Recent violence puts Kenya’s tourism industry at risk

A cursory glance at a newspaper or a couple of minutes in from of the news will no doubt inform you of the violence that has been plaguing Kenya this last week due to contested election results and the alleged rigging by president Mwai Kibaki. The British Foreign Office has advised against travel to its capital Nairobi and the city of Mombasa. But the tensions don’t seem to be easing and now the United Kingdom is warning its citizens to avoid the country unless the trip is absolutely essential.

In a statement from the foreign office, Britons are told, “There is uncertainty about the security and political situation in the country…and continued unrest linked to the disputed election result. If you are currently in Kenya you should exercise extreme caution and seek advice locally, either from your tour operator or the authorities, particularly if you need to travel.”

The Kenya Tourism Federation is worried that this uprising could be a disaster for the country’s tourism industry at a time where it was just beginning to pick up and level off. Many fear that these events could sour the international reputation of Kenya, not something that is so easy to bounce back from.