Tourists are thronging the country to witness the wildebeest migration. Photo/magicalkenya.com
Tourists to Kenya are shrugging off fears of potential violence during elections in August, pouring in droves for a chance of seeing the annual wildebeest migration in the Maasai Mara.Tour operators and hoteliers are reporting near full capacity, in large part because of safari-lovers hoping to see the hundreds of thousands of wildebeest that run the gauntlet of hungry crocodiles as they cross the Mara river in search of greener pastures on the Kenya-Tanzania border."We are having a near full capacity in terms of business through the months of July and August," said Kenya Tourism Board communications manager Wausi Walya.Mahmud Janmohamed, chief executive of TPS Eastern Africa , which operates a safari lodge with views of the migration route, said bookings for this month were similar to last year and slightly up in August."We haven't witnessed any cancellations or any challenges," he said, saying nervousness over the poll was being balanced by expectations that any electoral disputes could be resolved in court, not in the streets."So far we have carried ourselves in a respectable and civilised manner," said Mohamed Hersi, chairman of the Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF), an umbrella association of hoteliers, tour operators and airlines.Federation members were reporting healthy bookings, with inland safaris faring particularly well."If we start hitting the news headlines for the wrong reasons, then they will cancel. But so far, they don't care if you hold elections or whether you don't," Hersi said.