Noting the compelling nature of the new normal following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. This brought about unprecedented and unforeseen circumstances in Kenya that has affected the livelihoods of citizens and that of many women in Kenya as the government implemented policy measures such as imposing partial lockdown of private and government businesses and curfew to restrict movement. As a consequence, one of the most affected sectors is tourism.

Kenyatta University secured a grant in 2020 from the Bill and Melinda gates foundation to implement a 5-year project on “The Initiative for What Works for Women’s Economic Empowerment (IWWWEE)” As a part of a 5-Year project, researchers from the Global Tourism and Crisis Management Centre- Eastern Africa who are part of the research team aim to build a programme and policy evidence on what works to advance Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) in tourism in Kenya.

For this reason, on March 18th 2021, a team of three researchers from the Women Economic Empowerment Hub from Kenyatta University working on the research project on Gendered Impacts of the Kenyan Government Policy Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic paid a courtesy call to Hon. Safina Kwekwe Tsungu, the Principal Secretary, State Department of Tourism. Also present was a team from the Tourism and the Gender Workforce Policy Committee and the Principal Tourism Officer at the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife. The PS and her team laid an excellent landscape on the strategies in place to guide the tourism industry, the stakeholders involved and the expected outcomes. Further, she appointed a team of five (5) members to join the WEEH team for the next 5 years. The team is expected to ensure that gender aspects are instilled in the tourism industry in Kenya.