Tourism earnings projected to jump to Sh425b this year
By John Otini, March 3, 2023
Tourism earnings are projected to rise to Sh425 billion ($3.37 billion) this year on the back of an economy shaping up after travel advisories ended, Tourism Research Institute Chief executive David Gitonga has said.
The trend is also expected to rise to Sh540 billion by the year 2027 as authorities concentrate their marketing efforts on developing nations like Rwanda, Nigeria, and Ethiopia during to rising visitor numbers from the rest of Africa.
Following the end of the pandemic, China, a growing source market, has already started to relax its travel policies this year. Kenya’s tourism sector, one of the country’s main sources of foreign exchange, increased by 83 per cent in 2022 to Sh268 billion ($2.13 billion).
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza (pictured) says visitors’ arrivals recovered to 72 per cent of their pre-pandemic level in 2019, surpassing the rest of the continent, which is at 65 per cent of the pre-pandemic level. Kenya provides wildlife safaris in the interior as well as beach vacations along its Indian Ocean coastline. According to Malonza, United States, Tanzania, Uganda, and United Kingdom were the top countries from which tourists arrived during the year.
Yet, the industry is also facing significant difficulties, according to Kareke Mbiuki, chairman of the parliament’s Tourism and Wildlife Committee, who cited infrastructure cuts for the industry as part of a larger government effort to impose austerity measures.
Malonza said the nation is also dealing with a severe drought which is affecting game reserves and national parks.
A handful of hotels in Nairobi shut their doors last year, another indication of the issues facing the industry that accounts for a 10th of annual economic output.