CS Miano welcomes AirAsia first direct flight to Nairobi
The plane landed with 337 passengers on board.
4mon agoROZANNE NTHAMBIRealtime
Kenya welcomed 2.4 million international tourists in 2024, Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano has announced.
Speaking at the launch of the Annual Tourism Sector Performance Report 2024 and the Report on Sustainability and Impact of Climate Change on the Tourism Sector in Kenya, the CS said the figure translates to a 14.6 per cent increase from 2023 numbers.
“The 2024 inbound tourism earnings rose to Sh452.2 billion, a 19.79 per cent growth compared to 2023,” she said.
The CS said the combined visitor numbers for 2024 stands at 7,568,342. “This includes 2.4 million inbound tourists and 5,173,966 domestic tourists,” she pointed out.
Miano noted that the United States remained the largest source market at 12.8 per cent of total arrivals followed by Uganda at 9.42 per cent and Tanzania at 8.49 per cent.
“The United Kingdom, India, Italy, Germany and China reclaimed their space as leading source markets to our destination,” she added.
In the ranking of the fastest-growing source markets, the CS said new entrants include the Czech Republic, Poland, South Korea, Brazil, Portugal, Japan, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Turkey, Belgium and Sweden.
“This is a clear indication that our efforts in diversifying product offering and expanding source markets are bearing fruit,” she stated.
She noted that the introduction of new experiences, such as cultural tourism, sports tourism and adventure tourism has continued to attract a wider range of travellers, stamping Kenya’s reputation as a sustainable tourism destination.
“Our aim is to ultimately increase arrival numbers while encouraging longer stays and higher per capita spend. Moving forward, we will be more intentional in curating experiences that are in sync with emerging global trends,” Miano added.
She noted that the government has embarked on improving visitor experience at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, a crucial gateway to Kenya and the larger eastern Africa region.
“If we consolidate our efforts and synergize effectively, Kenya is projected to receive three million tourists and generate Sh560 billion in earnings in 2025 while targeting five million arrivals by 2027,” the CS added.
