Local hospitality industry players have called on the government to consider allowing hotels and restaurants to reopen immediately.
The hospitality sector was hit hard after President Uhuru Kenyatta locked down five counties and closed restaurants and bars.
“It is painful seeing staff stay home jobless yet they have families to support. It’s a pity that hotels and tourism industry players in Kenya are not given the ears required," PrideInn Group Managing Director Hasnain Noorani said.
"Simple solutions were very possible to enable the businesses to go on, but we were all ignored."
In 2020, when the President first announced measures to prevent the virus from spreading, the monetary and fiscal authorities followed up with a number of measures to safeguard businesses and individuals from the ensuing economic hit.
“The government has been silent on measures to give businesses a respite from the looming crisis. We call upon the government to give us a chance to defer taxes, or part of the taxes since we are back to the mass closures that put us on our knees since last year,” Hasnain said.
Tourism contributed approximately 10 per cent of Kenya's annual GDP, employing over two million people.
It was this segment that got decimated with the onset and continuous grip of Covid-19.
With lockdowns across the globe, flight and travel restrictions, Kenyan tourism ground to a halt for the most part of last year and started making a tentative recovery in the last quarter of 2020.
While new restrictions were imposed, hoteliers accuse the government of camouflaging the real magnitude of the pandemic on travel and hospitality business.
“..the authorities have been silent on measures, if any are intended, to give businesses a respite from the looming crisis,” said Farzana Zahir, Sales and Marketing Director at PrideInn Group
The hospitality industry now faces the task of restoring consumer confidence and adapting offerings to ensure guests’ experiences are not only hospitable but hygienic and safe as well.
“Trust and innovation is the new currency when it comes to hospitality, so upholding the globally benchmarked health and safety protocols for the safety and protection of everyone is what we have done in our hotels. This is to increase people’s propensity to travel and re-instil their confidence in travelling,” Farzana said.
