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Kenya's tourism stakeholders decry effects of political tension

Xinhua, June 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

Kenya's tourism stakeholders on Friday decried heightened political tension in the country, saying it was negatively affecting the performance of the industry.

Kenya Tourism Federation chairperson, Lucy Karume, told a media briefing that a number of foreign tourists had cancelled planned visits to Kenya as a result of weekly protests in the country.

For the past one month, Kenya's opposition has been holding weekly demonstrations in several cities and towns to demand the dissolution of the electoral body that supervises next year's general elections.

"We are therefore urging all the political players to engage in dialogue so as to end the impasse," Karume said.

Some of the demonstrations in the past weeks have turned violent, leaving five people killed in the western region.

Official data shows Kenya attracted 1.8 million visitors in 2015, up from the 1.46 million the previous year.

Karume said the coastal region, which recorded 60 percent of all international visitors to Kenya, has seen the most cancellations of hotel bookings following the political tension.

"If the current political tension persists, we might receive less tourists this year," Karume said.

Several deadly terror attacks in the past years have hit Kenya's tourism industry. Karume said the industry had been making gains, but compared to Kenya's best year, the country was still not doing enough.

"The progress could be eroded if the political tension continues," he said. Endit