NAIROBI--Travel to Kenya has just been made easier, thanks to the
lifting of visa requirements for Americans visiting Kenya for 30
days or less. The move was an attempt to give the battered tourism
sector a boost, officials said.
So far, visa
requirements have been lifted for Japan, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand and some European countries. Tourism officials said the
decision to waive visa requirements could provide the base for a
recovery in the sector, which has gone into a slump in recent
years.
Safety concerns kept visitors away after the bombing of the U.S.
embassy in Nairobi last August, in which 229 people were killed.
Also, trips to Kenya were cancelled after eight foreign tourists
were murdered in a safari park in neighboring Uganda in March of
this year.