Kenyan hotelier TPS Eastern Africa said it expects its profit for 2014 to fall by at least a quarter, mainly due to frequent attacks by Islamists that scared away tourists.

The attacks caused Western governments to warn their citizens against visiting Kenya, sending tourism, one of Kenya’s top foreign exchange earner into a slump.

TPS, which operates the Serena chain of five-star hotels and luxury lodges, said the downturn in Kenya had created a ripple effect on its operations in other East African nations, which was further compounded by the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa.

“During the last quarter of the year 2014, the Ebola epidemic originating from West African countries negatively impacted all African tourist destinations,” the firm said in a statement published in Kenya’s Daily Nation.

Travel warnings

TPS posted a net profit of $7.2 million in 2013, a 35.4 per cent growth in net profit from the previous year.
It said the leisure segment was the worst hit by the travel warnings against Kenya, with the business segment taking a less severe blow.

“The Kenyan coast continues to experience an unprecedented business crisis,” TPS said, referring to a circuit popular with holiday makers.

The introduction of value added taxes on tourism services and park fees in 2013 also affected Kenya’s overall competitiveness, curbing the sector’s performance, it said.