The impact of Covid 19 on tourism training in Kenya According to Ondicho and Irandu (2021), tourism is one of Kenya's most significant sectors and economic contributors. The industry accounts for around 11% of GDP, 12% of wage employment, 18% of foreign exchange, and 11% of government income. The epidemic of COVID-19 has had a significant impact on Kenya's tourist economy. World Bank (2020) reported that while Kenya began the crisis with strong resilience, the pandemic significantly brought negative influence on the economy. It has had a devastating impact on the living situations of many individuals who were previously depended on the tourist business, causing the Kenyan government to face a huge socioeconomic crisis. Many employees were laid off, were given half-pay, or were forced to take unpaid vacation. This had a knock-on impact on the tourist training department, and tourism training in the country took a significant hit since the entire industry had little growth in terms of professions and employment. According to Gough & Scott (1999). Education and training are crucial to attaining sustainable tourism; With this students in the country were not enrolling for the tourism career courses and opted for other careers. As a result, the government was forced to adopt some measures to keep the tourism sector afloat. The GOK through the National Tourism Risk and Crisis Management Committee (2020) in their report states that the government was forced to put aside Ksh.500 million (USD 4.7 million) to assist some sectors in the tourism industry in recovering from the COVID-19 epidemic as well as a Ksh.1 billion stimulus package to help train 5,500 community scouts for the Kenya Wildlife Service. Another impact of the COVID pandemic was the laying off of staff working in the hotels, tour companies and other tourism sectors. Some of these workers had enrolled to training programmes to further their studies but since many were laid off it became financially impossible to continue their courses. The pandemic also impacted the local and international students doing Hospitality studies such as those studying in Utalii college .Many were not able to continue as the schools were non operational and the industry at large was dormant. According to the National Tourism Risk and Management report (2022) GOK was forced to set aside stabilization monies to assist the operations of Utalii College, Even before the pandemic hit the country, Kenya just like many African Countries out there were facing problems in tourism training. With the emergence of COVID 19,This department was further put in a lot of strain.Mayaka & Akama (2007) confirm this, according to their report, Kenya, like many other Third World nations, lacks a well-coordinated tourist training plan and educational institutions capable of delivering much needed human resource training and capacity building, particularly at the supervisory and management levels. However, Kenya's tourist business is on track to recover following the COVID outbreak. It is showing some optimism and training programs that had paused or lacked financing have resumed as more individuals who were in training and held positions in the tourism sector are resuming their occupations and enrolling in training to advance their careers. It is only a matter of time until the industry returns to its former glory. References: GOK Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife , (2022) Impact of Covid-19 on Tourism in Kenya:Measures Taken and Recovery Pathways. https://www.tourism.go.ke/wpcontent/uploads/2020/07/PRECIS-COVID-19-AND-TRAVEL-AND-TOURISM.pdf Gough, S., & Scott, W. (1999). Education and training for sustainable tourism: problems, possibilities and cautious first steps. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education (CJEE), 4(1), 193-212. Mayaka, M., & Akama, J. S. (2007). Systems approach to tourism training and education: The Kenyan case study. Tourism management, 28(1), 298-306. Ondicho, T. G., & Irandu, E. M. (2021). Impact of Corona Virus (Covid-19) Pandemic and Implications on Tourism Sector: The Experience in Kenya. Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies, 5(6), 31.
