NAIROBI, Kenya, April 4 -Sixty-five percent of hotels in Kenya expect to return to pre-pandemic levels by end of 2022, a survey conducted by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has revealed, indicating continued recovery of the sector which was amongst the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The figure excludes Nairobi and Mombasa where 20 and 26.3 percent of hotels reported that they expected to resume fully by the end of the year.
The poll which was administered among hotel owners, chief executives, and senior employees indicated that 21 percent of the hotels had already attained the pre-pandemic levels.
“The increase is attributed to the removal of all restrictions related to COVID-19 following a reduction in infection rates even as the country intensifies the vaccination exercise,” the survey which was conducted between March 15 -18 noted.
Fourteen percent of the 65 hotels surveyed noted that they were unsure of when they will attain the pre- COVID levels of operations.
The average utilization of restaurants and conference services improved in March with the bed occupancy rates reported at 67.5 percent in Mombasa, 54.6 percent in Nairobi, and 43.8 percent in the rest of the country.
“Bed occupancy in Mombasa was particularly high with some hotels reporting full occupancy. This was supported by the school holidays despite being a low tourist season,” the survey noted.
Overall, the utilization of conferencing services improved to 49 percent in March compared to 30 percent in January
Mombasa reported 58.3 percent, Nairobi 50percent, and the rest of the country at 33.6percent
“This growth is attributed to normal business cycles in conferences services as corporate and government institutions resumed their conferences and workshops from the December holidays,”
COVID-19 triggered more domestic tourism with the proportion of local accommodation services clientele rising to 76 percent compared to the 62 percent figure reported pre-pandemic levels.
Nonetheless, “the share of domestic clientele in both accommodation and restaurant services decreased between February and March in line with the rising numbers of tourist arrivals into the country. Consequently, the share of the foreign clients rose during the period although it remained below the pre-COVID period.”
