Stakeholders in the tourism and transport sectors at the Coast are among the biggest beneficiaries of the removal of the dusk-to-dawn curfew.
For more than one and half years, the two sectors have been reeling from losses.
In Mombasa, several nightclubs and hotels were forced to close down while others were on the verge of collapsing.
Several bus companies ceased operations with some forced to reinvent themselves by doing cargo transportation only.
A spot check by the Star established that several nightclubs and entertainment joints in Mombasa among them; Bunga Bunga and Zee Lounge at Kenol, Fontanella in the central business district were forced to close down due to the negative impact of Covid-19.
Sam Ikwaye, the coast executive director of the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers said most hotel facilities were forced to shut down.
“Business has been affected by Covid. You still have electricity and water bills to pay, staff and suppliers to be paid. Many investors could not cope up with this, which is why many opted to cut down the number of staff or close down altogether,” said Ikwaye.
He said the new directive by the President gives investors a chance to reorganise themselves.
“We are heading towards December and we are hoping to see clubs and hotels that were closed down reopen now,” he said.
PrideInn Hotels managing director Hasnain Noorani said the last 18 months have been crazy for the people working in the hospitality industry.
“When Covid-19 hit the country in March last year, most hotels were forced to shut down, and by the time we were opening it was around September,” he said.
He added: “After the resumption of services, we were observing occupancy of between five per cent and 10 per cent because there were a lot of uncertainties, fear, and cessation of movement that had been imposed by the government.”
He noted improvement in numbers with the sector being supported by local tourists.
Removal of curfew, he said, is critical for the industry's recovery.
“The nightlife in Mombasa is an integral part of the entire hospitality business because when people come to the region,they want to have that freedom. We thank the President for doing this at such a good time before December. It will give people the confidence to do bookings for the festive season,” he said.
Noorani said as hotels, they will continue to operate with the Ministry of Health protocols on Covid-19.
The immediate former chairperson of Kenya Tourism Federation Mohammed Hersi said tourism cannot happen without mobility and therefore as a tourism industry, they appreciate the removal of night curfew.
“A lot of people travel at night, the removal of the curfew was a good move especially to the tourism industry because it will help us in re-building the sector and stabilising the numbers coming in Mombasa as both local and international tourists,” Hersi said.
He however said the tourism sector in Mombasa has a long way to go as numbers remain low.
“We need the government to allow more direct flights to come to Mombasa in order to boost our tourism sector,” he said.
Kenya Transporters Association chief executive Denis Ombok termed the removal of the curfew as a relief to public transport.
