Esther Munyiri, Kenyatta University, Kenya

I am Dr. Esther Munyiri. I am the Chairperson, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Kenyatta University, Kenya. I am part of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Satellite Centre (GTRCMSC). The GTRCMSC was established in November 2019 in Kenyatta University, as a satellite Center of the Global Centre that was launched in Jamaica earlier last year. The Satellite Centre is mandated with the responsibility of researching, training, policy formulation, and communicating issues related to resilience and crisis management in the Eastern Africa region. A number of programs are being implemented by the Centre in relation to COVID-19.

We, the members of the GTRCMSC are members of the National Tourism Risk and Crisis Management Committee, which was established earlier this year by the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife in Kenya, to coordinate the efforts of the country in preparedness, management and recovery from crises. The GTRCMSC is tasked with researching, capacity building, creating, producing, and generating knowledge, toolkits, guidelines, and policies on tourism resilience and crisis management for the country.

I would like to contribute to Projecthopetravel through the sharing of research output on impacts of various crises affecting the world, including COVID-19, measures taken, and recovery pathways.

We already have accumulated plenty of data and information that will be useful in assisting our destinations to become more resilient in the future.