Kenya's tourism earnings surge 83% to KSh262 billion as sector recovers

Kenya's earnings from tourism surged 83% in 2022 to KSh262 billion as the sector continued to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic slump, a senior tourism official said on Wednesday.

Earnings are projected to rise to KSh425 billion this year, David Gitonga, the chief executive of the state Tourism Research Institute, told a news briefing, before increasing to KSh540 billion in 2027.

In 2020 when governments around the world restricted the movement of people, including through the closure of air spaces, in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus, earnings slumped to KSh88.6 billion. 

A year later, the sector started improving, earning KSh146 billion. The number of hotel nights occupied by Kenyan travellers doubled that year. In 2021, Kenya received 823,312 tourists compared to only 542,388 in year 2020. 

Some of Kenya's key tourism attractions are the Safari and the coastline around Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi counties.