A section of Malindi Town. Malindi town mostly depends on Italian visitors since most social facilities in the town are owned by Italian investors. [Photo/ tripadvisor.com]
Over 3,000 hotel staff in Malindi and Watamu could lose their jobs due to a tourism low season in Kilifi.Hotels in the county are facing closure for lack of customers, one week after the Easter season boom.Those in Mombasa are, however, safe as conference tourism is helping the facilities stay in business.The upcoming general election is also seeing hotel operators scaling down operations, adopting a wait-and-see attitude.The Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (Kudheiha) Kilifi County branch said on Saturday that hotels in Watamu and Malindi towns are facing hard times in business.Hotels in Kilifi, according to Kudheiha, have generally received few visitors since the Easter season ended.Data from the Kenya Tourism Board shows that in the 1990s, hotel business in Malindi and Watamu boomed due to large visitor numbers especially from Germany and Italy.Business, however, took a nosedive following the 2007/08 Post Election Violence which claimed over 1,300 lives.Malindi town mostly depends on Italian visitors since most social facilities in the town are owned by Italian investors.The Kenya Association of Hoteliers and Caterers (KAHC) Kilifi County branch chairman Philip Chai said most hotels in Malindi and Watamu could close in May because of low business.“Hotels in Malindi and Lamu are shutting down due to lack of guests,” he said.“Previously, hotels in Malindi used to close down temporarily during the low season. But this time, some will not re-open,” he added.