Kenya Tourism Board welcomes travel advisory review, says move good for sector

The Kenya Tourism Board says the move by UK to partially lift travel ban will boost tourism recovery efforts in the country.

NAIROBI: The Kenya Tourism Board has welcomed the softening of the travel advisory by the UK, saying the move will boost tourism recovery efforts, especially ahead of a global travel expo slated for London in November.

The UK late last month lifted all travel warnings on Nairobi through the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), which also clarified that there were no restrictions on travel by British citizens to popular safari destinations in Kenya.

“This is a welcome and timely move as KTB alongside other players in the industry prepare to attend one of the world’s largest tourism expo in London, the World Tourism Market, in November. The softening of the travel advisory will boost our recovery message,” said KTB Managing Director Muriithi Ndegwa.

“We hope other governments that issued travel advisories against Kenya earlier in the year will follow suit. Kenya is safe and open for business with the government working tirelessly to address security issues. We look forward to the lifting of restrictions on travel to the Kenyan Coast which was hard hit by the advisories.”

The British Government issued a travel advisory restricting travel to certain areas in Nairobi including low-income areas, and to certain parts of the coastal region. In the latest revision, the FCO eased travel to some areas but continued to advise against all but essential travel to Mombasa, Garissa and Lamu. KTB is optimistic that the UK Government would review its Coast advisory soon.

 Trade Fair

Kenya will be represented by a delegation drawn from, among others, KTB and the private sector at the World Travel Market (WTM) on November 3 to 6, 2014. The trade fair is seen as key to showcasing what Kenya has to offer and to reassure the market that the country is safe. Attention now shifts to the US - another source of tourists to Kenya. Due to the terrorist attack on June 15, 2014 in Mpeketoni, in Lamu County, the US Embassy instituted restrictions on Government personnel travel to all coastal counties – Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu and parts of Tana River County.

Based on the recent changes in Kenya’s security situation, the US embassy is also relocating some staff to other countries. Kenya initiated military action against al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab by crossing into Somalia on October 16, 2011, and on June 2, 2012, signed a Memorandum of Understanding whereby it formally joined the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

In response to the Kenyan intervention, Al-Shabaab and its sympathisers have conducted retaliatory attacks against civilian and government targets in Kenya.