Kenya Tourism Federation - 12 Jan 2008

Today was another normal day in Nairobi and Mombasa with no problems or incidents reported.

There were no reports of any insecurity or problems affecting tourists in any of Kenya’s parks and reserves or on any of the roads connecting them.

There were no reports today of any demonstrations or violent disturbances elsewhere in the country but inter-ethnic tensions remain in the area around Kericho in the Western corner of Kenya, which on the advice of the Kenya Tourism Federation remains off-limits to tourists.

The main opposition party has confirmed that they will hold rallies in different parts of the country on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week but have issued assurances that that these are intended to be peaceful.

Jake Grieves-Cook
KTF Spokesman

KENYA Airways has cancelled a number of its flights to Mombasa.

London - Mombasa flights have been cancelled until March 21 and Johannesburg - Mombasa between February 3 and 24.

The airline says this is partially due to the civil unrest but also because it is low season in Mombasa. Passengers booked on these flights will be re-accommodated on Nairobi flights.

Meanwhile, the UK Federation of Tour Operators has extended the suspension of holidays to Kenya once again. Charter flights will not operate up to and including Friday, January 18.

Kenya Tourism Federation spokesperson, Jake Grieves-Cook, said: “We hope that those governments that placed blanket travel advisories on Kenya will be revising them without further delay.” Grieves-Cook explained that the US government had not placed a ‘non-essential travel’ warning on the whole of Kenya, but has instead indicated the areas to be avoided (Kisumu, Kericho and Eldoret).

KENYA TOURISM FEDERATION SECURITY UPDATE

Monday 21st January 2008: Security Update: 6.00 p.m.

Today all was calm across Nairobi including the central business district and no problems were reported today in the slums. The airports operated as normal and all roads were open as usual.

Mombasa and the coastal areas: all calm and quiet with business as usual in Mombasa town and all roads open as normal.
No problems were reported in any of the wildlife parks and reserves, with all tourist routes open for traffic as normal.

The town of Narok, which is on the route from Nairobi to the Mara, and where there were two days of demonstrations last week, is reported now to be calm with all shops and businesses open today as normal.

Once again there were no reports of any problems affecting tourists staying in Nairobi hotels, beach resorts, on safari, or transferring between airports and hotels. This has been the case throughout the whole post-election period.

The areas of Western Kenya around Kisumu-Kericho-Eldoret are still off-limits for tourists and there have been reports of continued isolated inter-ethnic clashes in this region. This area has been avoided by tour operators since onset of the post-election crisis and this part of the country is not normally visited by tourists in any case.

Kofi Annan is expected to arrive tomorrow and expectations are high that his role as mediator will help both sides to achieve a reconciliation, reflecting the wish of the overwhelming majority of Kenyans whose greatest desire is to see peace and calm restored throughout the country.

The British Travel Advisory was amended on Saturday so that it is no longer a blanket “non-essential travel” warning against the whole of Kenya and applies only to specific locations, in line with our own recommendations, and on similar lines to the US and German government advisories. This should result in more visitors being able to travel to Kenya in the weeks ahead.

Jake Grieves-Cook
Spokesman
Kenya Tourism Federation  

--Last edited by Enya01 on 2008-01-22 10:21:49 --

KENYA TOURISM FEDERATION SECURITY UPDATES

Monday 28th January 2008 9 p.m.

Tourist areas:

The main tourist areas at the beach resorts and the safari circuit continue to receive international tourist visitors as usual and the current situation is as follows:

Mombasa and coast: there are no problems at any of the beach resorts and the roads between Malindi, Watamu, Kilifi, Nyali, Bamburi, Mombasa, Diani, Galu, Msambweni are all open and reported to have no problems. The international airport at Mombasa is operating as normal with both charter flights and daily scheduled services flying in and there is no problem with access to the airport on the roads from the north and south of Mombasa. The ferry at Likoni is operating as normal for tourists travelling to the south coast.

Nairobi: the city is calm and all appears now to be back to normal. The airport continues operating as normal and all international hotels are open for business. No problems have been reported in recent days.

Safaris: all the national parks and wildlife reserves are operating as normal with most camps and lodges open for business. The roads linking the parks and reserves are all open and conditions are normal with the exception of roads through Naivasha town (see below). For tourist vehicles travelling by road to the Mara, the road passing Narok town is a stretch of approximately 4 kms and is now being monitored by a permanent security patrol to ensure that there are no problems for tourist vehicles. For the past week tourist vehicles have been driving along this route from Nairobi to the Mara daily without any problem and latest reports indicate that the road is open and that traffic is moving freely. The route to the Mara is south from Narok and drivers do not need to drive north to Bomet which is within the area recommended as off-limits to tourists (see below).

Areas to be avoided by tourist visitors:

Naivasha and Nakuru

As reported yesterday, the violent disturbances and clashes between rival groups in and around Naivasha were eventually brought under control by the police and security forces by yesterday afternoon. The roads were opened by police and army so that traffic was able to move in and out of Naivasha today. However tensions in Naivasha and Nakuru remain and the Kenya Tourism Federation recommends that road safaris through Naivasha town and on by road to Lake Nakuru should be suspended for the next few days while we monitor the situation and until we can confirm that peace and calm have been restored once again in the area. However air safaris may continue to Lake Nakuru National Park using the airstrips in the park. The Warden of Lake Nakuru National Park has confirmed that all is calm within the park and that tourist visitors have not been affected by the clashes beyond Nakuru. Lake Nakuru Park remains secure and safe for visitors with KWS rangers on duty.

