Dar es Salaam. Kenya’s Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA)
has banned Tanzania’s tour operators and vehicles from taking visitors to
Kenya’s game reserves and parks.
According to the Kenya News agency, the move by TRA is in
response to a similar action by Tanzanian tourism authorities, whom it accused
of deliberately locking out Kenyan tour operators from key reserves and parks.
However, Tanzania National Parks Authority (Tanapa) told
The
Citizen on Saturday, that the move was in compliance with Tanzania’s
regulations providing that such services be conducted within each country’s
boundaries.
Speaking at a recent tourism stakeholders meeting in Kisumu,
TRA acting director-general Korir Lagat said, such cases have now become
common-place and Kenya is not going to take it lying down. “Through a letter to
Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), all vehicles bearing Tanzanian number plates
will be denied entry into our parks,” said Lagat. He said, TRA has also
informed by letter all county governments that have tourist attractions of
major significance not to allow Tanzanian registered vehicles into their parks.
Tanapa’s Public Relations manager Paschal Shelutete said, it
is not true that all vehicles bearing Kenyan numbers were being troubled or
denied access to national parks.
“Kenyan families in their private cars are welcomed at any
moment they wish to tour our parks.”
He said, the ban “is on tour operators and tour operations
registered vehicles,” and that was agreed by the two countries way back in
1985.
He said, according to the agreement, tour operators from the
two countries were allowed to swap tourists along border towns, and not to
enter with them in the parks since they didn’t have the respective countries’
operating licences.
“That is the agreement that we follow and Kenyan authorities
too are supposed to respect it, if they are not adhering to it, it’s not upon
us to comment,” said the Tanapa PR manager.
He explained that the agreement was set to ensure there’s
sanity in the industry and each country gains from the same market.
“Remember, this is one market that we are all competing for,
there should be a level-playing field. There are major Kenyan companies that have
opened sister companies here, they pay required taxes and are allowed to
operate in our parks since they are licensed to do so,” he said.
According to Shelutete, other claims and demands against the
spirit of the agreement between Kenya an Tanzania “are politically motivated
and are of no value to Tanzania.” He stressed that the 1985 agreement did set
up the required operating standards between the two countries.
chanzo::Kenya locks out TZ tour operators, cars - National -
thecitizen.co.tz
No comments:
Post a Comment