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This is an interesting article in yesterday's Observer about new Foreign Office advice on travel to Africa. The print version includes a graphic that the online version does not, listing the advisories for specific countries seen to be at risk.

Foreign Office advice on the terrorist threat means confused holidaymakers risk losing their cash

Tom Templeton
Sunday May 25, 2003
The Observer

Holidaymakers planning to visit the popular African safari and beach destination of Tanzania face the dilemma of travelling there while the Foreign Office is warning of a clear terrorist threat or of cancelling and losing their money.

Last week's FO advice referred to a 'clear terrorist threat' in the country, as well as in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Uganda, but stopped short of warning against non-essential travel, meaning that tour operators are not obliged to make refunds or offer an alternative trip to anyone who wishes to cancel their travel plans.

'In a way this leaves the holidaymaker between a rock and a hard place,' said a spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta). 'In terms of our own guidelines, tour operators do not have to cancel trips but they must pass the advice on to customers. It is a halfway position, but it would be remiss of the FO not to give out advice even though the danger isn't high enough to encourage people not to travel.'

Noel Josephides, managing director of Sunvil Africa, said the 'vague' advice was 'a terrible mistake'. Sunvil has had several queries from customers due to travel, as well as a cancellation, he added.

Travel insurance will not help either - it does not cover people who cancel due to 'disinclination to travel'.

The advice, added to warnings against non-essential travel to Kenya and safety fears after the bombings in Casablanca, Morocco, on 17 May, has reshaped the tourism map in Africa. Travel companies say bookings for Kenya have dried up following the announcement of a specific terrorist threat there.

Most trips have been cancelled until the end of the month while the FO advice remains in place. Kenya Airways is still flying between Heathrow and Nairobi, while British Airways is selling seats for travel there from 1 June onwards. Although very few people have cancelled trips to Morocco and Tanzania, bookings have slowed to both countries.
'Southern Tanzania has been a very big growth area for us but that's now changed,' said Josephides.

The FO said it had issued the new advice to 'bring the rest of the region up to date in the light of the Kenya advice'. However, tour operators are worried that holidaymakers will be put off travelling to Africa. Derek Moore, operations director of Explore Worldwide, said: 'Unlike the Middle East with war and South East Asia with Sars, Africa was one of the few long-haul areas unaffected by world events, until the Morocco incident.

'The less well-informed members of the public will now decide that Africa is off limits, whereas the well-informed will carry on as normal.'

But tourism to other African countries appears to be unaffected. Tour operators say that bookings to popular southern destinations South Africa, Botswana and Namibia are stable, while Kuoni reported that many of those who had been considering Tanzania chose to go to South Africa instead.

Abercrombie & Kent reported a 'healthy increase' in bookings to Egypt, while The Gambia Experience said it was 'business as usual' in the west African nations Gambia and Senegal.

'The traveller who is going to be put off is the one who doesn't know Africa very well, somebody who is going because it's the fashion,' said Josephides.