Tough times as UK evacuates her citizens

British tourists check-in at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa Friday. [PHOTOS:TABITHA OTWORI/STANDARD]

By Tobias Chanji  and Benard Sanga

Kenya: Kenya’s tourism industry took a beating Friday as the number of tourists leaving Mombasa reached more than 400, following travel advisories issued by the US, Britain, and Australia.

Fiday evening, a batch of British visitors was evacuated through Mombasa’s Moi International Airport to Europe. It marked one of tourism’s darkest moments, because previous advisories have not sparked off such widespread exodus of tourists.

By Friday one private charter firm had evacuated 447 British nationals in several planeloads.

Security authorities in Mombasa remained mute about the advisories issued by the United Kingdom, Australia, France and the US, which warned of imminent terrorist attacks in areas between Mtwapa Creek on the north coast and Tiwi on the southern coast.

On Wednesday, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office asked British citizens to remain in those areas only if it was “essential” to do so.

“If you are currently in an area to which we now advise against all but essential travel you should consider whether you have an essential reason to remain. If not, you should leave the area. You can still access the Moi International Airport but we advise against travelling through Mombasa Island,” it said a press release updating a previous travel advisory.

President Kenyatta, speaking at a press conference at State House, Nairobi, said the advisories were not ideal to deal with the terror threat.

He said: “Earlier this week, some of our foreign partners issued travel advisories. These only cover specific parts of the country, not the whole of it. Nonetheless, they give a misleading picture of our security situation and run the risk of inadvertently damaging our security.”

The president added: “The misunderstanding and the risk could have been avoided if the governments concerned had consulted more closely with us.”

Security  assured

British High Commission Head of Communications, John Bradshaw, told The Standard on Saturday the British government was not responsible for any evacuations. He said the press release was based on an analysis of information from multiple sources, including recent intelligence that pointed to a threat. However, he said he could not disclose the specifics of the information that led to the advisory.

In Mombasa, sources within the intelligence corps told The Standard on Saturday that Western advisories were based on new telephone intercepts and intelligence showing affiliates of Al Shabaab and its Kenyan offshoot Al Hijra have activated their cells in Mombasa and Kwale.

The new intelligence apparently shows that recent terrorist attacks in Mombasa especially were most likely planned from a local maximum security prison and executed by Al Shabaab militants newly arrived from Somalia.

These reports suggest that recent attacks could have been diversionary or precursors to major detonations in the coastal region.

As Western tourists scrambled through the Moi International Airport it emerged that many hotels in the south coast were staring at closure while many in the north were recording falling bookings.

The multiplier effects of the evacuations were seen in hotels and also felt in tour firms.

As Diani Sea Resort in the south coast saw off around 125 British tourists on Thursday evening, while Baobab Beach resort let go 90 tourists also from Britain.

 Baobab’s General Manager Sylivester Mbandi said another batch of 66 British tourists left yesterday morning.

 “Those who left on Thursday had a week to go while those who were airlifted yesterday had two weeks to go,” said Mbandi in a phone interview.

   Meanwhile, following the blasts in Gikomba, the Ministry of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism moved fast to assure the world that Kenya remains a top destination for both tourists and investors.

Mrs Phyllis Kandie, the Cabinet Secretary in the docket, said Kenya remains safe and open for business.

“It is our number one priority to ensure that the country leverages fully on our rich tourism product by ensuring that all our visitors are not only safe but actually feel at home while in the country,” she stated. “We will work tirelessly with the private sector and our foreign partners to ensure that Kenya remains a recognised commercial hub in Africa.”

In a statement to newsrooms, the ministry’s PS, Dr Ibrahim Mohamed, urged Kenyans to continue touring any part of the country and not to panic.