Kenya: Miano Roots for Robust Policy Framework to Regulate Airbnb Sector

Nairobi — Tourism Cabinet Secretary nominee Rebecca Miano is rooting for a robust policy framework to regulate Airbnbs in a bid to net more income in the sector.

Appearing before the National Assembly appointments committee, Miano indicated that this will also reduce the associated controversies.

The lawmakers sought to find out how she would regulate the sector that been in the limelight over numerous controversies and crime like femicides.

Last year alone, over 35,000 Airbnb operations were flagged for failing to pay the tourism levy.

This was after the Tourism Fund and other regulatory agencies launched a new registration of Airbnb’s in an effort to bring them under the tax bracket.

Miano said she will work in coordination with relevant organizations including the Ministry of Interior and National Coordination to curb the vices associated with the business.

“I will have consultation with the relevant ministries so that we finally have regulations, policies and framework so that we tidy up the Airbnb business places that is untidy getting into all manner of things,” she said.

She opined that Ministry of Tourism needed to be adept to the transformation in the sector through research and adaptivity of the rapid changing sector.

Traditionally, established hotels have always enjoyed the lion share of country’s tourism spoils but with the Airbnb wave things have been shifting in the business.

“The case of Airbnb where we see the tourism industry is overtaken by the growth of the business. We have research organization dealing with tourism must be on top of the game on what’s happening in the contemporary changes,” Miano stated.

Registered businesses in the tourism sector are supposed to remit a 2 percent tourism levy to fund various tourism-related initiatives, infrastructure development, and promotional activities.

However, the Airbnb business which is largely unregulated has failed to remit their levies leading to loss of revenue.

The Tourism Fund is a government corporation that was established under the Tourism Act of 2011 and it’s mandated to support tourism growth in the country.