Kenya’s tourism industry is staging a powerful comeback, registering a 60% surge in international arrivals since 2022. Official data from the Ministry of Tourism reveals that the country welcomed 2.4 million tourists in 2024, up from 1.5 million in 2022.

This growth has driven tourism earnings to Kshs 452 billion, a significant rise from Kshs 268 billion just two years ago.

The sector now directly contributes Kshs 509 billion to the GDP—about 2.6%—with the total contribution estimated at Kshs 1 trillion, roughly 10.5% of the national GDP. Employment figures have also improved markedly, with tourism supporting over 1.5 million jobs, up from 1.1 million in 2022.

In a bid to reduce reliance on traditional beach and safari offerings, the Ministry has aggressively diversified Kenya’s tourism portfolio. Sports events like the Magical Kenya Open, the Kip Keino Classic, and the Naivasha WRC Rally are now major tourist draws. Cultural events such as the Maa and Rusinga festivals are also gaining traction. Additionally, conference tourism is on the rise, with Kenya hosting 643,595 MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) visitors in 2024, representing a 12.5% increase from the previous year.

“Over time Tourists have been confined to beach and wildlife safari products despite there being other equally attractive and interesting circuits available within the country. This has led to underutilization of the existing tourism products such as Conference tourism, heritage tourism, Sports Tourism, cultural tourism, Avi Tourism, Health and Wellness Tourism and Agro tourism,” said Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano.

Domestic tourism remains a priority following its pandemic-era surge. The Ministry’s “Tembea Kenya” campaign, featuring subsidized park entry fees and family-friendly travel packages, helped increase domestic bed occupancy to over 5.1 million bed-nights in 2024. Youth-oriented travel activities, including hiking, photography, and adventure sports, are also expanding.

To modernize and streamline the visitor experience, the Ministry is set to launch a National Tourism Portal and a Kenya Tourist App. These digital tools will offer virtual tours, maps, and real-time travel information. A feedback mechanism for tourists is also in development.

Infrastructure upgrades have been instrumental. Roads to Amboseli and Tsavo have been improved, and airstrips in Lamu and Maasai Mara expanded. The recent opening of Narok National Airport is expected to boost access to key attractions.

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  • Your Comment : I have now believed that we do not have an independent electoral and boundaries commission , instead we have a congregation of greedy individuals out to misuse Kenyans and bring chaos to our country. #Remove them. #clean the top leadership.

  • Congratulations to Governor Mutua,you really deserve to lead in the best performing governors,,, those ranked last should be dealt with accordingly for misappropriating public funds

  • Raila was the hunter now the hunted... how do trust a hyena like Uhuru.. You both greedy... you dug your grave lie in it... What handshake.. Crap...

  • Babu aje zake,handshake is for all Kenyans, and Kibra believe in handshake, there4, Uhuru And Raila should have different candidates and whoever Will go through Will be thé product of handshake

  • Hehehe, supporting somebody was not an agreement in the handshake my friends!! Remember Raila caused many to die during the era of maandamano hence Uhuru devised a method how to tame this power hungry man!! Mariga must win

  • Your Raila and uhuru come from different political party,. Everyone is free to handle his party issues and i salute the president for supporting mariga being the jubilee candidate. Raila is also supporting the odm candidate and no one is against that. Some people are taking handshake as political party while it's not. Please mr mp style up.

  • Babu wacha kiherehere or baba will tie u the same tree kidero and obado were rope tied when the latters looked threatening the leadership of baba in nyanza

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