Kenya’s tourism industry may be recording strong growth in international arrivals and earnings, but industry players say limited air connectivity remains a major obstacle to unlocking the sector’s full potential, particularly along the Coast.
According to The Star, while Kenya welcomed 2.79 million international tourists by June 2026, up 88 per cent from 2022, hoteliers and tour operators say the headline growth figures do not necessarily reflect equal recovery across all tourism segments and destinations.
Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers Coast executive officer Sam Ikwaye said the country’s stability has helped tourism, but greater liberalisation of the airspace is needed to bring more visitors directly to destinations outside Nairobi. “If there are no direct flights into destinations, then we are talking about growth on paper but we are not really feeling it as industry,” Ikwaye said.
He noted that MICE tourism has performed particularly well in Nairobi, while the leisure market, traditionally a major strength of the Kenyan Coast, has not recovered at the same pace. The Coast’s accommodation capacity has increased substantially in recent years, with bed capacity rising from about 30,000 to 50,000. However, Ikwaye said the expansion has not been matched by sufficient demand. The market has also diversified beyond conventional hotels to include apartments, Airbnb properties, holiday homes and villas, creating additional capacity that could support tourism growth if connectivity and demand improve
READ: Africa: Kenya Tourism Earnings Surge 110% as International Arrivals Reach 2.79 Million
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Kenya’s air connectivity challenge is particularly significant for Mombasa. Tour operator Mohammed Hersi, director of Pollman’s Tours and Safaris, welcomed the increase in cruise arrivals and charter flights but called for further expansion of scheduled international services. He cited the approval of a second Ethiopian Airlines flight to Mombasa as a positive development, while urging the government to allow Turkish Airlines to operate more than three flights. Hersi argued that the existing restrictions limit the airline’s ability to bring more visitors to the Coast, particularly because the three permitted flights are reportedly capped at 450 seats, or 150 seats per flight.
Despite the challenges, Hersi said his business has remained busy and that stability in source markets is as important as headline growth. “The Italian market has been very stable for us,” he said, stressing that sustained performance is critical for tour operators. Kenya has been working to strengthen international connectivity as it pursues new source markets. In 2024, the Kenya Tourism Board entered into a route marketing partnership with AirAsia X to attract visitors from Southeast Asia, Northern Asia and Australia. The launch of Flydubai’s Nairobi service, building on its daily Mombasa operation, has also strengthened Kenya’s links with Dubai and the wider Middle East.
Chepkemei said KTB has further expanded airline partnerships, including collaborations with Emirates and Qatar Airways in September 2026 to promote Kenya through their international networks. The country is targeting 50,000 visitors from the Middle East, up from 20,480 in the 2026 financial year. The strategy reflects Kenya’s effort to convert improved connectivity into increased visitor arrivals and tourism spending. However, industry voices warn that maintaining growth will require more than destination marketing. Greater airline access, stronger direct connections to coastal destinations and better utilisation of existing accommodation capacity will be crucial if Kenya is to translate rising national tourism figures into stronger business performance across the country.
For the Coast, the challenge is therefore not simply attracting more tourists to Kenya, but ensuring that more of those visitors can reach Mombasa and other coastal destinations directly and conveniently.
