Month: May 2020

The Portfolio Committee on Tourism and the Select Committee on Trade and Industry, Economic Development, Small Business Development, Tourism, Employment and Labour received a briefing from the South African Tourism (SAT) on their five-year strategic and annual performance plans.    

The report was well received as the committees were reassured by SAT that the target of 21 million tourist arrivals will be met by 2030. The committees welcomed the assurance to achieve that target after COVID-19 as that will be even more difficult given the fact that the entire world has been affected by the pandemic, and the competition for tourists among countries for tourists to their destinations will be tight.   Read More

The long wait for pending bills could finally end after Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala assured travel agents that he was keenly following up on the refund of pending bills amounting to over Kes. 400 million.

Speaking at a webinar organised by the Kenya Tourism Federation on May 12, 2020, Mr. Balala assured travel agents that he is following up on the matter and hopes that the pending bills will be reimbursed in June.

Travel agents have fervently pursued the refund of the Kes 434 million owed by government as it is the crucial injection needed to boost businesses already failing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More

Hahn Air has introduced a new department on Research and Development (R&D) with a new team that will be led by long standing Hahn Air Executive Mr. Mathieu Montmessin.

The new department is charged with analysing new technologies, fostering innovation and broadening Hahn Air’s product portfolio by generating new revenue streams and sales channels.

“We set up our new Research & Development department to meet the demands of a changing airline industry.  We are confident that our partner airlines and travel agency partners will benefit from our team’s innovative solutions and new distribution opportunities, especially in light of the current corona crises and the adjoining phase of recovery,” said the airline’s General Director Ms. Kirsten Rehmann. Read More

The Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) and various other associations under the umbrella body Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF) came together through a webinar to discuss measures of business survival during and after the COVID-19 crisis.

The associations explored the continuous devastating impact on the industry in finance, human resource and business continuity and ways of emerging from the crisis stronger.

KTF Chairman Mr. Mohammed Hersi noted that the longer the disease lasts, the longer it will take to revive the industry and the economy at large. Read More