Kenyan tour operators have accused Tanzanian authorities of denying Kenyan tourists access to Serengeti National Park.
They said tourists wishing to visit Serengeti from the neighbouring Masai Mara National Reserve were being denied access through Sand River Gate border point, noting that this goes against the East African Community treaty on free movement of people, goods and services.
“Tourists who want to visit Serengeti from the Mara are being denied access, forcing them to travel hundreds of kilometres through Namanga and Sirare border points. Our members have been arrested for trying to cross Sand River Gate,” said James Njoroge, the national chairman Tour Guides and Drivers Association.
Kenyan government, they said, should open an immigration office at Sand River and compel its neighbour to allow free flow of tourists between the two countries that share the same ecosystem.
Before the July migration of wildebeests and zebras from Serengeti to Mara, tour operators said the management of Tanzania National Parks and Serengeti National Park lit fires to prevent them from crossing the Mara River into Kenya.
“Though they finally, every year when the animals head north, fires are lit to scare them. Apart from being economic sabotage, this injures the relationship between the two countries,” said Njoroge.
[crp]
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