Kenya’s tourist arrivals hit 2.4m, earnings up to $ 3.5 bn
MOMBASA, Kenya (MNTV)– Kenya recorded 2.4 million international arrivals in 2024, a new record, latest official Tourism and Wildlife ministry data shows, reports Kenyan daily The Star.
This came with a substantial increase in in-bound tourism earnings, reflecting a 19.79 per cent increase.
According to the 2024 performance report released by Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano, inbound arrivals figures reflected a 15 per cent increase from the 2,089,259 recorded in 2023.
The domestic tourism sector also recorded gains, with bed night occupancy rising by 12 per cent from 4,618,094 in 2023 to 5,173,966 in 2024.
Speaking at the report’s launch in Mombasa, Miano said the figures validate the government’s strategic interventions to revitalize and diversify the tourism sector.
“This progressive achievement is as the result of concerted strategic interventions that include aggressive marketing campaigns, enhanced tourism product diversification, adoption of digital platforms and the introduction of new scheduled flights,” she said.
“These gains underscore the effectiveness of strategic interventions such as enhanced air connectivity,” she added.
The US maintained its position as Kenya’s top source market, accounting for 12.8 per cent of total arrivals, with 306,501 visitors, the data compiled by the Tourism Research Institute (TRI) shows.
Tanzania and Uganda followed suit, contributing 8.4 per cent and 9.4 per cent respectively, reflecting the robust intra-regional travel within the East African Community.
On the continental front, Africa emerged as the leading source market, contributing 40.8 per cent of arrivals, with 975,883 visitors.
“The remarkable performance of the African source market has been phenomenal and continues to take centre stage of a very dynamic shift, which is crucial in fostering intra-regional integration and economic growth,” Miano said, underscoring the pivotal role of intra-Africa travel in driving sustainable tourism development.
Miano expressed optimism for the tourism sector’s continued growth and transformation in 2025.
“Based on current trends and our growth strategy, we remain optimistic that Kenya is on course to welcome three million visitors by 2025”, Minao said.
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