In a statement made available to IPS on Feb. 1, the Kenya Association of Tour Operators urged the government of President Daniel arap Moi to urgently restore security in the troubled Rift Valley Province to prevent a further decline in tourism. At least 61 persons have been killed in the past two weeks in the districts of Njoro and Laikipia, according to media reports on Monday. We were this year hoping for positive publicity and a good image abroad, but our reputation has instead been further tarnished by the clashes in Laikipia and Njoro,'' said the statement. The tour operators' headache began last year, when the country's main tourist destination, its Indian Ocean coast, was wracked by political violence.
Tourism is Kenya's second foreign currency earner after agriculture.
Figures released by the Kenya Tourist Board estimate that visitor numbers for the latter half of 1997 fell by 60 percent of expected holiday arrivals. Western said the measures the KWS would be forced to take included dismissing 567 workers, putting the hiring of new staff on hold, and tightening financial controls. Despite the severity of these austerity measures, KWS will not cut back any essential services. To the contrary, additional funds will be spent to beef up anti-poaching and other security operations, and to rehabilitate national park roads once the present flooding subsides,'' he said. Another setback for the tourism industry is an outbreak of Rift Valley fever in parts of the country.