Hospitality industry to roar back to life as restaurants, bars expected to operate normally

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s announcement to lift the daily dusk to dawn curfew has breathed a new life into the hospitality sector of the economy.

Bars, restaurants and all hospitality providing facilities have now been given the green light to operate normally as they used to before the pandemic albeit with the Ministry of Health protocols.

This announcement was made by the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism Najib Balala on Wednesday.

However, Balala emphasised on observation of the MoH COVID-19 containment protocols to tame the speed of the dreaded virus.

“All hospitality facilities are back to normal with MoH (Ministry of Health) protocols,” said Balala.

This also comes just a few days after the Bar Hotels Liquor Traders Association urged the government to lift the curfew as that sector of the hospitality was down.

Another sector that was has suffered because of the pandemic is the Tourism industry. Travel restrictions and advisories affected the traffic of tourists coming into the country.

The industry suffered huge losses, prompting some establishments to cut loose some of their employees or close altogether. An example of such an establishment is the Treetops, which was recently closed down over lack of visitors.

According to government and Private Sector Alliance data, tourism and travel suffered the most during the pandemic with approximately 3.1 individuals losing their jobs.

In order to be at par with the dynamic needs of visitors and challenges that come up in the industry, Balala said the industry has to act swiftly and become dynamic as well.

"To keep pace with the fast-changing needs of visitors and challenges faced by the tourism industry, the industry has to act swiftly and adjust its strategies for tourism development from time to time," he said.

Kenyans are now hopeful that the various sectors of the economy will roar back to life and create much-needed employment.