Cruise ship, conferences attract a record 2.4 million tourists into Kenya

Written by Oral East Africa

Kenya recorded a 14.8 percent jump in tourist numbers from 2.08 million guests in 2023 to 2.4 million visitors last year mostly attending global conferencing and cruise tourism.

Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Rebecca Miano, while releasing the 2024 performance report said the tourist arrivals boosted earnings 19.79 percent from Kes377.49 billion in 2023 to Kes452.20 billion in 2024.

Ms Miano said Kenya made gains in tourist numbers due to da iversified tourism portfolio, including cruise tourism, which saw a remarkable 163.5 percent increase, with 6,561 tourists in 2024, up from 2,490 in 2023.

Likewise, the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) category accounted for a significant 27 percent (643,595) of the total international tourism arrivals during the period under review, representing a 12.5 percent increase compared to 2023 when it accounted for 24 percent (599,114) of the total inbound tourist arrivals.

“This progressive achievement is as the result of concerted strategic interventions that include aggressive marketing campaigns, enhanced tourism product diversification, adoption of digital platforms, and the introduction of new scheduled flights," Ms Miano said.

Intra-Africa

On the continental front, Africa emerged as the leading source market, contributing 40.8 percent of arrivals, with 975,883 visitors. Europe followed closely at 28.1 percent, while the Americas and Asia accounted for 15.7 percent and 12.1 percent respectively.

Tanzania and Uganda followed suit, contributing 8.4 percent and 9.4 percent respectively, reflecting the robust intra-regional travel within the East African Community (EAC).

Notably, the East African Region (EAC) showcased growth, with Tanzania recording the highest increase of 42,133 arrivals, followed by China with a remarkable 29,085 additional visitors.

The United States, Somalia, Italy, and Uganda also experienced significant increments, underscoring the global appeal of Kenya's diverse tourism offerings.

The United States maintained its position as Kenya's top source market, accounting for 12.8 percent of total arrivals, with 306,501 visitors.

Miano expressed optimism for the tourism sector's continued growth and transformation in 2025. Preliminary UN Tourism projections point to improved global performance this year with international tourist arrivals forecasted to increase by 3 percent to 5 percent compared to 2024.

"Based on current trends and our growth strategy, we remain optimistic that Kenya is on course to welcome 3 million visitors by 2025, potentially generating Kes560 billion in tourism earnings. We have laid a firm foundation to make Kenya a competitive global tourism destination,” she said.

The CS pledged to foster more public-private partnerships as well as implement policies and initiatives that will contribute to the sustainable growth of the sector and its competitiveness in the dynamic global tourism landscape.