Terminal 1A at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. FILE PHOTO | NMG Kenya remains stuck in the UK’s travel red list following the latest update to the international travel by Britain, dealing a blow to the tourism sector that has been banking on lifting of the restrictions to boost the ailing industry.
The UK last week made some amendments on the countries in Red, Amber, and Green list with Kenya remaining on the red list, eight months later since it was first placed there.
The tourism sector normally depends on summer travel from Europe and America, a season in which they make a lot of money due to high numbers of visitors between June and September.
There were high hopes from stakeholders in the industry that Kenya would be upgraded from red list to amber on the back of a recent visit by President Kenyatta to the UK.
Failure to upgrade Kenya to the amber list will see Britons abandon a trip to the country to avoid being slapped with a huge bill on return as all the returning citizens from red countries are required to isolate for 10 days in a hotel at a cost of £2,285 (Sh246,780).
The tourism industry lost Sh80 billion in the first six months of last year as the country grappled with the effects of the Covid-19, which saw countries close their airspace.
