The Kenya Tourism Board [KTB] has announced an ambitious plan, targeting to double international tourist arrivals to three million by the end of this year through a revamped diversification strategy.
According to the Tourism Research Institute, 1.96 million tourists visited the country in 2023, representing 31.5 per cent of the 1.48 million that toured the country in 2022, but the figures are yet to rebound to the pre-Covid levels of 2,048,834 tourists who visited the country.
The Institute’s 2023 report indicates that last year alone, tourism arrivals generated tourist inbound earnings of Sh353 billion as compared to Sh268.2 billion that the sector earned in 2022, indicating the rapid growth and recovery of the sector post-Covid-19 pandemic.
Kenya’s top tourism source markets, as the report further shows, were the USA with 265,310 arrivals, Uganda with 201,623, Tanzania with 157,818, the UK with 156,700, and India with 94,273 tourist arrivals by the end of 2023.
According to KTB CEO June Chepkemei, the country is seeking to diversify its tourism attraction sites and enhance its marketing strategies to achieve three million international tourist arrivals this year.
Chepkemei noted that the tourism sector is on an upward trajectory, with the recent number of tourist arrivals recorded on the rise coupled with an increase in the country’s bed capacity and the most recent attraction for local Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) facilities.
The CEO added that the sector has bounced back from the COVID pandemic aftershocks, with 2023 statistics indicating that the country recorded a 95 per cent recovery rate from the pre-pandemic 2019 tourism arrivals of 2,048,834.
In one of its diversification strategies, Chepkemei said the Board has partnered with motorsport organisations and federations to tap into the adventure and leisure sectors to showcase the country’s diverse sites.
She added that the partnership seeks to harness and ignite Kenyans’ interest in travelling within the country in the spirit of the “Tembea Kenya” initiative aimed at promoting domestic tourism to boost economic growth across the country.
Speaking in Naivasha during the launch of the new BMW GS 1300 Motorrad bike, Chepkemei said the country targets to attract 10,000 riders across the continent to tour Kenya and experience breathtaking terrains and landscapes.
In addition, the Board CEO said the country is gearing up to become a notable hub for adventure tourism, showcasing an array of Kenya’s deserts, coastal beaches, mountains, and other surreal terrains and landscapes.
According to Julia Vershinskaya, the Managing Director of Inchape Kenya, the new adventure motorbike offers biking and adventure enthusiasts a new riding experience.
Vershinskaya said Kenya has positioned itself as the largest market for the company’s Motorrad motorbikes in Africa, indicating huge potential in the sector.
According to the company’s Sales Manager, Charles Ndegwa, the partnership with the Kenya Tourism Board will nurture and accelerate the growth of adventure tourism in the country.
Ndegwa said the market has positively embraced the new product borne out of years of innovation, promising biking enthusiasts more advanced features at a low consumption rate.
The latest data from the Kenya Tourism Board indicates that Kenya boasts an estimated 6,000 adventure riders, with over 500,000 riders within the African continent.
By Erastus Gichohi
