By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: Hotels and conference venues are now being booked after the government gave the green light to hold weddings, gatherings, events and activities, but with extra health precautions. "For the first time after almost 20 months, we have wedding celebrations and birthday parties in our hotel's function rooms. We were silenced by the coronavirus pandemic for months, which was very unfortunate, but it was a right move by the government to protect us against the pandemic," a hotel manager told Kuwait Times.

The hospitality industry was one of the most affected sectors during the pandemic, which led to a ban on gatherings such as weddings, community events and conferences, including workshops and seminars. Thousands of people were laid off or lost their jobs completely as a result. Now, however, the industry is gearing up for a comeback. "We are back, thank God," the banquet manager said. Both five- and four-star hotels confirmed a sudden increase in reservations for events and seminars.

"Bookings are open and we hope they will increase in the coming months. Although we have a shortage of manpower, we are going to manage with the minimum staff we have. In the next few weeks, we will resume all activities in our conference halls and ballrooms. We have a reservation for 100 persons for a wedding next week," he added.

Some clients are in a hurry to book their events, especially in the month of December, when many holiday events are held. "I called a hotel yesterday to book for December 17 for our company's holiday party, but the date was already reserved, so I got the nearest available date," a company organizer said.

Amid a decline in COVID-19 infections, Kuwait returned to normalcy from Sunday, with various sectors returning to full capacity. Kuwait airport resumed operations at full capacity and worshippers in mosques are now praying without distancing, although social distancing is still in force in closed places such as shopping malls, restaurants and cafes.