The Kenya Utalii College has postponed its 24th edition of the National Tourism Competition due to the COVID-19.

The cancellation follows a government directive issued in March 2020 that set out guidelines and conditions for the control and containment of the virus.

“The hospitality and tourism industry is among the worst hit by the crisis. Consequently, we wish to notify you that the planned National Tourism Competitions, 2020 are hereby postponed until further notice,” said the Tourism Industry Kenya Utalii College Liaison Committee Chairman Mr. Tonny Muiruri.

The annual competitions seeks winners in various fields in the travel, tourism and hospitality sector that are trained in the institution.

The objectives of the competition are to enhance the quality of service in the hotel and tourism industry, to tap ingenuity, creativity and innovation, to create motivation for industry employees and to assist in benchmarking.

The first competition was held in 1988 which only involved cooks and waiters, years later, the competition has 14 categories.