Kenya s tourism still strong despite Westgate attack

 

 

NAIROBI: Kenya’s tourist industry has shrugged off last month’s terror attack in the capital Nairobi.

 

At least 67 people including foreigners were killed when Al Qaeda-linked gunmen stormed the upmarket Westgate shopping mall.

 

Even though the incident dominated headlines worldwide for days, tour operators said there have been few cancellations.

 

A handful of the 1.8 million tourists that visit Kenya every year said despite their initial apprehension, they decided to go ahead with their visit to the country.

 

 

Bernadette Paterson, a tourist, said: "Before we came, we were very apprehensive and did contact our travel agent several times. He kept reassuring us that our foreign office hadn’t given out any warnings, so we did come. But our family are still anxious so we’ve had to contact our family every day to assure them that we’re perfectly safe.”

 

Somak is one of Africa’s most successful tour operators, with offices in Kenya and the UK. They had more than 400 clients in the country when the attack happened, just weeks after a fire gutted Kenya’s main international airport.

 

Maureen Nandwa, operations director at Somak, said: “We got a lot of calls from outside (the country). All the agents wanted to find out what was happening. They were all apprehensive. But when it (the attack) calmed down and it settled down, and it was confirmed that the government had taken the measures it took, then I think that is what helped us a lot (with the queries).”

 

After tea and coffee exports, tourism is the biggest contributor to Kenya’s economy. It brings in foreign exchange of around US$90 million dollars a week.

 

Ratings agency Moody’s predicted the Westgate incident could cost up to a quarter of a billion dollars in lost tourism revenue and slow Kenya’s economic growth.

 

But the country’s tourism authorities disagree — they said this year’s season has been a good one despite the attack.

 

Fred Kaigua, chief executive of Kenya Association of Tour Operators, said: “The good thing about our tourism product is that it’s very widely distributed. It is quite possible to avoid the shopping malls altogether. Perhaps the biggest change you might find is a hesitation to hover around the city in the initial stages, which is okay with us because it’s possible to land at the airport and by one o’clock you’re having lunch at the Maasai Mara (game reserve) or some other area.”

 

Although some tourists may still be worried about security, officials insist the country is safe.

 

Mr Kaigua said: “So the security at the moment is probably the best it has ever been. It is much more secure and I would hope that we would keep it that way.”

 

Kenya’s tourism minister said the Westgate attack was a “small hiccup” in the country’s “resilient” tourism sector, and predicted that long-term growth would continue. 

 

Source :BIG N network