Why Uhuru Holds Travel Advisories On Kenya Holds No Water

Tourists in Mombasa.

We, as Kenyans, generally appear in the news for three main reasons: winning marathons, The Great Migration and, unfortunately, travel advisories. We pride ourselves in the first two, and we have reason to believe we earned them.

As for the great migration, you can’t even blame the wildebeest for coming over since we set the stage perfectly for what we believe is the greatest natural spectacle the world over.

Fascinating tourist cites attract thousands of tourists in Kenya despite threats from the international community of possible terrorist.

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Economic and political analysts state that the threats are just discouraging economic prosperity as no international visitors bother to visit the Country.

The issuing of a travel advisory on Kenya is hypocritical, selfish and short termist. It is insensitive and unfair and unexpected of a country that claims to share in Kenya’s pain in a stagnating economy.

Chances of a terrorist striking London or Paris or New York are no less than them hitting Nairobi. Last year alone, there were five attacks in the City of London that demonstrate just how vulnerable all countries, irrespective of the sophistication of their intelligence gathering or their geographical location, are susceptible to terrorist attacks.

These incidents did not, however, result in travel advisories against the UK. At a time that our tourism industry is finding its feet after years of a slump, partly because of other advisories by the West, the latest undeserved travel advisory should be condemned.

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A vital part of east Africa’s biggest economy, Kenya’s tourism industry has been in decline since 2013 when al Shabaab stormed an upscale shopping mall in the capital Nairobi, killing 67 people during a bloody four-day siege.

Since then, repeat al Shabaab attacks and travel warnings issued by the likes of Britain, the United States, and Australia emptied Kenya’s palm-fringed beaches and forced hotels to lay off staff.

“The travel advisories we have been complaining about and saying they are unnecessary, are being justified by these consistent attacks. What another language can we use now to convince tourists? We are not giving up, but there is little hope either,” said Hersi one of the investors.

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The Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Education Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA) said in a joint briefing that the sector had taken a beating from travel advisories.

“We are going through a hard time. The figure of Sh40 billion is a conservative estimation, the damage is definitely bigger than that if you include all affected income-generating ventures,” said Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers national chairman Jaideep Vohra, who is also the managing director of Sarova Hotels.

 

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