Kenya’s tourism sector continues to benefit from the ongoing global recovery, as tourism earnings rose by 31% in the first six months of 2023 compared with the same period last year.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) data shows that the sector bagged KES152.6bn (€971m) in the first six months, up from KES116.2bn (€739m) in 2022.

The earnings improved as visitor arrivals grew from 642 861 to 847 810 in the first half of the year, representing a 32% increase.

“The tourism sector in Kenya experienced a remarkable upswing in international arrivals, leading to a positive effect on the country’s tourism receipts,” said KTB in a report released last week.

“This performance is a 92% recovery compared with the 2019 performance of 929 814 arrivals in the same period. Of significance is that June 2023 arrivals closed at 168 051. This is a growth of 1% when compared with 166 692 arrivals in June 2019.”

During the period under review, holidays remained the main purpose of entry, closing at 338 509 arrivals. Business, meetings, and conferences came in second with 226 908 arrivals, while visiting family and friends was third with 213 417 arrivals.

The data also shows that the top-five international arrivals by country were the US (118 480), Uganda (89 968), Tanzania (69 777), the UK (65 563), and India (42 805).