Kenya.com

[mkamba]

May 13, 2005 (Minneapolis, MN) – Today, the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) announced that their US recovery strategy has been successful amidst an unbending US State Department issued Travel Warning which has been in place since 2003. Kenya has seen a large increase of Americans visiting the country this and last year, which has been a welcome change due to the challenges Kenya had to overcome when the Warning was first placed in May 2003.

“In 2004 we had the opportunity to be host to the many travelers who had wished to visit, but previously were reticent to travel due to the May 2003 Travel Warning.” said Jake Grieves-Cook, Chairman of the KTB. “Many put off traveling in 2003 and after waiting a year for the Warning to be lifted, travelers simply decided to book their vacations. It’s a good sign but we are still hopeful that our security efforts will alleviate the status of the Warning.”

Since May of last year, there has been no official change on the current US State Department Travel Warning on Kenya. In May 2004, the State Department rephrased the Travel Warning which lightened the tone of the Warning considerably. June 2004 (the month after the warning was rephrased), the KTB announced that US arrival numbers jumped a record 98 percent. 2004 saw an overall spike in US arrivals of 41 percent; and US arrivals in Kenya have shown a 52 percent average increase over May 2004 through April 2005.

“The surge in arrivals from the US as soon as there was a slight relaxation of the wording is clear proof that many people do watch State Department Travel Warnings closely.” stated Grieves-Cook. “Regardless of our current success in the market, we are still working diligently at tightening security and ensuring traveler safety so the Warning can be removed and travelers can be more at ease booking their trips. The Kenya government is dedicated to ensuring our borders are safe for both travelers and citizens alike; but these numbers at least prove to us that our security changes have helped reassure travelers that visiting Kenya can indeed be done safely.”

Since the Warning has been issued, the Kenya Tourist Board’s strategy was to ensure visibility in the marketplace providing travelers with information, education and updates on changes in Kenya’s security infrastructure.

“We felt the most prudent way to forge ahead was simply to educate people on Kenya, explain what traveling here is like and describe what new security measures have been implemented. We may have a Warning; but we have found Americans still want to travel here so it is critical to keep those potential visitors informed. Every time a traveler arrives into Kenya, we find such an enormous change in their attitude from when they return from safari. By the time of departure, visitors usually don’t want to go home.”

On a recent trip to Africa, National Geographic Traveler editor George Stone stated, “Wherever I went I asked about the U.S. State Department Travel Warning, which is a bit like breaking the ice with a sledgehammer. But I was curious, because I could see no security reason on the ground (or in the sky, for that matter) for this warning still to be in effect.”

“What locals did explain to me is how detrimental to the economy this warning has been”, continued Stone. “Everyone I met was incredibly friendly, open-minded, and knowledgeable about geopolitics. They were welcoming of foreigners and were themselves at a loss to explain this hurtful travel warning. Most importantly, they were hungry for broader engagement with the outside world and seemed to extend themselves in kindness to prove how far removed from any ‘Axis of Evil’ Kenya really is. The very fact that no one I met had a cohesive explanation for why the U.S. State Department warning was ever issued, let alone remains in effect today, indicates how tenuous and perhaps ill-advised this advisory is today.”

The Kenyan government has taken huge strides to ensure traveler safety and has not suffered any other terrorist attack since November 2002.