Tourism industry of Kenya is severely hit by the internal unrest leaving tourists trapped in the country and resulting in cancellation of tours.
Foreign visitors have been cautioned to avoid unnecessary visit to Kenya amid political turmoil and poll violence in the country. Tour operators cancelled their local excursions for travelers who are already on tour there, according to various tour operators across the world, as per iAfrica.
This cautionary has been issued in the wake of riots in Kenya. The political and security situation has created an environment of uncertainty. The unrest in the country is linked to the result of presidential poll. All the countries worldwide, including the US, Austria, Denmark, Britain, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden, have issued a warning to their citizens not to travel to Kenya, as Raila Odinga, the candidate of opposition, denied re-election victory of the current President, Mwai Kibaki.
Kenya earns the biggest amount of hard money through tourism. The country earned around 60 Billion Shillings ($944.1 Million) in the last year in comparison to 56.2 Billion Shillings in 2006 through tourism. Kenya is known for its palm-covered beaches, coral reefs and pristine around the world. Tourists are attracted towards its cosmopolitan culture and vibrant markets. Tourists from across the world come to see all this, so the disturbance in city life translates into more than just a day off work. The tourism industry of the country is seriously hit, as tour European tour operators stopping sending tourists to its safari parks and beaches.
Moreover, visitors who want to go back to their places have been trapped in Kenya. This can severely hamper the growth of tourism industry in coming years. Various air services, train services and local bus services within the country have also been snapped. Natives are frightened because they cannot leave their homes. The situation is sending signals of fear to tourists who are planning to come to Kenya. Apart from this, many airlines are not sending their flights to Kenya, as they are not sure about the security situation in the country.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “The tourism industry of Kenya provides the largest number of jobs in the country. It is growing rapidly but the political turmoil and violent activities have obstructed its growth. It is hard to say when the situation will improve. However, the industry has to cut down its prices to attract tourists when the conditions return to normal.”
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