Kenya remains a safe and most preferable tourist destination despite suffering from week-long post-election conflict that continue to rock parts of the country, Kenya Association of Tour Operators Chairman Mr. Dan Muriuki has said.

He was speaking during impact assessment tour of the Samburu and Masai Mara rivers to access the impact of the post-election conflict on tourism.

The sector is finding it difficult to deal with the negative media reports spearheaded by the foreign press that has painted a gloomy picture to the face of one of Africa’s haven of peace and tranquillity.

Images of marauding youths armed with machetes and camps of internally displaced Kenyans that suggest that the country is at war with its self continue to fill television screens in Europe and America prompting major tour operators to cancel their bookings.

Already the damage is estimated to be close to 6 billion dollars and the Kenya Tourism Board estimates that the industry will spend another Shs 6 2 billion to repackage and re brand Kenya as a major tourists destination.

“Politicians are to blame for the current problems that we are facing. We hope that they will speak and sort out their political problems very soon or risk the economy,” said costing Rose Kwena, Corporate Affairs and Public Relations Manager.


"Kenya remains the most preferred and safe tourist destination although in the recent weeks we have suffered from negative media tendencies that depict Kenya as an unsafe destination. Tourists are safe and it's not as portrayed by the foreign press," Serena Sales and Marketing Manager Peter Mbogua concerned.


The sector was project an increase in tourist earning from last year taking advantage of the more than 1 million tourists who travel to Kenya annually.

Air Kenya manager, who was part of the team, also wondered why travel bans on Kenya have been issued while tourists are still willing to come.

"Countries in the region have taken advantage of the crisis in Kenya and are now re-routing. Tanzania has registered an influx on tourists who were originally destined for Kenya.

Kenya Tourism Board Cooperate Affairs and Public Relation Manager Ms Rose Kwena said KTB will soon embark on a campaign that will target domestic tourism and continue to Market Kenya as a major tourist destination.

Already packages for tourists in their countries will be upgraded with latest data concerning the safety of tourists willing to visit Kenya. She added that already tourist arrivals from abroad had decreased in the last one week and is now far below what the country was projecting during this high season.


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