Ministry of Tourism targets to increase number of tourists from 1.9 million to 3 million by end of 2024

The Ministry of Tourism has announced that it is targeting to increase the number of international tourists from 1.9 million to 3 million by the end of 2024.

Through the Kenya Tourism Board, the ministry says it has undertaken an initiative to work with various stakeholders including hoteliers and eco-tourism operators to promote tourist destination sites in the country.

KTB CEO June Chepkemei said the country is seeking to diversify its tourism attraction sites and enhance its marketing strategies to achieve targeted tourist arrivals.

Speaking in Naivasha during the launch of the new BMW GS 1300 Motorrad motorbike, Chepkemei noted that the tourism sector is on an upward trajectory with the recent number of tourist arrivals recorded on the rise.

The CEO added that the sector had bounced back on its feet from the Covid-pandemic aftershocks and is projected to post positive growth in coming months.

"We believe that working with the motorsport industry will really support us to get to the desired numbers. We are now partnering with the organisers that support the motorsport adventure," he said.

"We want to target at least 10,000 riders across the continent to come to Kenya and experience the diversity we have to offer as a country."

On her part, Inchape Kenya Managing Director Julia Vershinskaya said Kenya has positioned itself as the largest market for the company’s Motorrad motorbikes in Africa, indicating the huge potential in the tourism sector.

She added that the new adventure motorbike offered biking and adventure enthusiasts a new riding experience.

The company’s Sales Manager Charles Ndegwa said the partnership with KTB would nurture and accelerate the growth of adventure tourism in the country.

According to the Tourism Research Institute, 1.96 million tourists visited the country in 2023 representing 31.5 per cent rise from the 1.5 million that toured the country in 2022.

Last year arrivals generated tourist inbound earnings of Ksh.353 billion which showed the rapid growth post-COVID-19 pandemic.

The report showed that Kenya’s top tourism source markets were the USA with 265,310 arrivals, Uganda with 201,623, Tanzania with 157,818, the United Kingdom with 156,700 and India with 94,273 in 2023.