The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised 7,000 British tourists in Kenya to stay indoors and avoid parts of Nairobi and Mombasa.

Despite the warnings, many Britons are continuing their holidays. Tour operator Kuoni, which organises trips to Kenya, said that it had not yet received any requests from customers wanting to come home or cancel their holiday.

“We have cancelled excursions into Nairobi and Mombasa but all the safaris are going ahead as normal,” a spokeswoman said. “We will continue to monitor the situation and would look into any requests to come home on an individual basis.”

Other tour operators are also continuing their Kenya holiday programmes as normal according to the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta). This means that normal booking conditions apply, so holidaymakers who want to cancel Kenyan trips owing to the troubles may have to pay cancellation charges or other penalties if they are stated in terms and conditions.

These normal booking conditions will continue to apply, according to Abta, as long as main tourist areas continue to be unaffected, transfers to and from Mombasa and Nairobi airports are secure, transfers have precautionary police escorts, and there continues to be no reports of tourists asking to be repatriated.

Flights continue to Kenya, with both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic operating normal schedules between London and Nairobi. Kenya Airways flights between Kisumu and Nairobi have been suspended although other airlines continue to operate the route. Further to this, Mombasa ferries are operating as usual.

The Foreign Office said that there could be up to 30,000 Britons in Kenya at any one time, including expatriates, and added: “We are not aware of any who have been injured or killed.”

Ian Newman, who is still staying at a beach resort south of Mombasa with his family, described the atmosphere there as relaxed. “There’s a news blackout here — the Government seems to have stopped the newspapers; there’s not much happening on the radio either. We’re in a very resorty sort of place. It looks as though most of the violence is limited to the urban areas.”

One problem reported by British residents in parts of Kenya is shortages of food and fuel, and cash in ATMs. In many parts of the country supermarkets and petrol stations remain closed.

For full details on the Foreign Office advice, including a list of areas that tourists are being told to stay away from, click here.

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