What is happening in Masai Mara should concern us all. Tourism remains one of the key revenue earners for the Government following a dismal performance in other major sectors including Agriculture and Manufacturing.
Unfortunately, the fear of terrorist attacks is beginning to take its toll and hotels based in the Mara have seen a five-month stagnation in bookings.
Hoteliers are blaming attacks in Mombasa linked to Al Shabaab that send negative messages to source countries.
Things are not helped when the American and British embassies send travel alerts to their citizens warning them against visiting Kenya.
If this continues, destination tourism, which remains the main plank of Kenya’s tourism industry, will suffer irreparable damage.
Hoteliers are now looking to the peak season of July when the famous wildebeest migration often sparks an influx of foreign and domestic tourists to the Mara to see what is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
The ministries of Internal Security, Tourism and Foreign Affairs must work together with players in key source markets to send out the message that Kenya is safe.
In fact the truth is that Kenyans are more likely to die from disease and road accidents than from terrorism.
shared intelligence
This does not mean that the Government should let its guard down. Indeed, since terrorism remains a very real threat, the State should review the measures already in place with a view to closing the loopholes that allow the kind of grenade attacks seen in the recent past.
It must also strengthen sharing of intelligence between various national security organs.
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