Kuwait abuzz with activity again

Kuwait after a break of more than 18 months is once again abuzz with activity following the improvement in the epidemiological situation as evidenced by wedding and events halls owners busy cleaning and renovating and replacing old furniture in the hope of making good their losses which they suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic, reports Al-Rai daily.

The owner of the “Al Ostoura” hall, Ali Al Noman, said, “As soon as the decision was issued to organize weddings and social events, we and some owners of the wedding and party halls began to replace worn out furniture, interior decoration and lighting to provide the best services to the customer.” He added, “We hope for good business to compensate for the loss we endured during the pandemic in the form of rents and salaries of workers.” He said demand for wedding halls reservations to be high. He added, many event owners were trying to book hotels for the New Year celebrations but the booking requests were turned down because “we did not want to take risks or get into problems before the Council of Ministers gave the green light.”

As for prices, Al-Noman says this depends on the hospitality, catering and services companies that we deal with. If their prices are the same, the old prices will remain unchanged or increased. The owner of one of the halls, Salem Al-Shammari, said he is happy with the decision of the Council of Ministers, which he called ‘long-awaited’ to declare the country ‘normal’ in the face of Corona pandemic and the desire of everyone to return to normal life, and to hold weddings and other functions (with caution) with family and friends.

Al-Shammari pointed out that the closure, which lasted for about a year and a half, cost the hall owners huge financial losses in terms of labor wages and rents for offices and stores, in addition to the damage to the furniture and airconditioning units, electrical fitting and others which have to be replaced. Officials in the hotel sector welcomed the Cabinet’s decision to allow the holding of conferences, weddings and social events, provided that their attendance is limited to those who have been vaccination, stressing that this step will restore the sector’s spirit, especially since wedding and conference halls contribute about 40 percent of hotel revenues.