Kenya’s tourism sector recorded one of its strongest performances in more than ten years, earning Kshs. 452 billion in 2024, up from Kshs. 377 billion the previous year.
Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Rebecca Miano, told Senators on Thursday that international arrivals rose by 14.6 per cent to 2.4 million visitors, compared to 2.08 million in 2023.
She noted that domestic tourism also made a significant contribution, with bed-nights increasing from 4.6 million to 5.17 million, while cruise tourism surged by more than 160 per cent, attracting over 6,500 visitors to Kenyan ports.
The growth was attributed to enhanced air connectivity, rollout of the Electronic Travel Authorization system, collaborative marketing under the Magical Kenya brand, and diversification of tourism products including cultural heritage, sports tourism, cruise travel, and destination weddings.
“Kenya remains the leading East African destination with 2.4 million visitors, ahead of Tanzania, Mauritius, Rwanda and Uganda. We also retained our fifth position in Africa and ranked among the top four countries to surpass pre-COVID arrival numbers,” CS Miano said.