{{The tourism industry is facing a crisis following reports of cancellations by visitors from overseas that have been triggered by a combination of factors, including the fear of the deadly Ebola fever outbreak.}}
East African Community (EAC) outlined measures to counter the deadly Ebola disease in the region.
The fear of Ebola fever, especially in East Africa—where no case has been detected so far—is driven mainly by the fact that people in the West and some parts of Asia consider Africa a huge tract of land with no borders.
Its not been independently verified whether the cancellations were directly connected to the fear of the Ebola outbreak but some stakeholders interviewed here yesterday appeared to believe that this was the case.
The EAC intervention focuses mainly on air transport that, it is feared, could serve as a conduit for the spread of the disease through the well-connected Nairobi hub from West Africa—where it has killed over 1,400 people.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has placed Kenya in the category of high risk countries for the spread of Ebola virus from West Africa despite the suspension of direct flights from that region.
Nairobi is one of the busiest hubs in eastern and southern Africa—with dozens of connecting flights to West Africa, Europe, Asia and Southern Africa.
National civil aviation and airport authorities and airlines operating in the region have been advised enforce all the relevant regulations and guidelines issued by WHO, International Air Transportation Association (IATA) and other bodies.
As the region grapples with how to combat the deadly disease, which is now in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), more hotels and tour operators here admitted they were hard hit by cancellations by visitors from overseas.
The situation on the ground, analysts contend, could be much worse than earlier thought because many establishments in the hospitality sector avoid making negative statements for fear of painting a negative picture of an industry so crucial to the economy.
But Wilbard Chambulo, a tour operator who manages a string of lodges and tented camps in the Serengeti and adjacent areas had a different take. “Why should we hide this from the public and the government?” he asked.
{thecitizen}
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