In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit Kenya’s tourism sector hard, halving the number of both foreign and domestic travellers.

According to the Tourism Research Institute’s (TRI) Annual Tourism Sector Performance Report 2024, international tourist arrivals in 2020 decreased to a historic low of 567,848. However, Kenya remarkably recovered, recording 870,465, 1,483,752, and 2,089,259 arrivals in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively.

International arrivals increased by 14.6% to stand at 2,394,376 in 2024 as inbound tourism earnings grew by 19.79% from Ksh 377.49 billion ($2.92 billion) in 2023 to Ksh 452.20 billion ($3.49 billion) in 2024.

Still, hidden within Kenya’s tourism recovery story is the steady rise of the domestic tourist.

The Kenya Domestic Tourism Survey Report of 2021, which described a domestic tourist as a male aged between 26 and 35, holding a university degree, earning Ksh 50,000 ($386) per month, and likely to live in Nairobi and Mombasa, noted that Kenya’s tourism sector had long been prevented from failing by domestic travellers even before the pandemic.

The report documented that between 2015 and 2018, Kenya’s domestic tourism accounted for more than half the bed occupancy nationwide. “The number of domestic bed-nights grew from about 2.9 million to 4.6 million between 2014 and 2018,” read the survey findings.

The survey also established that the number of female Kenyan travellers rose from 28% to 43%, compared to a drop in male travellers during the pandemic.

When international arrivals collapsed due to terror incidents like the Kikambala bombing in 2002, the Westgate and DusitD2 attacks in 2013 and 2019 respectively, and during the post-election violence in 2007–2008, local tourism movements and accommodation kept businesses afloat.

The 2021 survey indicates that Kenya reached its all-time high of 2.05 million international tourist arrivals in 2019 before the pandemic wiped out over two-thirds of that traffic. Even with this all-time high of foreign arrivals, domestic numbers were higher at over 4.6 million.

Najib Balala, former Kenya Tourism Cabinet Secretary, disclosed that after the pandemic, tourism industry stakeholders embraced domestic demand as the assured and easily accessible path to stabilisation. This decision saw industry players enhance marketing strategies by harnessing social media and digital apps, and the fruits justify the efficacy of this approach.

The increasing number of domestic tourists has challenged the norm of telling Kenya’s tourism story through the eyes of foreign travellers or wildlife enthusiasts. The 2025 Tourism Sector Performance Report stated that, out of the 7.9 million tourists Kenya welcomed that year, 5.2 million were domestic travellers and 2.7 million were international visitors.

This means Kenyans now account for about two-thirds of all tourist movements in the country, reshaping conversations about the industry’s sources of income, its beneficiaries, and its future. Industry players are not just seeing these encouraging statistics as mere numbers.

The 2025 report explained that the numbers pointed towards how domestic travel continued to stabilise and cushion the industry against external shocks and seasonal fluctuations, while maintaining steady local demand.

Tourism income in Kenya

The latest Annual Tourism Sector Performance Report showed that the tourism sector generated approximately Ksh 500 billion ($3.86 billion) in total earnings in 2025, cementing its status as a key economic pillar.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) observed that this figure represented a part of the larger picture, pointing out that Travel and Tourism contributed $12.7 billion (Ksh 1.6 trillion) to Kenya’s economy in 2025.

“This accounted for 9.3% of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product and supported 1.8 million jobs, an equivalent of 8.3% of total national employment,” WTTC expounded.

During the 2025 Jamhuri Day celebrations, President William Ruto rallied the sector towards increasing tourist numbers and growing the industry’s contribution to GDP to over 10%.

Tourism is classified among the Services sector, which dominates Kenya’s economy and accounts for 55% of GDP. Agriculture also contributes a large chunk of 22%, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

Domestic versus international tourism earnings

International tourism generates slightly more revenue per visitor compared to domestic tourism. WTTC reported that international visitor spending reached Ksh 646.9 billion ($5 billion) in 2025, accounting for 52.4% of Kenya’s total tourism expenditure, while domestic visitor spending reached Ksh 582.3 billion ($4.5 billion).

However, WTTC noted that the gap between international and domestic tourism revenue was narrowing, explaining that the volume of domestic visitors more than compensates for the difference in per-capita spending.

The net foreign exchange Kenya earned — calculated as the margin by which international visitor spending exceeded outbound expenditure- stood at Ksh 512.4 billion ($3.96 billion) in 2025.

This amount, added to the growing domestic tourism income, gives the Kenyan industry a dual engine to power it far ahead of its regional peers.

Who are the Kenyan Travellers and Popular Tourism Destinations

Surveys by the Tourism departments in Kenya indicated that millennials and Gen Z are driving the domestic tourism surge. These are the young, digitally connected Kenyans, reluctant to wait for visa application approvals to travel. Their rising aspirations, social media influence, shared experiences, and the fast-growing ecosystem of locally tailored travel products contribute to this surge.

“Social media and word of mouth from family and friends were primary channels through which Kenyans discovered attractions before and after COVID-19,” the 2021 Kenya Domestic Tourism Survey stated.

Common fixtures on the calendars of urban Kenyans include weekend getaways to Naivasha and Hell’s Gate, hiking trips in the Aberdares and Mt Kenya, beach escapes to Watamu, Diani, Nyali and Lamu, and experiences in private conservancies, cultural tours in Lamu’s old town, and wellness retreats in the Rift Valley.

Urban leisure, comprising rooftop bars, cultural festivals and food tourism, has also grown into a category of its own within the domestic market.

Investors in the industry have quickly adapted to match emerging and diversified demands.

