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.