By Winnie Atieno
The Kenyan government termed political the move by the UK to
keep it on the red list due to a spike in coronavirus infections.
For Kenya, remaining stuck on the red list in the latest
update to international travel by Britain has dealt a huge blow to tourism,
which was banking on a lifting of the restrictions for a boost. Still, the
resumption of the flights brings good tidings to the industry.
In a statement, British Airways said its first passenger
flight between Nairobi and London was on Sunday.
'Reuniting families'
"We are honoured to be playing our part in reuniting
families and friends with their loved ones after such a long time apart. The
safety of our customers and colleagues has always been at the heart of
everything we do. We know some customers won't have flown for a long time, we
can assure them we have a range of Covid-19 measures in place to provide stress
and hassle-free travel," said Senior Vice President Middle East and Africa
Airport Operations Sohail Ali.
The airline, which will be operating two flights on weekends
(Saturday and Sunday) said it has also introduced a number of measures at the
airport and on-board to ensure the safety of its customers and crew.
"These include social distancing measures, the wearing
of face masks and hand sanitiser stations. Customers will also receive details
of how they can prepare for their journey, including information on discounted
testing providers. To help customers navigate the changing entry requirement
and facilitate a seamless journey, they can download the VeriFLY app before
departing to London," the statement read.
The airline said the digital health app allows customers to
combine their travel verification documents and Covid-19 test results in one
place and confirm their eligibility with a few simple steps. Anyone travelling
into the UK from a red list country must be a British or Irish national, or have
residence rights. They must be Covid-19 negative before travelling.
Additionally, they must quarantine at appointed hotels at their own cost.
The Kenyan government and tourism stakeholders have
complained about the red list, which is hurting its tourism and sabotaging the
economy. Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala termed the move political, and
wondered why India had been removed from the red list.
"The traffic light Covid-19 protocols are now political
because you cannot compare infection rates and the number of deaths in Kenya
with that of the UK, it is incomprehensible. These are political statements.
The delta variant came from India, how come India has been removed from the red
list?" Mr Balala posed.
The CS said countries sanctioning their citizens to travel
within their states is meant to boost local tourism and build economies.
However, he said Africa has an opportunity to tap into its 1.3 billion
population and urged its states to invest in intra-continental tourism.
Invested heavily
"Why can't we open up the continent to Africans? This
is the agenda [for] which we are here in Cape Verde as the council of
ministers. Without creating a new segment and diversifying our source market,
we would be subservient to the source market and it would be used politically
against us," he added.
He assured international tourists that Kenya has invested
heavily in vaccination to keep both its citizens and visitors safe. The CS
blamed the global hoarding of vaccines for the insufficient doses in Kenya.
"That's why we do not receive an equivalent share of
the vaccine. Africa wants to vaccinate its people but we don't have enough
vaccines. Production of vaccines is from the advanced world or the source
markets where they come from," he added.
Kenya is a popular tourism destination for Britons. The UK
has been a top tourism source market for Kenya. In 2019, it emerged fourth in
the ranking, with 181,484 tourists visiting the country. The UK last week made
some changes on the countries in red, amber, and green lists, with Kenya
remaining on the red list, eight months since it was first placed there. Mr
said Kenya is not out of the woods yet.
"We will return to normality in two years. 2024 is the
time tourism will go back to normal. Health is going to be the first agenda on
everyone's mind when travelling, so we need to vaccinate our people so that
travellers can feel Kenya is safe," he said during an interview with a
local TV station. The CS urged Africans to improve infrastructure and
connectivity on the continent to boost intra-African tourism.
'Major achievement'
"It will be a major achievement," he said. The
tourism sector depends on summer travel from Europe and America, between June
and September. There were high hopes in the industry that Kenya would be
upgraded from red to amber on the back of a recent visit by President Kenyatta
to the UK.
Failure to upgrade Kenya to the amber list will see Britons
keep off the country to avoid being slapped with a huge bill on return, because
all citizens returning from red list countries are required to isolate for 10
days in a hotel at a cost of £2,285 (Sh347,320). The tourism industry lost Sh80
billion in the first six months of last year as the country grappled with the
effects of Covid-19, which saw countries close their airspaces.
Hotelier Mohammed Hersi and Kenya Coast Tourists Association
(KCTA) Chairperson Victor Shitakha also lamented over the red list. They urged
the government to prioritise the sector whose international numbers have
slumped due to the pandemic.
"Our government should push the UK to remove us from
the red list like India," said Mr Hersi, during an interview with a local
TV station.
This comes as Mombasa County continues to market the city to
attract more international and regional tourists.
The county's Department of Tourism has been conducting
massive campaigns to lure tourists to the destination, which has seen it sign a
tourism partnership with the Ukrainian government.
"We had a very interactive and insightful engagement
with tour operators and travel agents in Odessa, where we had an opportunity to
pitch on the different tourism products, trade, and investment opportunities in
Mombasa. We also impressed upon them on the need to increase the number of
charter flights flying directly into the coastal city of Mombasa," said
Governor Hassan Joho on his Facebook page.
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