“Currently, you must be active on social media platforms like Instagram and be available on local booking platforms. These are the primary vehicles through which Kenyans discover, plan and document their travels,” said Dennis Gicheru, an events and tourist travel investor in Eldoret.

The hotel sector in particular is reaping the benefits. The 2025 tourism report showed that bed-nights increased by 12.6% to 11.56 million in 2025, with Kenyan residents accounting for 45% of total hotel occupancy.

These figures show that, if steady growth is sustained, over half of the hotel business will rest on the domestic market.

It is a significant reversal from a decade ago, when most budget and mid-range hotels depended on international group bookings and conference traffic.

Parks, peaks, and beaches

Visitors to national parks and game reserves grew by 5.7% to 3,954,500 in 2025, driven by improved tourism performance associated with growing domestic travel, enhanced infrastructure, and sustained marketing efforts.

Conference tourism posted gains as well, with the number of local conferences rising by 12.9% to 12,671 in 2025. Business travel and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism, increasingly driven by Kenyans, added another revenue stream to the domestic mix.

Kenya’s performance is not going unnoticed internationally. WTTC President and CEO Gloria Guevara cited the country’s strong economic contribution, balanced demand model, and clear leadership in sustainable tourism as hallmarks of long-term success.

Kenya has developed a National Tourism Strategy (NTS) 2025–2030, a roadmap to reposition the country as a globally competitive, sustainable, and inclusive destination.

Anchored in Vision 2030 and the current administration’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), the strategy takes a multi-sectoral approach to revive tourism as a catalyst for economic growth, job creation, and national integration.

President Ruto re-emphasised the need to invest in strategic marketing and innovation.

“We must market the complete Kenyan story, from our technological innovation in mobile money to our athletics excellence, from the Cradle of Humankind to our over 42 vibrant communities,” he said during a visit to Tsavo National Park in 2025.

Hiked park fees in Kenya

Ruto also approved the construction of luxury hotels within Tsavo National Park and announced a hike in park and accommodation fees. Kenya’s parliament ratified the revised fees by passing the Wildlife Conservation and Management (Access, Entry and Conservation) (Fees) Regulations Act 2025 — the first comprehensive park fees revision in 18 years.

Entry fees for Amboseli and Lake Nakuru national parks increased by 74.4% from Ksh 860 ($7) to Ksh 1,500 ($15) for Kenyan and East African Community nationals, while rates for foreign visitors increased by 50% from $60 to $90. The revised fees took effect in October 2025.

While some industry players expressed concern that the upward revision would reduce tourism movements, a pricing survey by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) found that many Kenyans would be happy to pay more for better experiences. KWS projected a revenue increase of up to Ksh 16.58 billion ($128.1 million) by 2028. KWS dervies 90% of its revenue from tourism charges and spends 78% on wildlife security.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) CEO June Chepkemei said the industry needed to innovate and make the most of marketing resources, rather than competing for the same pool with vital sectors like health, education, and infrastructure. She attributed government investment in key projects such as roads and the Standard Gauge Railway to improved traveller experience and subsequent growth in domestic tourism.

As part of those innovations, the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism seized the opportunity to market the country’s cultural experience when popular streamer IShowSpeed visited the country. Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano applauded the YouTuber for innovatively marketing Kenya to the world.

“Magical Kenya shone when IShowSpeed toured Africa. He turned our story into a real-time experience and reshaped Kenya’s image from a safari hub to a melting pot of cultures, vibrant cities, great cuisine, amazing people, and adventure,” Miano said during the streamer’s January 2026 visit.

Joan Letting, a Kenyan PhD candidate and communication expert based in Canada, told the Open African Tribune that the Kenyan experience IShowSpeed shared with the world surpassed advertising campaigns worth billions.

“Kenya hacked global attention without buying a single ad. They achieved what every brand, country, and marketer will be chasing for the next decade. No scripts, no polish, no marketing jargon, just a live human experience unfolding on the streets of Nairobi,” she said.

Letting observed that the world did not merely watch but walked with the streamer as he interacted with matatus, chaos, laughter and culture shock. “This wasn’t accidental. It was next-generation marketing, and it worked because experience beats messaging,” she said.

Conservancies and protected wildlife species in Kenya

Wildlife conservancies supported by local and international communities also add unique value to Kenya’s tourist attraction mix.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Nanyuki, Laikipia County, is home to Najin and Fatu, the two remaining northern white rhinos in the world, putting Kenya at the centre of global attention as scientists race to save the species using stem cell and IVF technologies.

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has also caught world attention with its Nursery project at Nairobi National Park, which rescues and reintegrates orphaned wildlife such as baby elephants, rhinos, giraffes and hippos.

Tourists pay at least $20 (Ksh 2,589) for the daily one-hour interaction with wildlife at the nursery, with proceeds used to rescue and protect more wildlife in collaboration with KWS.

According to the Kenya Wildlife Conservancy Association (KWCA), Kenya has 160 registered conservancies that collectively protect 11 million acres of land, with at least 50 private conservancies spanning 478,000 hectares.

Amidst Kenya’s domestic tourism surge, the rapid growth of popular destinations raises sustainability concerns.

Trails on Mt Kenya are showing signs of overuse, beaches along the coast face waste management issues, and photogenic spots are under pressure from travellers.

Dr Willy Kenei, Chairman of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) branch in Eldoret, counselled that new trade policies covering emerging trends will be a game-changer.

“Developing and aligning trade policies will help strike a balance between the growing demand for domestic tourism and a well-conserved environment. With innovation, political goodwill and investment, the growth of Kenya’s domestic tourism is sustainable,” Kenei told the Open African Tribune.