Travel advisories have dealt a blow on the tourism sector in lamu county and the Coastal region as a whole, the lamu Tourism Association has said. The lTA deputy chair Ghalib Alwy said the county is now recording poor tourists’ turnout from major destinations among them the UK, Australia and Britain.

Speaking in his lamu office on Sunday, Alwy said despite increased number of tourists, “things are yet to go back to normal as hundreds of potential tourists are keeping off due to the advisories.” Alwy said there is a need for the Kenyan government to hold talks with the international community and chart the way forward for tourism at the Coast. He said the government should address the insecurity to restore the confidence of tourists in the country.

“Some western countries still have their advisories in place. That is giving us sleepless nights. The tourism sector in lamu is on its knees. We are on the road to recovery but the advisories are negating our efforts. The Kenyan government should sit with international community and fid other ways of addressing insecurity instead of advisories,” Alwy said. He said hotels in some parts of the county are yet to receive a single tourist since last year’s terror attacks in lamu. Alwy called on stakeholders to establish effective means of marketing the county’s tourism sector.

Source: The Star

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