The Kenya Coast Tourism Association (KCTA) has put up efforts to remodel the tourism sector in the region by starting-up with the training of 600 beach operators.
KCTA Chairman, Victor Shitaka said 600 beach operators will graduate on Monday after completion of training on beach management.
Shitaka said that the training was on customer care, alternative livelihood activities, security on the beach among other basic skills.
“We realized that there was a lot of negative publicity on beach operators. Together with the hotels managers, we agreed that we will work with the beach operators, as they won’t go anywhere. Thus we thought of empowering them so that they can be beneficial to the sector,” said Shitaka.
The KCTA Chairman said that those trained include hairdressers, massagers and Maasai Morans.
“We will issue them with licenses to operate freely at the beach. We will also build them toilets and give them water. At the same time, they have promised to clean the beaches and help in providing security,” he added. There are around 3,000 registered beach operators in Mombasa County.
Shitaka also requested the government to provide a 24 hours economy at the beaches where tourists can go to the beaches even at night.
He noted that, although Covid-19 affected the sector, recently hotels have recorded a boom to the business as most of the hotels in the county are 60 per cent full with meetings going on.
“This is a noticeable improvement that we celebrate. With the country slowly returning to normalcy due to the Covid-19 crisis, we are optimistic that the high season will be a good one,” he said.
County Tourism, Trade and Investment Chief Officer, Asha Abdi, said that the County government of Mombasa is eager and ready to contribute resources in the striving of the tourism sector.
Abdi said that, in this year’s theme for World Tourism Day, “Tourism for Inclusive Growth” they have decided to celebrate it by showcasing various coastal traditions including coastal cuisine.
“We will have a food and art exhibition over the weekend, where foods prepared in various hotels in Mombasa will be sold at Mama Ngina drive at a subsidized amount, for our people to get a taste of what is offered at the beach hotels,” said Abdi.
Mombasa County Public Health Chief Officer, Pauline Odinga, said all is set by the health officials as they will take advantage of the weekend’s celebration, to vaccinate people against Covid-19.
By Chari Suche
