Kenya goes on charm offensive to win back Western tourists

The rising cases of insecurity are pushing Kenya back to its old allies in the West despite a series of crippling travel advisories that have hurt tourism.

The government, which seemingly ignored or tacitly encouraged what has been described as “shift to East” policy, has come out fighting in a damage control spin.

“We are not facing the East,” says Foreign Affairs principal secretary Karanja Kibicho. “Only the media imagines a breakdown in Kenya’s diplomatic relationship with Western countries, and indeed with any other country accredited to Kenya.”

In its common use, a “shift to East” purports to describe commercial trend that has seen financing for infrastructure, award of public tenders and payment for import bills favouring Asian and Arab states.

The echoes of East/West divide reverberated across the country ahead of last year’s General Election as envoys of key European states threatened to isolate a government led by candidates facing trial for crimes against humanity.

The many high-profile contracts that President Kenyatta signed with states like China, Japan, India, Turkey, Qatar and Russia upon taking office only lent credence to the ‘Shift East’ policy brigade.

But as a spate of attacks, largely linked to terrorist, in parts of the country put the interests of the West at stake, both sides appear to be softening their stands.

Last week, a source at the National Treasury, who requested not to be named, echoed the sentiments of Foreign Affairs ministry in dismissing the ‘Shift to East’ argument.

“I remember this phrase also cropped up in 2004 from disillusioned suppliers who were keen to deride government’s campaign to replace fuel-guzzling vehicles with efficient models from Asia,” he said

READ: Kenya makes U-turn in Western tourists search

A lot of things have changed since last year. Politics is no longer raging about the International Criminal Court (ICC) where the President and his deputy William Ruto face charges.

President Kenyatta’s administration, too, is increasingly closing ranks with US and European states.

The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) is back in North America and Europe to woo holidaymakers. This August, Mr Kenyatta is expected to travel to the US to attend the African Leaders Forum organised by the White House.

This leaves crippling travel advisories as the source of tension between Kenya and its old allies. The West accounts for more than 80 per cent of tourists who visit Kenya each year.

A total of 1.5 million tourists visited Kenya last year. It is said 900 visitors either cancelled their bookings or cut short their holidays when the British Embassy issued security alerts in May.

Data prepared by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicates that the travel advisories and bad weather pulled economic growth down to 4.1 per cent in the first quarter compared to 5.2 per cent last year.

While Mr Kenyatta has in the past hit at the UK and US, saying the travel alerts were unfriendly and unfair and even asked Kenyans to fill the gap through domestic tourism, the Foreign Affairs ministry has changed its tone.

No rift

“We have registered our discomfort with travel advisories which we believe allow the terrorists to believe that they are winning,” Dr Kibicho said, adding that terrorist attacks have mainly been driven by the presence of Western interests.

“Registering our displeasure does not make a rift; genuine partnership requires respectful two-way communication.”

Just like Kenya, the US and UK have launched a charm offensive to win back confidence of Kenya’s officials with both countries denying charges of economic sabotage.

“We have advised American citizens about the security situation in Kenya so that they can make informed decisions about their potential visits,” said US Ambassador Robert Godec.

“We issue travel warnings and advisories for countries across the globe; our travel warning for Kenya is nothing unique.”

The US government says it has disbursed Sh11.1 billion in counterterrorism and border security programmes since 2011. The money channelled to Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) was used in procurement of aircraft, patrol boats, and equipment upgrade.

Data from its Nairobi Embassy indicates that the US disbursed another Sh3.8 billion for civilian counterterrorism while more than Sh60 million was spent on training Kenyan military in the US last year.

Similarly, the UK spends an average of Sh8.64 billion per year on its military co-operation with Kenya, which includes training.

Dismiss divide

On June 19, the day the UK High Commission chose to publicly clear the air on diplomatic links with Kenya, the officials invited National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale to the Queens’s birthday celebrations.

The officials started by dismissing the East/West divide.

“This is not the Cold War or the Great Game of the 19th century, but a multi-polar world where all countries benefit from a rise in foreign investment,” said High Commissioner Christian Turner.

He added: “There is no binary choice between East and West. Kenya should make investment decisions purely on what is most in Kenya’s interests.

He noted that China’s investment in Kenya would bring jobs and infrastructure which eventually benefit UK interests and businesses.

For the US, the intricate link with Kenya’s economic veins and arteries cropped up again last week in one of the unintended outcomes of the Eurobond that Kenya floated on the Irish Stock Exchange in early June.

Out of the Sh176 billion that Kenya bid for, investors, mainly hedge funds from the US and European countries, snapped up 97 per cent (68 per cent and 29 per cent respectively).

While analysts have been quick to dismiss the geographical zoning theory in explaining action by investors balancing risks and returns, the trend in Eurobond subscriptions mirrors traditional patterns in tourist arrivals and inflow of diaspora remittances.

The first quarter data prepared by Central Bank of Kenya, for instance, shows Kenyans in North America and Europe sent home 50.4 per cent and 26.1 per cent respectively of Sh29.7 billion ($340.97 million) received by March 2014.

Foreign policy

The diplomatic dilemma is well captured in budgetary allocations for this financial year. The country plans to spend nearly 40 per cent of funds set aside for foreign missions in propping up old commercial and diplomatic links with US and European states.

The diplomatic outposts in Europe and America will take up Sh3.627 billion or 41.3 per cent of the Sh8.787 billion set aside for foreign missions across the world.

Geneva, the seat of the World Trade Organisation and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, will get Sh473.1 million, the single-largest allocation to any diplomatic outpost in the 2014/15 fiscal year.

Similarly, the US will have its three diplomatic posts in Los Angeles, Washington and New York receive a total of Sh809 million or an average of Sh269.7 million per post.

New York will receive Sh387.84 million or 45.2 per cent of the US-bound allocation, the 2014/15 expenditure estimates indicate.

“The amount includes general administration and planning, management of foreign policy, diplomatic representation and international organisations,” said Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich.

For manufacturers seeking new markets in US, the government plans to extend its diplomatic presence beyond New York and Washington, DC, to set up consuls in Boston and Dallas.

The individuals seeking to represent Kenya as honorary consuls in Boston and Dallas had up to June 25 to submit their applications.

“The applicants should be knowledgeable in the current business and political affairs of US and Kenya”, the Diaspora Desk of Kenya’s Washington Embassy said in the advertisement placed on their website.

Top FDI sources

By comparison, only Sh1 billion or Sh142.9 million per station will cover expenses of Kenya’s seven posts in Asia and Sh1.2 billion or an average of Sh150 million for each of eight posts in Middle East.

China and India have risen to become the top sources of foreign direct investments that flow to Kenya in the last five years with China’s investment commitment hitting Sh45.7 billion ($537 million) last year, according to its Nairobi embassy.

Asian and Middle East states are the top sources of petroleum, industrial inputs, machinery, vehicles and equipment with high demand in Kenya.
The two regions accounted for Sh896.7 billion or 64 per cent of last year’s Sh1.4 trillion worth of imports.

According to estimates, Kenya’s missions in African states will spend a total of Sh2.8 billion or Sh133.3 million for each of the 21 posts with South Africa, the military mission to Somalia and African Union taking the bulk of the allocations.