International Arrivals in Kenya Spike By 7.8% in 2018

The number of international arrivals in Kenya grew by 7.8 percent between January and September 2018 to 776.4 million persons, compared to 720.4 million during the same period in 2017.

The increased investment in the hospitality sector in 2018 was driven by demand for hospitality services from both local and international guests according to a report from Cytonn Investments.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2018, following a 5-year slump between 2011 and 2015 that was because of insecurity and terrorism, the number of international arrivals into the country has been on the rise growing by 13.5 percent from 1.2 million in 2015 to 1.3 million in 2016 and by 8.0 percent to 1.4 million in 2017.

Mirroring this growth, the total number of hotel bed nights grew by 9.5 percent from 5.9 million in 2015 to 6.4 million in 2016 and by 11.3 percent to 7.2 million in 2017. Cytonn attributed the growth primarily to the marketing efforts by the government and improved security.

With this promising growth, hoteliers continued to expand their brands and as a result, in 2018, the sector recorded significant hotel openings and acquisitions.

During the year, a few hotels also embarked on rebranding, aiming at leveraging on international brands and gaining competitive advantage in the wake of stiff competition in the sector.

In addition, during the year, several hotel brands announced plans to enter the Kenyan hospitality market, adding approximately 785 keys to the existing number in the pipeline, as shown below: