After the umpteenth postponement of the reopening of Kenya and Tanzania to tourism, which has moved the date of a possible "green light" to tourism, Italians have decided not to take the Government's directives seriously anymore and, although pessimistic about the abandonment of travel restrictions, since last Saturday the hunt for airline tickets to the desired destinations has started.
Assignable seats on Ethiopian Airway flights during the Christmas vacations are starting to sell out, while in the coming days it is still possible to buy tickets from 330 euros upwards. The situation is different for flights to Nairobi, which still offer very good combination possibilities. But it must also be said that national airlines such as Qatar and Emirates are much more careful about the documentation presented by tourists who do not qualify as such.
It should also be noted that the Italian charter company Neos, which refers to the tour operator Alpitour, remains confident about the opening after next December 15. In fact, it is currently possible to book flights to Mombasa and Zanzibar from 21 December.
Meanwhile, other international airlines are organizing themselves for December. The Dutch airline KLM has confirmed that from the beginning of the month it will put into service the Amsterdam-Mombasa route, with possible stopovers in Kilimanjaro and Dar Es Salaam. The German charter company Condor is also thinking of reactivating its Frankfurt-Mombasa routes, partly because the German government, unlike the government of which the tetragonous Health Minister Roberto Speranza is a member, does not prohibit tourist travel to East Africa, but advises against it and asks people to travel to countries identified as "critical" with health insurance and vaccinations.
In Italy, on the other hand, no concessions are made, not even in the case of a possible third dose, and when it comes to travel abroad, beyond the Schengen area, no difference is made between Green Pass holders and "no vax" holders, as is the case on Italian soil when it comes to taking a plane, an intercity train or entering a restaurant. Obviously, those who suffer the most are the big hotels, their owners and employees who cannot go back to work full time, with the induced activities that follow. And also suffering is that "world" represented by the turnover of new arrivals, those who would like to approach equatorial Africa for the first time and who, as the figures for the last 30 years show, will probably return and act as fundamental testimonials, with their enthusiastic word-of-mouth, for many other new tourists.
If it is true that, from what has transpired after the meetings between the representatives of the Italian government and those of the trade associations, they are thinking of gradual openings and corrective measures before Christmas, it would also be a good idea not to announce them at the last minute, in order to give those who have already decided that they would like to go to the equator for the next winter vacations the chance to organize themselves.
It is one thing to book a plane ticket, another to think about accommodation in a house, a hotel or other, to make a medical insurance and organize excursions and more, perhaps for the whole family.
Let's wait until today to see if there will be any last minute changes or if everything is really postponed to December 15, 2021.