Western Kenya, areas off-limits for tourists: In addition to Naivasha and Nakuru, the Kenya Tourism Federation continues to recommend that for the time being visitors should avoid the following areas where there have been continuing sporadic incidents of civil unrest: Nyanza Province, Western Province, and the western area of Rift Valley Province including roads to the north of Narok to Bomet, Sotik and Njoro, the areas surrounding Kericho, Molo, Londiani, Nandi Hills and Eldoret. These places are not normally visited by tourists and members of the Kenya Association of Tour Operators have avoided these areas since the onset of the post-election problems.

For visitors to Nairobi it is recommended that the high density housing estates and slums should be avoided, including Eastleigh, Mathare, Huruma and Kibera but tourists have always been advised to keep away from these areas.

For visitors to the Coast it is recommended to avoid going into Mombasa “town” at the present time including the areas of Majengo, Tonononka, and Bondeni as some sporadic demonstrations have occurred previously in this area. Mombasa is an island and not a beach resort and the areas mentioned can be avoided by tourist vehicles transferring from the airport to the beach resorts on the north and south mainland.

Jake Grieves-Cook
Spokesman
Kenya Tourism Federation

KENYA TOURISM FEDERATION DAILY SECURITY UPDATES

Monday 11th February 2008 4 p.m. Nairobi

POLITICAL UPDATE:

The negotiating teams representing the government and opposition continued their series of meetings again today with Kofi Annan mediating. At the end of last week it was reported that good progress was being made and hopes have been raised that a political settlement acceptable to all may be reached soon. In the meantime the government lifted the ban on politicians making live broadcasts or holding public meetings, citing the recently improved security in the country.

SECURITY SITUATION IN KENYA:

There was no change over the weekend or today and the security position remains the same as indicated in the report on Friday 8th February below. There were no reports today of ethnic clashes or violence linked to the post-election dispute anywhere in the country.

The British government has now removed its advisory against travelling by road to the Mara through Narok. This is now consistent with our own advice.

Jake Grieves-Cook
Spokesman
Kenya Tourism Federation
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KENYA TOURISM FEDERATION

Friday 8th February 2008 6 p.m.

POLITICAL UPDATE:

The mediation talks between the government and opposition continued today under the Chairmanship of Kofi Annan as mediator, with reports that significant progress towards a settlement has now been made, with agreement reached on the broad principles of a possible solution. Kofi Annan told reporters, "We are all agreed that a political settlement is needed, that a political settlement is necessary and we are working out the details of such a settlement.

SECURITY SITUATION IN KENYA:

The security situation throughout Kenya was again reported to be calm in all areas and for the third consecutive day no reports were received of post-election violence anywhere in the country.

In the tourist areas all is calm and unchanged with no problems reported affecting any tourist visitors to the international hotels in Nairobi, the beach resorts at the coast and the wildlife parks and reserves.

Mombasa and the coast: Mombasa town continues to be calm and it is generally peaceful throughout the coast province.  The British government recently lifted its advisory against travel to Mombasa town in view of the improved security situation.

The route to the Mara past Narok town continues to be used by tourist vehicles without any problems reported. The Senior Warden for Masai Mara National Reserve has also confirmed that security patrols have been put in place both on the approach to and exit from Narok town as an additional measure to ensure the safety of tourists.

Naivasha and Nakuru: Tourist vehicles continue travelling to Lake Naivasha, through Naivasha town and onwards to Lake Nakuru National Park without experiencing any problems as the security situation on the main highways through these towns is now reported to be back to normal. The freight and transport companies also report that their lorries have been driving through Naivasha and Nakuru without encountering problems and continuing on to Uganda.

Areas to avoid

The Kenya Tourism Federation continues to monitor the security situation to ensure that any areas considered unsafe for tourists are avoided. While the beach resorts, the safari circuit, the airports in Nairobi and the highways between them to the Nairobi international hotels are considered safe for visitors at the present time, the following areas continue to be off-limits for tourists until further notice:

Western Kenya: The Kenya Tourism Federation continues to recommend that for the time being visitors should avoid the following areas where there have been sporadic incidents of civil unrest in recent weeks: Nyanza Province, Western Province, and the western area of Rift Valley Province including roads to the north of Narok to Bomet, Sotik and Njoro, the areas surrounding Kericho, Molo, Londiani, Nandi Hills and Eldoret. These places are not normally visited by tourists and members of the Kenya Association of Tour Operators have avoided the whole area since the onset of the post-election problems. Currently the situation in most of these places is reported to be calm but in recent weeks there have been frequent disturbances and civil unrest in Kisumu and in the areas around Kericho and Eldoret.

For visitors to Nairobi it is recommended that the high density housing estates and slums should be avoided, including Eastleigh, Mathare, Huruma, and Kibera but tourists have always been advised to keep away from these areas.

TOURISM NEWS:

The East African Whale Shark Trust is organising a Whale Shark Satellite Tagging programme from Diani Beach on Kenya’s south coast between 18th February and 2nd March. For a fee of US$90 per person for the day, tourists staying at the beach resorts at Diani can join world renowned scientists on a daily whale shark safari lasting 4 hours. They will be taken out in a boat leaving Pinewood Village in the morning and guided by a spotter plane to find the whale sharks. Snorkelling equipment is provided and there will be the opportunity to swim with whale sharks and to watch the research team tag the world’s largest fish. This is a memorable experience and helps to support research and conservation.

Cruise ships are again calling at Mombasa after an absence during the past month owing to concerns caused by the post-election crisis, with the Silverseas cruise ship arriving this week, bringing over 200 tourists who went on safaris to Tsavo, Amboseli and the Mara.

In the community-owned Ol Choro Oirogua Conservancy in the Mara, a new-born rhino calf was promptly given the name “Kofi Annan” by rangers in recognition of the role being played by the former UN Secretary General.

Jake Grieves-Cook
Spokesman
Kenya Tourism Federation