Beach and safari holidays in Kenya are being offered at prices reduced by up to 50 per cent in a bid to restore confidence in the east African country.

Chief executive of the African Travel and Tourism Association, Nigel Vere Nicoll, told Times Online: “There are going to be a lot of offers around Kenya over the next four months in order to kick start the huge recovery plan. We are running into the low season so people can expect to see added extras such as free balloon trips to attract the market back.”

Hoteliers and tourism workers hope that the announcement this weekend of a power sharing deal between its rival leaders, Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki, will bring a peaceful resolution to the political turmoil that has blighted Kenya in recent weeks.

At the height of the violence the Foreign and Commmonwealth Office (FCO) adjusted its travel advice for Kenya to warn Britons against non-essential travel to the country.

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The travel ban had a devastating effect on Kenya’s tourism, and although the advice has now been lifted, numbers are still down. The current FCO advice warns Britons against visiting some parts of Nairobi and advises visitors to avoid public gatherings and demonstrations.

“Visitor numbers dropped 90 per cent in January and February because of the troubles and it will take time to get back to last year’s tourism figures when we had one million visitors – a record for us,” says Vere Nicoll.

He added: “There hasn’t been one tourist injured during the troubles but the Foreign Office travel advice and media reports have damaged Kenya’s image.”

Chris Breen, managing director of Wildlife Worldwide, a tour operator that sells holidays to Kenya, told Times Online: “Camps employing countless local staff and thus supporting local economies have been badly hit. The agreement is just the news we've been hoping for. Kenya is still East Africa's premier wildlife tourism destination and there are now many discounts on airfares, accommodation and safaris to tempt visitors back.”

Businesses and workers that rely on Kenya in tourism will have a tough few months to weather because further to the overall decline in tourism, spring is traditionally quiet. According to the Kenya Tourist Board the peak season for Kenya tourism is between January and March and June to October, during the wildebeest migration in the Mara.

But according to the organisation, now is still a good time to visit. A spokesman told Times Online: “The safari parks are quite quiet. There is a huge abundance of animals not only in the Mara, but also the northern National Parks such as Samburu, Meru and Laikipia. May can be wet but rain is usually in short sharp bursts, surrounded by sunshine either side, therefore it never normally disrupts holidays.”

Although many tourists who visit Kenya use schedule airlines such as Kenya Airways, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, whose services have continued throughout the troubles, many holidaymakers book with larger tour operators who use charter flights.

A key moment for Kenya’s tourism revival will be the reinstatement of these charter flights. Currently, the Monarch Scheduled flight between Gatwick and Mombasa looks set to resume in early May, while Thomsonfly will not return to Kenya until mid July.

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