Steps have been taken to allay fears that the ongoing operation against al shabab will affect tourism
Tourism minister Najib Balala said security measures have been taken to make Kenya safe for tourists.
“The military response on al Shabaab will not affect tourism in the country owing to a raft of security measures already in place to secure all tourist activities,” Mr Balala said in a statement.
Tourism is one of the top foreign currency earners for the country, after it netted Sh73 billion last year.
Those in the industry had earlier this week feared that the country was increasing its security risk in its offensive against the al Shabaab group.
Kenya was forced to drop its ealier diplomatic stance after a spate of kidnappings of foreigners in the past few weeks, which has put the tourism industry at risk.
A French and British woman have been kidnapped from Kenya’s Lamu archipelago on the northern Indian Ocean coast and were whisked by gunmen on speedboats into Somalia.
Paris announced on Wednesday that the Frenchwoman had died.Two Spanish female workers were kidnapped last week from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, near the border with Somalia.
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