NairobiÂ’s popular Carnivore restaurant and nightclub was recently the scene of an incident between three Kenyan women and an American tourist and U.S. military personnel that began with the locals harassing the Americans on the dance floor, then continuing the argument outside. Police refused to allow the Americans to leave and one of the three women stirred the crowd of some 40 people into a menacing mob. The Americans escaped through the help of U.S. Embassy personnel who were there at the time. Security guards at the nightclub said that harassment of tourists there by Kenyan women is common. They know that tourists have money and they try to get it through theft, feigned friendship, or causing incidents of this sort and then demanding money to put a stop to it.
On a positive note, Kenya has devised an eco-tourism rating system to help control tourism development through sustainable, environmentally sensitive programs. Development in the coastal areas and on Lake Victoria have been especially harmful to the ecosystems and local communities.