Day: May 19, 2023

The Tourism Fund has embarked on training hoteliers and other stakeholders in the tourism sector on best practices to attract tourists to their facilities.

According to Tourism Fund Board of Trustees chair Samson Some, the trainings that are to be held across the country are meant to help the players in the tourism industry up their game.

He said that the country was facing stiff challenges from its East African neighbours, hence the need to offer quality training to hoteliers on ways to improve on standards for tourism.

Mr. Some regretted that while Uganda and Tanzania were building their tourism numbers, Kenya, on the other hand, was having its numbers declining.

Speaking in Nyahururu town, where hoteliers and stakeholders in the tourism sector from Laikipia and Nyandarua were trained, the Tourism Fund Chairman added that the training was also meant to ensure that local and international tourists take Kenya as their preferred destination globally.

‘The training is part of the Fund giving back to stakeholders for paying the levies because many hotels in the area are now compliant in paying the levy after several stakeholders’ meetings organized for them by the Fund,’ said Some

Nyandarua County Tourism Chief Officer Samuel Gitaka implored the Fund to partner with the County Government on mapping out tourism sites in the county to enhance tourism.

He added that small businesses, when given such training, should aspire to expand and make Nakuru a place tourists can come to sample different kinds of food, like in Barcelona, Spain, which is a destination for food tourism.

About 120 workers and 56 directors drawn from various hotels in both Nyandarua and Laikipia were awarded certificates after completing the training that covered customer care, guest relations, and interpersonal relations, among other topics.

Hotel owners in the region were also urged to help the government in the fight against illicit brews and drug pushing.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Seychelles’ government has expressed its deep concern with the ongoing conflict in Sudan and the resulting humanitarian crisis and calls on the international community to support the northeastern African country in its efforts to find a just and lasting solution to the conflict.

In a press communique on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said “We strongly condemn the use of violence and call for an immediate end to the hostilities between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), resulting in the loss of life of hundreds of innocent civilians, the displacement of hundreds of thousands more and the destruction of critical infrastructure.”

The communique said, “The crisis in Sudan is now in its fifth week with seemingly no end in sight. We join the international community in calling on all parties to engage in constructive dialogue and work towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict.”

“The people of Sudan deserve to live in peace and security, and we urge all parties to respect their rights and protect their safety. We further urge the SAF and the RSF to respect and abide by the ceasefire agreements mediated by the United Nations, the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and other parties concerned,” it added further.

Seychelles calls on the international community to support Sudan in its efforts to find a just and lasting solution to the conflict and urges all parties to respect international law and to ensure that humanitarian aid can be delivered safely and unhindered to those who need it.

The communique said that Seychelles is committed to the principles of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, as well as to peace and stability on the African continent.

“Our position on the conflict in Sudan is unambiguously aligned with that of the African Union and the United Nations. In light of this, the government of Seychelles calls on the SAF and the RSF to come to the negotiating table with the objective of finding a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Sudan,” it added.

According to the Aljazeera news network, since fighting erupted in Sudan on April 15, at least 528 people have been confirmed killed and 4,599 wounded although casualties are likely much higher.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

Seychelles has improved its compliance rating with the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), according to the latest report of the compliance committee, a top official said on Friday.

The principal secretary for fisheries, Roy Clarisse, told reporters that “this year, Seychelles scored 86 percent compared to 80 percent, last year. This is a great improvement, considering that the average compliance rating of the commission was only 65 percent.”

Clarisse said that “This shows our firm commitment to ensure that we honour our obligations within the commission.”

A delegation from Seychelles attended the 27th Session of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) from May 8-12 in Mauritius.

In the previous meeting in Mombasa, Kenya in February one of the issues discussed was the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs), fish stock, and catching of undersized fish around purse seine fishing.

This resulted in the IOTC voting to adopt a proposal for a 72-day ban on FAD fishing by purse seiners in the Indian Ocean, as the devices have been shown to contribute to overfishing because they attract juvenile fish as well as endangered turtles, sharks and marine mammals that get caught up in purse seiner nets.

Seychelles voted against the proposition and at the meeting in Mauritius, took the same stance.

“Seychelles was pushing for a measure on drifting FADs that is adopted after scientific recommendations have been made. We want the IOTC’s scientific commission, which has been tasked until December 31, to provide advice to the commission. We want the process to be carried out and followed and based on the recommendation of the scientific commission, Seychelles will make its decision,” said Clarisse in a previous interview.

He said the measure was a bit arbitrary and the target was purely for the commercial interest of other parties that do not use purse seiners and FAD fishery.

The proposal is “to ensure that in the end, this type of fisheries is no longer economically viable for the region and this will have a huge impact on Seychelles,” said Clarisse.

Due to the disagreement on that resolution, the IOTC commission has agreed to adopt one that caters to more agreement when a resolution is passed.

In this case, coastal countries have asked that studies are done to determine the socioeconomic aspects as well before passing resolutions.

Clarisse said that the resolution for the 72-day ban has not come into force and is supposed to do so in August.

Fisheries is the second most important industry for the economy of Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean.

Source: Seychelles News Agency