State waives duty for import of furniture for tourist hotels
JKIA's Lazizi Premiere, Kenya's first airport hotel. The government has waived duty on imported furniture for refurbishment of ageing hotels to boost tourism, Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has said. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Hotel owners who want to renovate their old facilities are required to forward their proposals.
Mr Balala noted that although some Italian investors in Malindi have renovated their hotels, there are more hotels in need of facelift.
The CS said almost all new hotels in Nairobi and others have benefited from the initiative.
The government has waived duty on imported furniture for refurbishment of ageing hotels to boost tourism, Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has said.
The minister spoke in an interview following a report published by Nation Monday on how insecurity and politics have killed the tourism industry.
The CS said under the initiative that has already been rolled out, hotel owners who want to renovate their old facilities are required to forward their proposals and the items they wish to import to the ministry for approval for duty-free importation.
“Most hotels especially in Malindi and Watamu are old and tourists do not frequent them any more. That is why we decided to put in place this incentive to have the hotels renovated. The uptake of this programme has been well received, with two hotels already renovated,” he said.
BENEFICIARIES
Mr Balala named Tropical Village in Malindi and Hemmingways Resort in Watamu as beneficiaries of the initiative in Coast region.
“Next month I will be in Malindi to open the newly renovated Tropical Hotel and in July, I will officially open the renovated Hemingway Hotel in Watamu,” he said, adding that the programme is open to all other hotels in the country.
FACELIFT
Mr Balala noted that although some Italian investors in Malindi have renovated their hotels, there are more hotels in need of facelift.
“We want many hotel owners to forward their proposals for consideration. Times have changed and they must also change their tactics on retaining visitors. Much as the government works hard to attract tourists to the country, investors also need to up their game and supplement our efforts,” he said.
The initiative is also benefiting investors who want to put up new hotels.
The CS said almost all new hotels in Nairobi and others have benefited from the initiative.
“The new hotels and structures in the hospitality industry are as a result of the incentives. You only need to tell us the kind of fittings you require for your hotel, and we approve the duty-free importation,” he said.
The CS further said the Kenya Tourism Board will next month participate in a tourism exhibition in Germany to promote the country as the best tourism destination.
“We had another team last November that participated in a tourism exhibition in the UK. We have special marketing rates for tourists from Italy,” he said.
DILAPIDATED
Daily Nation Monday published a comprehensive report on how major hotels at the coast closed down and are now dilapidated due to declining tourist numbers caused by bad politics, insecurity and terrorism.
Last month, Mr Balala, a long time minister for Tourism said the country has never recovered from the 1997 Kaya Bombo killings that killed the industry at the coast.
Violence erupted at the coast on August 13, 1997, launching weeks of terror in what had been a quiet resort area.
Using the cover of automatic guns wielded by outsiders, local raiders carrying traditional weapons attacked a police station and a police post at the ferry in Likoni, which connects Likoni to Mombasa island.
RAIDERS
The raiders killed six officers and stole more than forty guns, then proceeded to carry out a violent rampage in the area, burning market kiosks, office buildings, and killing and maiming people after identifying them as non-locals or people from “up-country.”
The impact of the violence was devastating. Statistics compiled by the police, which provide a conservative estimate, indicate that a total of 104 people were killed in the violence, at least 133 more were injured, hundreds of structures were damaged, and other property was damaged or stolen leading to large losses.
Human rights groups estimate that, in addition to more than a hundred people killed, some 100,000 people were displaced. Furthermore, the Coast region’s lucrative tourism trade came to a virtual stand-still overnight, and the country as a whole experienced a sharp downturn in tourism following the violence.
Mr Balala said the government has waived duty on all imported fittings, furniture and furnishings.
