Deirdre Campbell, the former chairwoman of Tourism Victoria, says the hostage-taking and massacre at a shopping centre just seven kilometres from her hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, is a reminder of the need to be responsible when travelling.
“I came here and didn’t register with the Canadian Embassy,” Campbell said Monday. “The eye-opener has been I need to be a responsible tourist when I go to these places.”
Campbell is in Nairobi to attend the Eco Tourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference, which kicks off today. She is on the board of advisers for the International Ecotourism Society, which is organizing the conference. She is also emceeing the event.
As president and owner at Tartan Group, a marketing and public-relations firm, she is a big booster of sustainable tourism. She is an experienced traveller who often finds herself in far-flung corners of the world — and she goes prepared.
But when Westgate Mall was stormed by terrorists on Saturday, leaving at least 62 dead, she says she realized the importance of letting the Canadian Embassy know she was there. She says she immediately notified the embassy of her whereabouts, and was told to stay indoors for at least 48 hours.
Two Canadians were killed at the mall.
None of the conference delegates from 40 countries has cancelled, Campbell said. Rather, the tourism industry is regarding the massacre as one that affects all tourist operators internationally. The delegates have pledged solidarity to support Kenyans, rather than add to their woes by cancelling a conference that promises a short-term and long-term economic boost.
“The economic impact would be devastating,” Campbell said. Developing countries depend on tourism. “It’s so much of what Kenya does here.”
“Everyone is banding together to support Kenya,” Campbell said.
Campbell said there is so much security at the gated resort compound where she is staying that she feels safe, despite the massacre nearby.
Everyone has a story to tell about the hostage siege, said Campbell, whether they were at the shopping mall recently or knew someone hurt or killed or just feel vulnerable to be so close to the violence.
The people of Kenya are remarkably hospitable and kind, she said, adding that they “keep apologizing for what has happened, saying ‘it is not like this normally.’ They are very apologetic.”
