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MARKET: Visa applications are experiencing a significant surge, signalling a promising return to pre-pandemic levels of global travel. The surge, according to new industry data by VFS Global – a visa outsourcing and technology services firm, reflects the pent-up wanderlust of travellers who have been confined by restrictions for an extended period.

It revealed that visa application volumes from Kenya processed until July 2023 more than doubled the 2021 volumes and had reached an impressive 80 per cent of last year’s volumes.

International borders

This, according to the firm, is being driven by travel demand following the reopening of international borders and easing travel restrictions in destinations like China – one of the last markets to re-open since the pandemic erupted in the Asian country in late 2019.

“Due to the high pent-up travel demand, we expect the increase in international travel from last year to continue this year as well,” noted Hariprasad Viswanathan, Head, sub Saharan Africa, VFS Global during the report’s release last week.

“The industry is witnessing peak ‘revenge’ travel with tourism, family visits, and educational as well as business trips being the common reasons for outbound travel from Kenya.”

This flow in visa applications serves as a promising indicator of the travel industry’s recovery, offering hope for economies heavily reliant on tourism, with Canada, Australia and China emerging as the top locations for outbound travel in terms of visa application volumes along with Schengen locations like Italy and The Netherlands.

In 2022, international departures from Kenya grew by 43 per cent.

While challenges still exist, the report noted that the resurgence of visa applications underscores the resilience of the human spirit and the universal yearning for connection and adventure.

“VFS Global’s survey is backed by recent remarks projections by the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) which expects the international arrivals to match the pre-pandemic levels, meaning as more travellers apply for visas to leave the country, a growing number of reverse tourists are doing the same in seeking local entry.

Acting Chief Executive John Chirchir expressed confidence that international tourist visits could surpass the 2019 numbers – when the sector reported its best performance in as many years, with 2.05 million arrivals and contributed $1.76 billion in revenues.

Looking at last year’s and this year’s tourism performance we are happy as a destination that will be closing the year at par with the 2019 period. We are looking at closing the year at over 2 million international arrivals and improving the uptake of domestic tourism by over 6 million bed nights,” said Chirchir in an interview last week.