Tour firms resolute despite terrorist threat

Agencies bring 150 Chinese visitors to Kenya

Kenyan authorities and the travel industry are stepping up their efforts to draw more Chinese tourists even as terrorist attacks in the country continue to deter potential tourists from all parts of the world.

China's tourist industry is doing its bit to help its Kenyan counterparts, and last month three Chinese travel companies brought 150 Chinese tourists to Kenya.

However, the terrorist attack on Garissa University College, about 370 kilometers east of the capital, Nairobi, on April 2, in which about 150 people were killed, dealt the country's tourism industry yet another severe blow.

The three Chinese companies that, with the support of the Kenya Tourist Board, brought the 150 Chinese tourists to the country were Polaris Safari & Tours Limited, Shenzhen Joy Way International Travel and Beijing Uniway Travel Service.

Shadow Li, general manager of Polaris Safari & Tours, says that in addition to the insecurity that has led to a sharp fall in the number of Chinese tourists to the continent, the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa has also deterred many.

"The number of Chinese outbound tourists has not been reduced at all. What has fallen significantly is the number of those coming to Africa. Most tourists misunderstand which areas of Africa Ebola has affected."

Li was speaking at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi when 18 tour operators and agents arrived from Guangzhou and Hong Kong in the middle of last month. The agents were from Beijing and Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Yunnan provinces.

The latest World Health Organization report on the epidemic, issued on February 18, said 23,253 confirmed, probable and suspected cases of Ebola and 9,380 Ebola-related deaths had been reported by February 15 from the three West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Kenya is on the other side of the continent, but Kenya Airways operates more than 40 commercial flights to the affected countries, so the spread of the virus to East Africa is regarded as a real threat. The airline also has direct flights to Europe, the Middle East and the Far East, and an average of 20,000 passengers use its hub in Nairobi every day.

However, like other airlines, Kenya Airways takes stringent measures to ensure the highly contagious virus is not spread as a result of its flights.

Kenya's tourism sector had boomed for decades, but it has taken a beating in recent years, partly because of security fears fueled by the activities of the al-Shabab militia group.

The group has coordinated attacks on Kenyan soil by crossing the porous border with Somalia and abducting tourists. In October 2011 the Kenya Defence Forces crossed into Somalia to engage al-Shabab under the code name Operation Linda Nchi (protect the country).

This was after members of al-Shabab, which is allied with al-Qaida, abducted two Spanish women working for the international aid organization Medecins Sans Frontieres in a refugee camp. Al-Shabab is based in the Somali Capital, Mogadishu.

Al-Shabab was also behind the Garissa University College attack.

Li says the idea of bringing at least 100 tourists to Kenya was hers and a colleague's in Nairobi.

"The move caused a big stir in China within 24 hours, especially among tour operators and agents, as we were offering special packages. So we organized for two groups of operators and agents to come to Kenya and find out more about safaris."

Muriithi Ndegwa, managing director of the Kenya Tourist Board, joined the tour agents at an event held at a hotel in Nairobi and thanked Polaris Safari & Tours Ltd for its initiative in marketing Kenya to China.

"The Chinese market is very important to us," Ndegwa said.

"It is one of Kenya's fastest growing markets for tourists. It has a huge number of outbound tourists, about 110 million people.

"If you could give us only 1 percent by next year and in the medium term grow this number to 10 percent, then we can say that in terms of tourists from China into Kenya, the numbers will be good."

The agents need to know there is more to Kenya than its wildebeest migration, and that it is a "multi-product destination", Ndegwa said, "and not just the triangle of Maasai Mara, Amboseli and Lake Nakuru National Park".

The wildebeest migration is one of the world's greatest wildlife spectacles, when more than 1.5 million animals (wildebeests, zebras and gazelles) migrate from the vast Serengeti plains in Tanzania to Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya in late August and early September. The animals cross the crocodile-infested Mara River, providing breathtaking images.

Lake Nakuru National Park is renowned for its flamingos, wild animals and bird sanctuary at Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge, and the 392 square kilometer Amboseli National Park is reputed for its spectacular scenery.

Animals found in the park include buffaloes, cheetahs, elephants, impalas, lions and wildebeests.

Ndegwa said the tourist board plans to sign up wildlife lodges in the country to secure discounted rates for Chinese tourists.

Liu Fa, a tour operator from Beijing, said his visit to Kenya, his first, had impressed him.

"I will definitely be marketing Kenya as a destination to Chinese tourists when I return to China."

Li said Kenya Airways, which operates daily flights to Guangzhou and Hong Kong, offered a special rate to the Chinese tourists.

Kenya has traditionally relied on North America and European countries to promote its hospitality and tourism industry, but in recent months the United States and many European countries have warned its citizens about traveling to Kenya

When Britain's Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, was in Kenya recently, his hosts urged him to rescind an advisory that warns Britons about traveling to Kenya.

Britain has since updated its advisory advising against "all but essential travel" to destinations such as Mombasa, Moi International Airport, Malindi, Kilifi and Watamu towns.

Canada has warned its citizens about traveling to certain areas of Kenya, particularly the coastal region and parts of Nairobi.

Li, who has worked in Nairobi for 5 years, says she feels safe in the country.

For China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 04/10/2015 page19)