East African countries have been hit with additional travel advisories, but stakeholders remain positive.
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has updated its foreign travel advice on Kenya to include additional areas of caution. The new list, issued on July 12, adds areas within 60km of the Kenya-Somali border, the Garissa District, Lamu County and areas north of the Tana River, as places to avoid anything but essential travel.
Still under caution is the Eastleigh area of Nairobi, low income areas of the capital, and Mombasa island and within 5km of the coast from Mtwapa creek in the north down to Tiwi in the south (with the exclusion of Diani or Moi international airport.
Tanzania also suffered a recent incident of security concern last week, in Arusha where a bomb blast occurred in a restaurant popular with tourists. Arusha is a gateway to Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office warns against an underlying threat of terrorism in the country and advises vigilance.
Tour operator Vivian McCarthy, gm of Acacia Africa in London, says: “Our tours are not affected by any of the recent incidents in Kenya, or by the updated FCO advisories of Tanzania, and are operating normally. We are, of course keeping a close eye on what is happening in that area and will take appropriate steps to avoid affected areas if further incidents happen and change the situation.”
Vivian says the high profile of the East African incidents in the media has led to a fall in demand for Kenya. “However many people are still enquiring about Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Our tour programmes are running normally, some trips are fully booked, but others do have some late availability.” This, he says, presents good argument for the position that ‘now is the time to go’, when visitor numbers are down and good deals are on offer.
“We have no intention of putting clients’ or staff safety at risk and our intention when speaking with clients and prospective clients is to set things out honestly so they can reach their own informed decisions. Most people find that understandable perceptions gained from the media coverage before travel are not borne once they are there and on the ground,” he said.
Meanwhile Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary of East African Affairs, commerce and tourism, Phyllis Kandie, led a Kenyan delegation to New York and Washington to meet and reassure key US tour operators and stakeholders earlier this month. She was accompanied by Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) md, Muriithi Ndegwa.
“Kenya has received a strong endorsement as a tourism destination despite the various challenges experienced in some parts of the country in the recent past,” she said during the visit. “The UN secretary general has just given Kenya a clean bill of health as a safe tourist destination.”
According to KTB Bulletin, issued by the Kenya Tourism Board, the delegation included members of the tourism private sector. They held one-on-one discussions on issues of concern to US counterparts, which included the need for direct flights between Kenya and the US, security measures and product competitiveness.
Phyllis also met with the president and ceo of the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA), Terry Dale, discussing possible incentives in marketing Kenya.
