A Boost from Increased Flights: Increased flights between Kenya and the United States of America are the biggest contributor to improved travel by American tourists to Kenya.
Jack Ezon, an A-list travel advisor who founded Embark Beyond, revealed to Travel + Leisure Magazine that interest in Kenya had increased by 37 per cent since 2019.
The spike was directly attributed to the increased number of flights led by Kenya Airways boosting one-stop connectivity.
Other airlines that boosted the connectivity include Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Turkish Airlines.
“Demand for Kenya is up 37 percent since 2019,” stated Ezon, A New York-based travel advisor who has a list of black book clients that consists of celebrities, royal families and high-net-worth individuals.
Earlier, the Ministry of Tourism announced that Kenya’s tourism revenue hit Ksh352.5 billion in 2023, representing a 31.5 per cent increase compared to 2022.
In the financial year, American citizens accounted for the largest number of tourists at 265,310.
Ugandans came in second at 201,623 followed by Tanzania at 157,818 and the UK at 156,700.
In total, 1.95 million tourists arrived in Kenya increasing the sector’s earnings.
“Despite the increase in the number of visitors in 2023 as compared to 2022, the average per capita expenditure in US dollars decreased significantly,” a report by the Ministry revealed in March.
However, the Ministry explained that the per capita spending was reduced due to the volatility of the shilling which hit Ksh160 against the dollar.
It is therefore expected that the per capita spending as well as revenue will spike this year as the Ministry projects that Kenya will receive 2.4 million tourists.
BY DERRICK OKUBASU
Read the Original Article on https://www.kenyans.co.ke/
