Government acts to save tourism

Just when the industry was slowly recovering from the effects of the
August 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi and the November 2002
terrorist attacks on Mombasa's Paradise Lodge, it was dealt a severe
blow by the travel advisories issued by the US and UK governments mid
May, warning their citizens against travelling to Kenya.

The advisories, coming due to a revelation by Kenya's security officials
and the US and UK ambassadors about an impending terrorist attack,
elicited instant protest from industry analysts who viewed it as
economic sabotage.

The enormous loss suffered by the industry, which employs about 3
million people - 500000 directly and the rest suppliers - cannot be
gainsaid. Every week, for the six weeks that the travel advisories
remained in force, the country lost a whopping 1 million euro in tourism
earnings and other revenue.

"The effect t is disastrous. We have had a lot of cancellations. But the
major worry is the potential traveller, who never had a chance to
contact us because of the travel warnings in Europe and America",
lamented Gerard Besseling, Managing Director, Amicabre Travelling
Services, which caters for the US, Holland and Italian markets.

Somak group - one of the largest tour operators in Kenya - says it lost
between US$ 500 000 and 700 000 in revenue due to cancellations by more
than 500 would be tourists, each spending about US$1000. The travel
warnings thus flew in the face of the new government's pledge to create
500 000 jobs annually as a number of establishments sent their staff
parking while the rest asked their employees to accept a 50 per cent pay
cut.

Following the advisories, British Airways, other British airlines and
the Israeli national carrier El Al suspended their flights to Kenya.
Charter aicraft from other source markets also withdrew their flights to
Kenya.

The government also lost substantial revenue following the cancellation
of the 52nd global media congress, organized by the International Press
Institute (IPI) and scheduled for Nairobi early June. The effects of the
travel advisories were also felt in neighbouring Tanzania as it receives
most of its tourists through Kenya, some of whom travel to the port town
of Tanga by road from Mombasa.

The terror alerts, while posing a devastating effect to the economy in
general and tourism in particular, have served as a wake up call to an
industry always known to keep all its eggs in one basket. Always
focusing on the UK and the US markets, ignoring the rest of Africa,
Middle East, Far East and India, stakeholders have now turned attention
to these untapped markets to counter travel warnings coming from the UK
and US.

Also encouraging is the industry's efforts to promote domestic tourism.
Tourism and Information Minister Raphael Tuju in July launched the first
ever domestic tourism exhibition held in Nairobi. Tuju says the Kenya
Tourist Board (KTB) is in the process of launching an FM radio Station
in London to help in the promotion of tourist attractions in Kenya.

Increasingly, the government is also shifting attention to domestic
tourism. Says KTB chairman Raymond Matiba: "Series of domestic tourism
campaigns are designed to dispel the long held myth by Kenyans that
tourist attractions are too expensive and only the rich foreigners can
afford to enjoy the beauty Kenya has to offer".

According to Matiba, the aim of the campaigns is to stabilize the supply
of tourists to the country's tourist attractions and accommodation
facilities by ensuring a steady flow of tourists all year round.
Although KTB intends to spend US$385,000 on its domestic and regional
tourism campaigns, much of the success will depend on the change in
attitude of hoteliers and tour operators, who are known to treat local
tourists with contempt.

Though the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) - the Tourism Ministry's marketing
wing - had expected two million visitors this year, it now seems a tall
order. Although the British Airlines resumed flights to Kenya early
July, the US advisory still remains in force. Though President Kibaki
appealed to US president George Bush to lift the advisory during his
recent visit to the US, no promises came from his host. That being the
case, the high season, which was to kick off in July, may not be
realized as worried stakeholders paint a grim picture of the industry.

Terrorist threats aside, industry analysts observe that making Kenya a
better destination has been hampered by lack of funds from the
government to enable KTB carry out overseas advertising campaigns.
"Unlike other destinations such as South Africa and Egypt, Kenya spends
virtually nothing on overseas advertising", says Jacques Grieves Cook,
the chairman of the Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF) - an umbrella
organization that brings together airlines, hotels and tour operators.

According to KTF, the government needs to encourage more airlines to fly
to Kenya, especially those that cancelled their operations a few years
back such as Lufthansa, Alitalia and Air France, since they operate from
countries that are important source markets for long haul tourism
destination. Of significance, though, is the return of Italy's national
carrier - Alitalia after more than a decade of absence.

Industry observers are of the view that the national carrier - Kenya
Airways - ought to fly directly to continental Europe - Italy, France
and Germany and open up new routes to Turkey and South East Asia. But
the Kenya Airways management argues that the daily passenger traffic
between cities like Rome, Paris, Frankfurt and Berlin has not yet
reached the critical mass required to introduce direct flights.

However, a major challenge to the new government is to waive the visa
fee - currently standing at US$ 50 - for tourists coming from key source
markets such as the UK, not to mention the high airport charges and
refuelling costs, which currently make Nairobi expensive. It is
noteworthy that four times as many British visitors go to South Africa,
where they are not required to have full entry visas.

Still, the onus is on the government to ensure security of visitors as
well as its nationals to save the industry from collapse. Significantly,
the government has published the "Suppression Of Terrorism Bill, 2003" -
which details measures for the detection and prevention of terrorist
activities.

The Bill, soon to be tabled in parliament, has however drawn the wrath
of human rights activists, as well as Kenyan Muslims, as it is a replica
the US Patriot Act, enacted soon after the September 11 twin attacks on
the World Trade Centre.

The only other consolation available to investors in this industry is
that a leading global insurance company - Loyd's of London and the
African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI), of which Kenya is a member
recently agreed to underwrite the cost of physical damages caused to
investments by terror attacks. However, recent developments do not augur
well for a quick recovery of the industry.

Early September, just as visitors were beginning to trickle in following
the relaxation of travel advisories by the UK, a suspected terrorist, a
Yemeni immigrant detonated a hand grenade outside a police station in
Mombasa, killing himself and a policeman. The incident, besides lending
credence to allegations by the outgoing US ambassador Johnie Carson that
Kenya harbours terrorists, may further scare away potential visitors.