Tourists with plans to go to Kenya can and should reconsider them with stories like this one from Reuter’s Africa coming out of Kenya:
Tourists arriving in Mombasa on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast were expecting to find the usual colourful fruit and vegetable markets lining the streets.
Instead, they found angry supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga roaming the road from the airport, which was littered with broken glass and burning tyres.
President Mwai Kibaki’s disputed election victory on Sunday triggered a wave of tribal clashes in one of Africa’s most stable democracies that shocked the world.
By Tuesday, about 250 people had died.
The Kenya tourism industry is saying that the cause for alarm is premature.
“We have not seen any tourists leaving, cancel or even heard of evacuations. Those reported to be leaving are tourists going home their holiday having come to an end,” Mr Mohammed Hersi the general manager of Sarova Whitesands and head of Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers (KAHC) Coast branch told Business Daily on phone.
But already stories are coming out of countries like Great Britain that tourists should hold off going to Kenya at least for a few days.
The Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) has responded by suspending holidays to Kenya up to and including Saturday, January 5. Customers due to travel in the next few days should contact their travel agent or tour operator. Those due to travel after January 5 will be notified of any changes to their travel plans, according to the FTO.
What will happen in the long term is anyone’s guess at this time, but I suspect that people who are spending thousands of dollars for a once in a life trip to Africa will decide they would be just as happy in some other country like Tanzania if the situation in Kenya does not settle down quickly. This is bad news for Kenya that makes $500 million a year from tourism and is losing money at the rate of $1 million dollars a day. In a region where a school teacher might make $3 a day, that is a major problem.
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There is new information coming in on this story (March 23, 2008):
US Amends Kenyan Travel Warning
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The United States has amended a travel advisory cautioning against travel to parts of Kenya, saying threats of violence have “dramatically receded” following a political power-sharing deal.
A deeply flawed Dec. 27 presidential election unleashed weeks of violence that killed more than 1,000 people and tarnished Kenya’s reputation as one of Africa’s most stable and tourist-friendly countries. After weeks of bloodshed and mounting international pressure, President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga agreed last month to share power.
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