Can I Travel to Kenya? An Update
We began the new year hearing of riots and unrest in Kenya accompanied by various national governments giving tourists warnings against traveling there. And while many tourist organizations are saying that most travelers to Kenya are not at high risk, the predicted collapse of Kenyan tourism seems to be happening anyway. Obviously the saying about any publicity being good publicity doesn’t quite apply in this case:
Kenya Airways is about to cancel most of the direct flights to and from one of the main tourist cities, Mombasa. There is usually a direct London to Mombasa flight, but this will not run as of February 1, and the Mombasa to Johannesburg link will also be cancelled from January 27. This means that most travelers will need to enter Kenya via flights from South Africa to the capital, Nairobi.
The British Foreign Office has extended its ban on holiday flights to Kenya, even though the German government has lifted its ban. The lack of British tourists is bad news for Kenya which has already lost at least $80 million in tourism revenue.
Not everybody is staying away: the fifth Africa Canoeing Championships are due to take place from January 23 to 27 at Masinga Dam, and the United States team has already arrived to begin their preparation. Most other international teams are also expected to turn up as the event is used as a qualifier for the Olympics.
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(cc: photo credit: Edgar Thissen)
Categories: Destination Guides
