Kenya acts to boost tourism

THE KENYAN government has announced initiatives as part of a strategy to spur growth in the tourism sector. 

• Families travelling to #Kenya do not need to pay visa fees for children under the age of 16, saving approximately £35 per child. 
• Tourists visiting Kenya Wildlife Service national parks in Kenya will benefit from park conservation fees being capped at $70 (£49.68). 
• Value Added Tax on park fees will be abolished from July this year 

The country’s Cabinet Secretary, Mr Najib Balala, said he expects Kenya to see a 20% boost in international tourist numbers from mid-July to December. Government officials have held talks with tour operators and travel agents in the UK, Italy, Germany, France, and Spain to promote the country as a tourist destination.


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Kenya to waive visa fees for children

THE KENYA TOURISM BOARD will waive visa fees for children under the age of 16 from next month in a further bid to woo back visitors. The waiver applies to all nationalities and is designed to encourage more families to visit #Kenya. 

In addition, all Kenya Wildlife Service park fees will also be capped at £41 for the financial year 2016/17, down from £62.

The moves come after Kenya introduced incentives for charter airlines at the start of this month.

The country has seen international arrivals drop dramatically following a number of terrorist attacks. At the end of last year, Mombasa was served by only three charter airlines, down from 30 a few years ago.

Major UK operators including Thomson, First Choice, Cosmos (now Monarch) and Kuoni evacuated their clients from Mombasa in May 2014 after the UK Foreign Office advised against travel to the area. Gradually the travel advisories have been lifted and parts of the coast are now re-open to tourism.

The latest incentives are part of the Kenyan government's commitment to the tourist industry, especially in the coastal regions.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13718235@N00/4929127313">Wildlife - Crescent Island, Lake Naivasha, Kenya</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">(license)

BHA calls for tipping transparency

RESTAURANTS and hotels should be legally required to tell customers how service charges and tips are distributed among staff. That’s the message from the British Hospitality Association (BHA) in a new initiative proposed to the UK government’s business secretary, Sajid Javid.

The BHA – which represents 40,000 hospitality establishments – wants the government to introduce legislation to make businesses reveal what happens to the ‘extras’ customers pay at the end of a meal.

‘For us, it’s all about transparency,’ said Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the BHA, which has outlined the proposal in a letter to the business secretary. ‘Although restaurants are legally entitled to deduct administration costs from service charges, for example, we think it’s important that customers understand exactly how much is deducted and why. Customers should be able to reward good service and know where their money ends up and how much of it goes to the staff.’

Many restaurants and hotels have signed up to the association’s voluntary code of transparency on tips and service charges. But now the BHA wants to make it a legal requirement.

It has been illegal for some years for restaurant owners to use tips and service charges to bring wages up to the national minimum wage. Service charges usually goes into a pool, which is distributed among waiters, front of house, and the kitchen team – allocated according to arrangements agreed by the staff.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29108968@N06/6092858399">Money</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">(license)