Business for Curios traders most of them young people hasn’t picked since Covid-19 hit Malawi and this has greatly affected their livelihoods.

One of the curios traders in Blantyre Wasili Chitumba told YONECO FM online that their target market is international and because of travel restrictions their sales have declined.

“We are struggling because we rely on hand to mouth and on some days we even leave our businesses with no sale at all yet we have families to feed,” Chitumba.

Asked whether locals are purchasing their products, Chitumba was quick to say that life is hard in Malawi and locals do not embrace the value of curios.

“Its only actors and a few Malawians who purchase our products and this is occasional for instance when there is a wedding people buy rings from us, but this is not sustainable.”

In a recent interview with YFM, Minister of Tourism and Culture Dr Michael Usi conceded that the first quarter of the year had hit the tourism industry hard.