Mohammed Hersi . A hotelier passionate about Tourism & Governance in Africa

In an amendment to their Travel Advice on Kenya yesterday, the British government has now lifted all travel warnings on Nairobi apart from advising against visiting the suburb of Eastleigh. The British High Commission in Nairobi indicated that they expect this will help visitors to be more confident when travelling into JKIA and transferring to Nairobi hotels.

Relaxing the travel advisory brings Nairobi in line with other cities.The Foreign Office says in other comparable cities worldwide it does not detail particular areas that may or may not be safe to enter.

The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has also added wording to clarify and confirm that there are no restrictions on travel by British citizens to the famous safari parks in Kenya, stating “the FCO do not advise against travel to Kenya’s popular safari destinations in the national parks, reserves and wildlife conservancies including the Aberdare National Park, Amboseli, Laikipia, Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara, Meru, Mount Kenya, Samburu, Shimba Hills, Tsavo” and adds “Most visits to game reserves and other tourist areas are trouble-free.”

Although the travel advisory against Mombasa island and its immediate environs remains, there are no restrictions on the airports of Mombasa or Malindi or Diani.  The Government of Kenya and the county government  with torusim players and security organs are working very closely to ensure that the gaps that were highlighted are addressed so that the advisory on Mombasa is also reviewed.  The Kenya Tourism Federation welcomes this softening of the Travel Advisory and looks forward to the lifting of restrictions on travel to the coastal areas  including Mombasa and the island of Lamu as soon as possible in view of the improvements to security that have been made in those areas.