A TOURIST insurance and reinsurance package against terrorism risks will soon be available in East Africa. 

The package, developed by the African Trade Insurance Agency, (ATI) a development agency, will offer alternative insurance cover for tourists visiting the three countries and eight others, namely, Burundi, Eritrea, Malawi, Madagascar, Rwanda, Zambia, Djibouti and the DRC. 

ATI was established by an international treaty registered under article 102 of the UN charter in January 2001, and member countries are drawn from the corporate membership of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa).

Bernard Haldevang, chief executive of ATI, told The EastAfrican that the insurance package will be available by early new year. He said the agency has an existing insurance cover for tourists wishing to visit the region, but added that it has not been attractive due to the high cost factor.

"It costs much more than most individual tourists would wish to spend, and it has been easier for them not to travel to the region," said Mr Haldevang. The high cost is blamed on the perceived high terrorism risk in the region and also the fact that the cover is considered a luxury. 

Mr Haldevang said the new package was still being worked out and costing will be a major aspect, so as to accommodate the broad range of tourists and potential risks in the different tour packages within the region. 

"The tariffs will be based on the individual needs because different countries and tourist locations have different risk factors," said Mr Haldevang.

The August 8, 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam led to a steep decline in tourists to Kenya and Tanzania and the subsequent travel advisories, mainly by the US, aggravated the situation. The tourist decline was further worsened by the lack of insurance cover or its high cost where available.

However, tour companies have an extension on accident cover policies that also includes evacuation in the event of illness.

The ATI policy will be an extension of existing insurance to include terrorism. Mr Haldevang said that as long as the threat of terrorism remains, the cost of covering tourists travelling here will remain high and ATI hopes to bridge the cost factor by creating a cheaper package to cover the broad range of potential visitors.

The cost factor has also largely deterred major hotels from taking up insurance package. But Haldevang notes that a slow turnaround in bed occupancy reported by major hotels in the region this year has been an incentive to market the property cover.

"Previously, the poor business being done by the hotels did not allow them to buy this package, but the improvement business this year has brought renewed inquiries and we hope to see them taking up the policy," he said.

While Uganda has seen an increase in American tourists, Kenya has relied mostly on Europeans. Mr Haldevang said that the attacks in Spain and the situation in Britain have greatly eased the phobia about East Africa among European visitors, and many are less likely to be intimidated by the advisories because they now realise that terrorist risks are everywhere.

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