The recent uptick in Kenya’s visitor numbers has gained momentum, new data revealed on Monday, with 37.33% growth in visitor arrivals year ending 2018.
Statistics released by the Tourism Ministry showed that in 2018 more than 2,025,206 million visitors arrived in Kenya compared to 1,474,671 witnessed in 2017. Of those, 3.57 million, or 77%, were from the mainland.
This accounted for KSh157 billion compared to KSh119.9 billion earned the previous year.
“Tourism performance for the year 2018 has seen substantial improvement compared to 2017 in both tourism arrivals, domestic tourism performance, and earnings,” says the Tourism Sector Performance Report 2018.
Nature of the visits includes holiday, business and conference, visiting friends and relatives.
The US remains Kenya’s No.1 source market. Further growth in this market is anticipated with Kenya Airways new route according to the ministry.
Read:
- Growth of Africa’s Tourism industry remains resilient
- Kenya’s Hospitality Sector to bounce back to its previous growth path in 2019 – PwC
- African Airlines Post 6.0% Rise In Demand For Passenger Transport
Based on that trend, the ministry forecast that “The growth of arrivals expected to grow with more reception of the open sky policy.”
Commenting on the report, President Uhuru Kenyatta said “As part of enhancing repeat visits, as well as recommending destination to visitors. Kenya currently has a total of 68 global hotel brands, a clear indication that the international community is confident of returns in investment in the tourism sector.”
