We are now looking at airlines withdrawing from Nairobi while just last year many airlines were increasing their flights to Kenya. From what I’ve heard, airline staff and airplanes are not spending the night in Nairobi.

Tourism as we know it is dead until such a time that we get a new constitution acceptable to most Kenyans.

Investors will be looking past handshakes and MoU’s before they can consider coming back. We need to use this ‘opportunity’ to bring meaning and lasting change to our country.

“I think we began to take some fair steps towards a peaceful solution,” Annan told reporters gathered outside Kibaki’s central Nairobi office, where the discussions took place.

The two leaders had not talked since the December 27 polls despite intense pressure from Western powers and millions of anxious Kenyans horrified by their country’s slide into chaos.

After the meeting Odinga said talks would continue until a solution was found. He added “I pledge to all Kenyans that my team and I will spare no effort to resolve this crisis,”.

Kibaki vowed to personally lead the east African country to unity and peace. “I appeal to all Kenyans to remain calm and to shun violence as we endeavor to find solutions,” he said. “I am confident that together, our experience, unity and determination will make it possible for us to overcome the challenges.”

When the pair shook hands, hundreds of onlookers cheered.

I’d like to bring you to the attention of iJET Intelligent Risk Systems (ijet.com) that works with most corporations to determine risks in foreign countries. Their reports have a major impact of where corporations take their business (think FDI and trade). Most global corporations, including airlines rely on their service.

Right now they have a ‘critical and warning alert’ for Kenya. Nairobi is rated a 4 out of 5 for insecurity.

My missus’ employer, also a global corporation with several offices and facilities in Kenya, sent out an email to all its worldwide work force asking them not to travel to Kenya. They instituted emergency response measures for their employees in Kenya.

What surprises me is that To Kenya has nothing on their homepage re-assuring tourists of their security in Kenya.

Charles, are you scared of litigation or has this slipped through the cracks?

“This means that Britons coming to Kenya can now get travel insurance,” the Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF) spokesperson, Jake Grieves-Cook said. The revised advisory now cautions against travel to Western and Nyanza provinces, Narok, Kibera, Mathare, Eastleigh and Mombasa.

Mr Grieves-Cook said KTF had also issued an advisory warning tourists against travelling to some parts of the country.

So no shortage of good PR will make travellers visit.

What you need is a device which gives a nasty electric shock to politicians contemplating economy destabilising strategies.