Stakeholders in the hospitality Industry are projecting a significant recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to them, they will be able to recover from the shocks by the end of the second quarter of 2022.
The sector continues to grapple with the impact of the pandemic despite the removal of most of the restrictions that further crippled it.
Speaking to Citi News’ Fred Duhoe, Area General Manager- Africa for Kempinski Hotel, Manish Nambiar stated that, “We have one of, I think, the lowest infection rate from my perspective. So different markets are doing it in different ways, but most of them are coming back, and we are hoping that by the second quarter of next year things should be much better than it is today.”
He however added that smaller players in the industry may take a longer time to fully get back on their feet.
“Because of the pandemic, the ones that are most affected are travel, tourism, and hospitality. These are the three industries that are worst affected by COVID-19 and rightly like you said, smaller players might find it more difficult to face these challenges and the bigger players may be a little more resilient to some of these issues.”
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, millions of dollars have been lost and several businesses shut down, while others were compelled to downsize.
But with the efficacy of vaccines, global economies are beginning to pick up.
The government has made some efforts towards the recovery of the industry from the impact of the pandemic.
Some include the launch of a local tourism drive campaign and the acquisition of a $55 million grant from the World Bank to boost the tourism industry.