The Kenya Tourism Board is placing a greater emphasis and a significantly larger budget on marketing the country to African travellers, recognising the untapped potential of intra-African tourism.
This is in a deliberate and strategic move to attract more African tourists as part of Kenya’s post-pandemic tourism recovery and growth plan.
KTB deputy director of Public Relations and Corporate Communications, Wausi Walya, noted that the proximity of African nations to one another and the availability of several national carriers across the continent create a strong foundation for regional travel.
“We are at a point where we are accelerating travel between African countries. Africa receives just over 60 million of the more than one billion outbound travellers globally. We must change that narrative,” Walya said.
Kenya is strategically capitalising on this by investing in regional marketing campaigns and tourism products that appeal to African visitors.
She said KTB is putting in a bigger budget now to focus on African destinations and tourists coming into Kenya.
In 2024, Kenya welcomed 2.4 million international tourists, with domestic tourism accounting for over five million bed nights.
KTB now aims to attract three million international visitors by the end of 2025 and five million by 2027.
“When we combine regional and domestic tourism efforts, we are confident we will hit our targets,” she said.
She was speaking on Tuesday evening when KTB hosted a section of the delegates of the 36th Africa Public Relations Association Conference aboard the Tamarind Dhow, for a signature Magical Kenya dinner.
More than 500 delegates from over 15 African countries are attending the conference.
The Apra conference provided an ideal platform to showcase Kenya's diverse attractions to key influencers from across the continent.
Delegates were treated to curated excursions, including visits to Wasini Island, Tsavo National Park and cultural and historical sites within Mombasa.
The idea is to turn these delegates into ambassadors who will promote Kenya as a must-visit destination within their own countries, Walya said.
“Being a partner of Apra gave us an opportunity to share what it means to visit Kenya. We’ve organised excursions with tour operators so that delegates not only attend sessions but experience the best of the coast, its culture, nature and hospitality,” she said.
Walya also emphasised the importance of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (Mice) tourism.
Once severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Mice and cruise tourism sectors are now rebounding, contributing significantly to visitor numbers.
“Tourism has fully recovered from Covid. Mice was one of the most affected segments, alongside cruise tourism. But both are bouncing back strongly.”
She added that the resurgence of interest in Africa as a conference and travel destination, especially by international companies with regional offices on the continent, is driving this momentum.
Many organisations are now pushing for regional meetings within Africa, seeing the value and appeal of destinations like Kenya.
She said conferences like Apra are a big boost to the tourism sector.
“Mombasa and Nairobi are aggressively bidding for major events and it’s paying off. We’re already in talks with corporates planning their global meetings in Kenya, choosing either Nairobi or Mombasa,” she said.
