The government’s opposition to the latest travel advisory
issued against Kenya by the U.S. government is not absurd as some people think.
Kenya’s protestation that travel advisories are sabotaging our economy by
undermining the fragile yet crucial tourism industry is valid. Sure, it is
common practise these days for developed countries to issue travel advisories
but just how they go about issuing travel advisories is a matter that requires interrogation.
The troublesome fact about travel advisories is that they
have the net effect of instituting an unintended 'trade embargo' and we all
know the stigma associated with an embargo. Our tourism sector produces high
quality products and services that are renowned worldwide and when a travel
advisory is put in place, our foreign clients are scared into staying away or
visiting alternative destinations despite the fact that we have spent enormous
sums of money marketing our tourist products in the diaspora. Whereas they do
not expressly ban trade, they do however discourage trade by scaring clients
away.
