rules,’’ he said.
He warned that if Kenyans won’t take the third wave seriously the effects would be more and businesses will suffer more than what was witnessed last year.
“So, we received some people here and they are all aware that there are rules to respect the problem is when they come here if they see people don’t respect the rules like wearing masks, they will imitate those styles and forget which is harmful,’’ he said.
Mr Curatolo said Italians are following the protocols including the curfew and always wear masks to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
According to Mr Philip Matei the owner of Sabaki center which houses key tourism businesses including the famous Barbar restaurant, tourism has really been affected by the pandemic.
He said most tourists visiting Malindi were from Italy but due to the pandemic, they depend on local tourists from Nairobi.
“Due to the lockdown, the tourism has gone to almost zero and in addition to that we are having many challenges due to cleanliness, we need to ensure before tourism resumes there is something to show that will attract tourists and make sure they stay in a clean environment,’’ he said.
Melinde Rees the general manager of Hmengiways resort Watamu said domestic market really picked well since they reopened at the end of June last year.
She said a lot of people were coming to the coast to enjoy the beauty of the Kenyan coast.
Rees said the pandemic has brought a lesson as it has proved how incredible the country is for locals to explore.
“For us, it has really been a bonus because it has enabled people to come and explore what a wonderful part of the world we are in,’’ she said.
Tourism is largely depended upon especially at the Coast and in Malindi, they had begun picking up the domestic market after the collapse of the international tourism.
