Tourism award hope for battered industry

Coronavirus has rapidly changed our world and daily lives. No one knows if these changes are permanent, long-term or just for a year or two. Undoubtedly, one of the worst hit industries is tourism.

It stands to reason that a virus which spreads internationally through air travel and close contact would shut down an industry dependent on these factors.

Kenya is no exception and its tourism sector has been badly battered in the last few months. Many people have lost their jobs, businesses are closed or closing and the whole industry is hanging by a thread. 

It needs something like a miracle to be saved.

While not a miracle, our government, led by President Uhuru Kenyatta alongside Tourism CS Najib Balala, has achieved something very close, and is now being recognised for it.

Kenya was the first nation in the world to be awarded the recommended status of the Safer Tourism Resilience Seal by global body Rebuilding Travels.

Rebuilding Travels is an important industry organisation which deals with rebuilding tourism industries after disasters and global events. It is a non-political pro-tourism industry group composed of members of tourism boards, ministers of tourism, professional associations, industry stakeholders, researchers, academics and perhaps most importantly, travellers.

The organisation said Kenya merited the award by creating a step by step process of a careful and a safe reopening and resumption of business in the tourism sector.

"The Kenyan Ministry of Tourism in discussions with Rebuilding Tourism has demonstrated that it understands that tourism surety involves training, education, investments in software and the understanding that security/surety is not a simplistic discipline,” read a press release by Rebuilding Tourism.

What this means is that Kenya is one nation that has understood what it means to open up a tourism industry safely and securely, even during the pandemic.

This is no easy matter and is certainly not a result of off the cuff decision making. 

Instead, it is the result of strategic planning and understanding the challenges that lie ahead long before they become a reality.

Almost two months ago, Kenya was one of few nations to receive the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) stamp of approval because of our nation's adoption of the global health and hygiene standardized protocols dubbed 'Safe Travels' in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This means that the work began months before that, because these protocols take a while to implement.

It is simply extraordinary that President Kenyatta and his government had the foresight, while other countries were overwhelmed, to create a plan of action to save Kenya’s tourism industry. 

This is the result of strong and robust strategic thinking, planning ahead and implementing clear and coherent actions for the good of the people.

None of these were mere slogans and before the public understood the full weight of these initiatives, strategic foundations were laid, and a plan of action was carefully considered and studied. 

Kenya needs this type of strategic thinking and getting ahead of the curve, because beyond the coronavirus pandemic, we still face monumental challenges, especially if we are to become a middle-income nation in the years ahead.

We can no longer tolerate short-term tactical thinking that is about putting out fires when they are raging or kicking the can down the road in the hope that someone else will be deemed responsible.

The President has demonstrated that he is never one to shy responsibility, however difficult the challenge. He promised the Kenyan people that our nation will be open again as soon as possible and we will be ready when the tourists return, without compromising on the health or security of Kenyans and foreigners alike.

He is once again true to his word.

Becoming the first nation in the world to be considered to be open, ready and safe for tourists is a massive victory for Kenya.

-Mr Mugolla is a public policy analyst. bmugolla@gmail.com