Kenya's tourism is expected to decline following the US administration's decision to retain the highest travel advisory on the East African country.
"Do not travel to Kenya due to Covid–19. Exercise increased caution in Kenya due to crime, terrorism, health issues, and kidnapping," warned the US Embassy in Kenya on its website.
The latest travel advisory follows the recent decision by the United Kingdom to add Kenya to its 'Red List', saying it had established the presence of the South African coronavirus variant in the country.
The Star newspaper quoted investment firm Cytonn as saying that the move by UK and USA would likely result in a decline in the number of tourist arrivals.
"The expected declines in the tourism arrivals coupled with the current travel restrictions within the country is likely to affect the performance of serviced apartments which has witnessed subdued performance since the onset of the pandemic in Kenya," Cytonn observed.
The Tourism Research Institute (TRI) ranked the US and UK as second and fourth highest source markets for tourists in Kenya, respectively.
The US was the top market source for Kenya pre-COVID with 245,437 arrivals in 2019, while UK arrivals were 181,484 in the same year.
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