20120826
Press TV
Kenya's incursion into neighboring Somalia has brought several retaliatory attacks from al-Shabab fighters, causing serious damage to Kenya's tourism industry, Press TV reports.

Hoping to witness a strong upsurge in tourism industry after the earnings of 1 billion dollars in 2011 , Kenyan officials predict gloomy returns below last year's earnings due to UK and US travel bans over a spate of retaliatory attacks from al shabaab fighters.

“The travel ban is reckless and uncalled for. It is very alarming for the US to issue such an alarming statement without consulting the government of Kenya… We find this as an economic sabotage” said Francis Kimemia, acting head of the Kenyan civil service.

To wrestle with the thorny issue, the Kenyan tourism officials do their best to clear the perception of the market that Kenya is indeed a safe place to travel to.

Europe has been the main source market over the years. However with the increasing travel bans and economic challenges in the west, it remains to be seen how well the Kenyan tourism industry will perform with a shrinking European market.