Even though the Ebola virus has not spread to Kenya, international tourists have started cancelling their trips to the country.
Dinesh Nair, leisure agent at Omeir Holidays in the UAE, was quoted in Khaleej Times as saying that five families had recently cancelled their safari trips to Kenya and Tanzania while a group of 15 had asked to postpone their trip to Tanzania indefinitely. “They already paid, and we have issued the tickets and hotel stays. Two were supposed to leave last week, one this week and another by the end of August.”
Korean Air has also suspended its operations to Kenya from August 20 to December 21. The airline said it decided to suspend operations as a result of a report from the World Health Organisation that categorised Kenya as a high-risk area. (Tourism Update clarified the classification last week. See report here.
Juan Nel, Marketing Manager for Africa Stay, says Kenya is used as a hub for a lot of flights into West Africa, which makes travellers nervous. “I, however, think it’s an overreaction based on a lack of information on where the disease is.”
Onne Vegter, CEO Wild Wings Safaris, agrees and says concerns have been raised that many airlines have cancelled direct flights to the infected countries and, as a result, people are flying via regional hubs instead. “Clients have asked whether South Africa and Kenya are such hubs and whether infected people from West Africa are expected to fly via Johannesburg or Nairobi.”
Vegter says some travellers are cancelling any trip to Africa based on poor geographical understanding of the size of the continent and location of the Ebola outbreak. “I suspect the cancellations in Kenya are no different to the concerns that have been raised regarding SA. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, a rumour about Ebola in Kenya will be halfway around the world by the time the truth can put its boots on.”
