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Kenya - news update |
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Kenya has become
one of Africa’s favourite spots – excellent game, wonderful weather, warm
and friendly people in a sophisticated safari industry with lots of cultural
diversity. Nobody expected the country to erupt after the election at the end of 2007 – least of all the Kenyans! The immediate result was a series of travel warnings, international media coverage and a lot of confusion and visitor concerns about travel to Kenya. Recent updates
Last updated 02 June, 2008 |
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US Ambassador to Kenya encourages US travellers to visit KenyaThe US ambassador to Kenya, Michael E.Ranneberger, has taken the unusual step of writing an open letter to American travelers and businesspeople throughout the United States urging them to consider a visit to Kenya following the establishment of the new “Grand Coalition” government. According to the US ambassador, Kenyan President Kibaki and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga are working closely together to forge this new coalition of parties in a new spirit of goodwill and unity. He also said: “I urge you to look again at Kenya as an exciting destination for tourism and for doing business, be it trade or investment. In 2007, a record 102,000 Americans visited Kenya, many to enjoy the richness of the country’s culture and the majesty of its landscapes and unparalleled wildlife.” He added: “I hope you’ll consider visiting Kenya as a tourist or businessperson in 2008. The country is very much back in business and this is an exciting time to be here. There is a tangible spirit of renewed hope and opportunity. You’ll find Kenyans to be welcoming and warm." “I hope to see you here soon,” the US ambassador concluded. EU releases US$10m for marketing Kenya’s Tourism SectorThe
European Union has finally released the money it had withheld last year in a bid
to help marketing bodies promote the tourism sector following a slump caused by
post-election violence. The Minister for Tourism, Mr Najib Balala, said US$ 10m
(€6.2 million) from the EU will help cater for marketing activities like an
upcoming campaign in Europe. The money, which had been negotiated and allocated
for different programmes, will see Kenya Tourism Board have a larger kitty to
carry out its marketing mandate. The Kenyan government contributed over US$ 3m.
As part of marketing efforts organised by the sector, the minister will be
touring Germany, Italy, Sweden and the UK in the next few weeks meeting with
major tour operators. The four countries are key markets. The Tourism minister
along with the US ambassador to Kenya, Mr Michael Ranneberger, have also
unveiled a committee comprising senior officers to look into issues of
bureaucracies affecting growth in the US market. Our own advice to clients...Travel Warnings and insurance: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) plus State Department amongst others issued specific travel warnings about “non-essential travel” to “specific areas” in early January. Later in the month the official level of the advice had been lowered. (By 21 February 2008 the USA, UK, Germany, Italy, Austria, Finland, France, Switzerland and Spain had lowered their travel advisories with advice limited to parts of the west.) The travel warnings don't apply to the whole of Kenya - only specific spots. These warnings could affect travel insurance. In essence, if you travel to an area specified in the warning and there’s an incident then you’re unlikely to be covered. If you travel to areas not included in the warning then your travel insurance remains valid, and this applies to all of our safari areas. The Media: The regular media responds to instant deadlines and competes for top-selling stories so the average consumer only sees stark and graphic images often right out of context. We've seen it in Zimbabwe and Kenya before: immediate problems are highlighted, the less newsworthy reparations occur over time without lots of coverage but the original images linger erroneously. It's happening in Kenya again. There’ve been very serious problems in the west and some of the slum areas in Nairobi. The safari areas have been and remain calm. A comment from Mike and Judy Rainy of Ol Kanjau in Amboseli: Please be aware, as the international media responds to instant deadlines, that millions of Kenyans are aware of what is happening and are determined to end the violence and get on with their lives and livelihoods to continue to work for better and more peaceful days. We are all talking and the words for stopping the killing are being listened to. We are dismayed, we are hurt, but we are determined that that day will soon come. Please pray that it will be sooner than later. Please also help get the word out that their is substance and determination of good will that goes will beyond the time slots for sound bites. Be prepared that as peace returns it will not be as newsworthy as atavistic mayhem. [see the full perspective by Mike and Judy Rainy] To travel or not? Entirely your call. If you do travel you’re going to find every person you meet in the industry trying their best to go about their business as usual and perhaps showing you just a bit more appreciation for your troubles! It’s unlikely that you’ll be facing any crowds wherever you go. If you're uncomfortable then leave it be and consider alternatives... ...but if you're seasoned in Africa and especially if you're a friend of Kenya then we recommend a visit!Travel Insurance AdviceIf you travel to an area against official advice then you will be putting your travel insurance cover at risk by not taking reasonable care, and recklessly putting yourself at risk. (Note that the warnings apply to specific spots - not the entire country and not to any of the safari areas.) If you need to claim in respect of a cause which was the reason why you were advised against travel (e.g. needing medical treatment following civil disturbance) then the travel insurer could decline the claim. If your claim is unrelated (e.g. you lose your camera) then the insurer should deal with the claim because your policy remains valid. Many policies
include a war and associated risks exclusion clause (including civil
disturbance, riot) which would apply to all sections of the travel policy and
would apply regardless of whether a travel warning was in place or not. Most policies cover cancellation due to specified reasons, for example illness (or illness of a travelling member, close relative), redundancy, jury service, burglary. In these cases, cancellation due to advice "not to travel" would not normally, but could be covered. The bottom line is that your travel insurance policy is not automatically invalidated if you travel to Kenya - check the detail. Some perspective ...Sadly we’ve seen travel warnings and bad media cause havoc before. Here's some perspective. Now, in early 2008, Zimbabwe has no travel warnings in place yet the country is generally regarded by would-be travellers as an “unsafe” destination. This couldn’t be
further from the truth. Our experience with seasoned travellers over the last few years is that the question of visiting Zimbabwe or not is more a moral dilemma than anything else. There’s a real danger that public perceptions about travel to Kenya could be tarnished by inaccurate reports for some time to come. We’d be happy to share the latest facts and views or put you in touch with different people in different parts of the country. Don't be put off travelling to Kenya especially if you're a friend of the Kenyans - find out more....Official updates on Kenya
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