We value your privacy

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalized ads or content, and analyze our traffic. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to our use of cookies. Cookie Policy

Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

ADVERTISEMENT
Africanian
  • News
  • News 24/7
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Travel
  • World
    • US
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • America
  • Events
No Result
View All Result
Africanian
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Kenya: Beating the odds to survive the pandemic

The travel industry in Africa, like the rest of the world, has taken a severe blow due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the majority of people who are dependent on it suffering immense losses and job cuts.

in News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
1 0
0
Beating the odds to survive the pandemic
1
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Whatsapp

More

Lesotho increases blood collection by 70% between 2017 and 2024

RevUp Women Initiative Launches Nigeria Edition at Lagos Startup Week 2025

Kigali launches urban cable car to connect communities and reduce inequality

Agnes Mucuha, the chief executive officer at the Kenya Association of Travel Agents, says that the coronavirus has hit the travel industry really hard with loss of jobs and revenue for travel agents.

“The beginning of the year had so much promise. Kenya had recorded an increase in international arrivals after receiving 1,444,670 arrivals between July 2019 and February 2020 as compared to 1,323,548 over the same period last year,” Mucuha said.

“Over 90 percent of forward bookings from the month of April were canceled. Our industry forecast on bookings for the period ending July is also extremely depressed as travelers have opted to postpone their travel until quarter four,” Mucuha added.

Christine Wanjiru had worked as a receptionist at Nairobi’s Bon Voyage travel agency for 10 years and according to her, she had never expected a day would come when she would unceremoniously lose her job.

According to Wanjiru, her travel agency closed shop in April, but most employees like herself who were considered nonessential during the pandemic were laid off in March once Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s president, announced an international travel ban that only allowed Kenyan citizens and foreigners with valid residence permits to fly into the country.

“The communication we received from our human resource department was that we are being laid off due to lack of business but should the situation take a turn, we will be given first priority and be re-absorbed if and when the business needs us,” Wanjiru said.

Having found herself jobless and with two children to feed, Wanjiru decided to get into business by using her husband’s car to pick up groceries at Nairobi’s Wakulima Market and sell them in the estate where she lives through the same car.

“At first it was challenging. I was used to dressing up and going to an office for an 8 am to 5 pm job and selling groceries looked like I was stooping low. However having come from the aviation industry, I was aware that people in much more prestigious positions like pilots and air hostesses had lost their jobs and in a time of crisis, you have to work with what you have,” she added.

“It has been challenging trying to sell groceries from the vehicle. I had to learn fast about where to get the groceries and convincing customers to buy from you is also difficult. Before the virus, I used to have a grocer who I would regularly buy supplies from but now we are like competitors. Convincing such loyal customers to abandon their grocer and buy from you is not easy,” Wanjiru says.

However, Wanjiru is hopeful that she will not be in this position for long and humanity will defeat the virus and rebuild from where they left once the virus struck.

“The world cannot be closed forever and I believe a solution for the virus will be found. Before that happens, we cannot give up hope and resign ourselves to fate. Though I am not making as much as I used to, this grocery business has been able to supplement my husband’s earnings and we are able to feed our children and pay the rent despite the harsh economic times,” Wanjiru said.

On July 6, Kenyatta announced that international flights in and out of Kenya will resume from Aug 1, while domestic flights will resume from July 15.

“We are glad that travel will resume, but we may not immediately get our jobs back. Reversing the effects of the virus will take time and before a permanent solution is found, we should all be ready to continue making sacrifices in order to survive,” Wanjiru said.

Source: China Daily
africanian

africanian

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Rwanda combines youth innovation and circular economy to build a resilient nation

Rwanda combines youth innovation and circular economy to build a resilient nation

July 3, 2025
7 Tracks, 1 Future: AfriLabs Annual Gathering 2025 Sets the Stage for Africa’s Innovation Renaissance

7 Tracks, 1 Future: AfriLabs Annual Gathering 2025 Sets the Stage for Africa’s Innovation Renaissance

June 25, 2025
Weather in South Africa: Climate and Seasons

Weather in South Africa: Climate and Seasons

August 25, 2020
Lesotho increases blood collection by 70% between 2017 and 2024

Lesotho increases blood collection by 70% between 2017 and 2024

July 8, 2025
Nigeria accelerates economic transformation with key reforms and signs of recovery

Nigeria accelerates economic transformation with key reforms and signs of recovery

July 7, 2025
RevUp Women Initiative Launches Nigeria Edition at Lagos Startup Week 2025

RevUp Women Initiative Launches Nigeria Edition at Lagos Startup Week 2025

July 5, 2025
Twitter Instagram Youtube Facebook
No Result
View All Result

Africanian News

Is a dedicated project aimed at amplifying the voices of the African Ecosystem and Diaspora. We actively collaborate with initiatives to improve access to education and digital inclusion, both in traditional schools and through digital platforms, for African children.

It’s crucial to emphasize that none of the articles or images featured on our platform are intended for copyright infringement, neither now nor in the future. If you believe that any information, text, image, etc., may be subject to copyright and should be removed, please notify us by sending an email to info@africanian.com

Your dreams matter; your stories matter.

Feel free to explore collaboration opportunities with us. Share your articles, thoughts, interviews, experiments, or no-comment videos by reaching out to info@africanian.com. You can also subscribe to our mailing list to receive the latest updates from Africanian News.

© 2024 Africanian News: From Africa, by Africans, for Africa, and friends of Africa.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Travel
  • World

© 2024 Africanian News: From Africa, by Africans, for Africa, and friends of Africa.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Log In

Sign In

Forgot password?

Don't have an account? Register

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Back to Login

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Accept

Add to Collection

  • Public collection title

  • Private collection title

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.