Pinewood Village

KENYA TOURIST FEDERATION UPDATES

From Jake Grieves-Cook, Spokesman, Kenya Tourism Federation

For the last four weeks we have watched with dismay as Kenya has featured on all the international TV networks with frightening scenes of violence giving the impression that the whole country is afflicted by anarchy and chaos.
However here on the ground in Nairobi, on safari and at the coastal beach resorts, the situation is very different from what is being shown on TV and all of us in the tourism industry have been able to carry on with our lives as normal, welcoming our guests on holiday in Kenya as usual and receiving positive comments from all our guests who have been here in the last few weeks.
What has not been properly explained by the international media is that the sporadic violence that started after the disputed election has been very largely confined to the western corner of Kenya in the areas around Kisumu, Kericho and Eldoret and in the slums and high density housing estates outside Nairobi, which are places where tourists do not normally go.
The scenes which have been shown on TV (and some of the same scenes from four weeks ago have been shown over again as if they are still happening) were filmed by international TV crews in western Kenya or in the slums but the impression is given that this is the scene throughout the country, which is just not true. What has been happening in the areas around Kisumu, Kericho and Eldoret is absolutely tragic for this country and Kenyans from all levels of society have been calling for peace and an end to violence in the affected areas. Talks have now started between the political leadership of both sides with Kofi Annan mediating. Both sides have called on their supporters to shun violence and to restore peace so we hope that soon we will start seeing an end to the violence.
Although we are all very sad about what has happened in the western part of Kenya we must stress that Nairobi hotels, the wildlife parks and reserves and the beach resorts at the coast have not experienced any problems at all throughout the whole period of this post-election crisis.

Our clients have been able to enjoy their safaris and beach holidays without any discomfort and we have had numerous emails from recent guests after they returned home, to tell us how glad they are that they decided to come. I have just received an email from Marion and Robert Isaac in Surrey, England which reads: "We are writing to express our thanks to you for the fabulous trip we have just had to Kenya. As you will know we had to give some extra thought with regards to travelling at what is a difficult time for Kenya. This was of particular relevance with regard to the UK FCO advice that was in place when we started the trip. However, with excellent advice and back up from your office we decided to travel and are very glad we did. We would urge anyone wrestling with the decision at the moment not to consider cancelling at all. The Kenyan people need the support both financially and emotionally more than ever at the moment. If you do not go, you will also be missing out on a magical holiday. We would like to thank you all and to wish you a peaceful solution to the problems. Kenya is a beautiful country with fabulous people. We hope to return very soon and will have no hesitation in asking for your help to arrange it for us."

All the international airports in Nairobi and Mombasa have been open and functioning as normal throughout the last four weeks with daily international flights operating. The highways between the airports and the international hotels have all been open as usual and literally thousands of tourists in hundreds of vehicles have been driven along these routes daily without any problem. In the past four weeks Kenya has had over 40,000 international tourist visitors staying in our beach resorts, Nairobi hotels and on safari and none have been harmed in any way by post-election violence.

Tourism is very important to the livelihoods of millions in our country and, as long as it is safe for visitors to come, we need our tourism industry to keep operating in order that Kenyans do not suffer more by losing their livelihoods, so we hope that visitors will keep coming. We are closely and continually monitoring the situation and the safety of our clients is always put first so that if we feel that there is any reason to change a particular itinerary then we would do so. Our camps and safaris are operating as normal and have not been affected by the current unrest in some parts of the country.
We hope you'll continue to support Kenya by coming here to enjoy our wildlife and beaches.

On behalf of Kenya’s tourism industry, I hope that we will have the chance to welcome you to Kenya in 2008.

Kind regards,
Jake Grieves-Cook
Spokesman
Kenya Tourism Federation


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			KENYA TOURIST FEDERATION UPDATES From Jake Grieves-Cook, Spokesman, Kenya Tourism Federation For the last four weeks we have watched with dismay as Kenya has featured on all the international TV networks with frightening scenes of violence giving the impression that the whole country is afflicted by anarchy and chaos. However here on the ground in Nairobi, on safari and at the coastal beach resorts, the situation is very different from what is being shown on TV and all of us in the tourism industry have been able to carry on with our lives as normal, welcoming our guests on holiday in Kenya as usual and receiving positive comments from all our guests who have been here in the last few weeks. What has not been properly explained by the international media is that the sporadic violence that started after the disputed election has been very largely confined to the western corner of Kenya in the areas around Kisumu, Kericho and Eldoret and in the slums and high density housing estates outside Nairobi, which are places where tourists do not normally go. The scenes which have been shown on TV (and some of the same scenes from four weeks ago have been shown over again as if they are still happening) were filmed by international TV crews in western Kenya or in the slums but the impression is given that this is the scene throughout the country, which is just not true. What has been happening in the areas around Kisumu, Kericho and Eldoret is absolutely tragic for this country and Kenyans from all levels of society have been calling for peace and an end to violence in the affected areas. Talks have now started between the political leadership of both sides with Kofi Annan mediating. Both sides have called on their supporters to shun violence and to restore peace so we hope that soon we will start seeing an end to the violence. Although we are all very sad about what has happened in the western part of Kenya we must stress that Nairobi hotels, the wildlife parks and reserves and the beach resorts at the coast have not experienced any problems at all throughout the whole period of this post-election crisis. Our clients have been able to enjoy their safaris and beach holidays without any discomfort and we have had numerous emails from recent guests after they returned home, to tell us how glad they are that they decided to come. I have just received an email from Marion and Robert Isaac in Surrey, England which reads: "We are writing to express our thanks to you for the fabulous trip we have just had to Kenya. As you will know we had to give some extra thought with regards to travelling at what is a difficult time for Kenya. This was of particular relevance with regard to the UK FCO advice that was in place when we started the trip. However, with excellent advice and back up from your office we decided to travel and are very glad we did. We would urge anyone wrestling with the decision at the moment not to consider cancelling at all. The Kenyan people need the support both financially and emotionally more than ever at the moment. If you do not go, you will also be missing out on a magical holiday. We would like to thank you all and to wish you a peaceful solution to the problems. Kenya is a beautiful country with fabulous people. We hope to return very soon and will have no hesitation in asking for your help to arrange it for us." All the international airports in Nairobi and Mombasa have been open and functioning as normal throughout the last four weeks with daily international flights operating. The highways between the airports and the international hotels have all been open as usual and literally thousands of tourists in hundreds of vehicles have been driven along these routes daily without any problem. In the past four weeks Kenya has had over 40,000 international tourist visitors staying in our beach resorts, Nairobi hotels and on safari and none have been harmed in any way by post-election violence. Tourism is very important to the livelihoods of millions in our country and, as long as it is safe for visitors to come, we need our tourism industry to keep operating in order that Kenyans do not suffer more by losing their livelihoods, so we hope that visitors will keep coming. We are closely and continually monitoring the situation and the safety of our clients is always put first so that if we feel that there is any reason to change a particular itinerary then we would do so. Our camps and safaris are operating as normal and have not been affected by the current unrest in some parts of the country. We hope you'll continue to support Kenya by coming here to enjoy our wildlife and beaches. On behalf of Kenya’s tourism industry, I hope that we will have the chance to welcome you to Kenya in 2008. Kind regards, Jake Grieves-Cook Spokesman Kenya Tourism Federation