Revenue From Kenya’s Tourism Sector Up By 60.4%

Revenues from Kenya’s tourism sector in 2021 increased by 60.4 percent to 146 billion shillings. This was a rise from 88 billion shillings in 2020 according to data released by the Tourism Ministry. At the same time, 870,000 tourists arrived in Kenya up from 567,000.

“The numbers are still low, but we are optimistic that we will eventually go back to our all-time high international visitor arrivals that are 2019, or even surpass it. This is because the majority of our masses are vaccinated and international visitors will have faith in our destination again,” Mr. Balala said.

The USA was the top source market for tourists with 136,981 arrivals. Uganda came in second with 80, 067 arrivals followed by Tanzania and UK with 74,051 and 53,264 arrivals each.

Read More: Isuzu’s Commits to Growing Local Tourism Through Tembea Tujenge Kenya

International visitor arrivals in 2021 stood at 870,465 with Jomo Kenyatta International Airport being the leading entry point from 567,848 in 2020.

From January to September 2021 bed occupancy rates increased to 4,138,821 as compared to the same period in 2020 (2,575,812) recording a recovery of 60.7 percent.

This sustained recovery of the hospitality sector was largely supported by domestic travelers with domestic bed nights growing by 101.3 percent while international bed nights grew by 0.05 percent.

“These bed nights recovery trends are an indication that the hospitality sector in Kenya has largely been supported by domestic travel in 2021,” the report noted.

Read More: Olergesaille Village Awarded As Best Tourism Village