Kenya expects tourist footfalls from India to reach pre-pandemic level

With recovery in international tourism, Kenya is expecting the tourist footfalls from India to cross the pre-pandemic level this year, Kenya Tourism Board has said.

"India is important for us as it is the fifth largest source market in terms of footfalls as well as spending," Kenya Tourism Board acting director - market development, Fiona Ngesa told PTI here.

In 2019, Kenya had hosted 1.22 lakh tourists from India and over 20 lakh overall international travellers, she said adding in 2020, there was a standstill due to the pandemic but thereafter from 2021 there has been a steady rise in visitors footfalls.

In 2021, Kenya hosted 40,000 visitors from India followed by 83,000 in 2022, she said.

"There is a steady increase in footfalls from India and this year we expect the visitor numbers to cross the pre-pandemic level. We are targeting 100 lakh footfalls of overall international travellers by 2027," she added.

The African country's top source markets are North America, Uganda, Tanzania, the UK and India.

"We are stepping up our marketing activities through road shows in India - Ahmedabad, Bangalore and New Delhi - besides participating in a 3-day Outbound Travel Mart (OTM) in Mumbai," she said.

When asked about the behaviour among tourists after the pandemic, Ngesa said travellers' spending has increased from USD 700 per person to USD 1,600 per person.

"Travellers are now looking for sustainable tourism and connecting with the local communities to experience culture and cuisine. They are spending on adventure and experiential tourism," she stated.

Meanwhile, Kenya, whose target audience is the mid-segment, is focusing on tapping the meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) segment in India. Kenya has convention centres not only in Nairobi, but also in remote areas of the country, giving businesses a wide choice, she said.

"Visitors from India enjoy our safaris and wildlife, but now we want to showcase that we have much more to offer including tranquil and adventure coastline, landscapes all round the year. We are mainly targeting Free independent travellers (FITs), MICE and families," Ngesa said.

Kenya is also planning to collaborate with film production houses to showcase the African nation in their projects to attract travellers attention, she added.

Currently Kenya Airways operates 14 direct flights every week connecting Mumbai and Nairobi.

Besides, Kenya Airways African nation is also connected with India through many other one stop and direct flights, Ngesa added.