NAIROBI: Britain on Thursday removed a warning against traveling to the Indian Ocean resort of Mombasa, offering some respite to Kenya’s tourism industry after a spate of Islamist attacks.
Kenya, which offers palm-fringed beaches and safaris, has long relied on tourist dollars as a valuable source of foreign exchange. But a downturn in visitors has put pressure on the shilling and forced some hotels out of business.
Kenya’s government has criticized the warnings from Britain and other countries, saying its security forces are successfully thwarting attacks.
The latest travel advice, published on a British government website, says tourists can safely visit the beach resorts of Mombasa, Kilifi, Watamu and Diani, as well as Kenya’s famed game parks including the Masai Mara.
It urged Britons to avoid areas near the Somali border, some parts of Nairobi and parts of the Kenyan coast. It cited threats including Somali Islamist group Al Shabaab, which mounted deadly attacks on a university in April and a Nairobi shopping mall in 2013.
The advisory also warns against travel to Garissa County, in Kenya’s northeast, where 148 people were killed in the university attack.
Britain helps train and support Kenya’s security forces, along with other Western countries including the United States.
