Kenya recorded a 14.7 percent increase in international arrivals in 2024 to 2,394,400 compared to 2,086,800 recorded in 2023.
According to the 2025 Economic Survey Report released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the number of international visitors through the Moi International Airport increased by 30.6 percent to 204,900 while those through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport( JKIA) grew by 10.1 percent to 1,627,900.
“The increase is attributed to the key developments in the aviation sector during 2024, which included the expansion of airlines network that positively impacted on the arrivals to the region,” the report reads in part.
Similarly, the report revealed that visitor arrivals through other border points increased by 24.4 percent from 451, 400 visitors in 2023 to 561,600 in 2024.
Occupancy
Further, the number of bednight occupancy in hotels , lodges and other rooming houses increased by 18.9 percent to 10,262,100 in 2024.
“This increase was largely driven by the American residents whose hotel bed night occupancy increased by 38.0 per cent to 846,000 in 2024,” the report states.
Additionally, the number of bed nights occupied in game lodges grew by 927,000 representing a 20.4 percent.
Kenya’s GDP
To add to that, the report revealed that Kenya’s real Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.7 percent in 2024 compared to a revised growth of 5.7 percent in 2023.The growth albeit slower than the previous year was to a large extent supported by activities in agriculture, forestry and fishing of 4.6 percent, financial and insurance activities 7.6 percent, transport and storage 4.4 percent and real estate at 5.3 percent.
Speaking during the launch of the report, Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning John Mbadi remained optimistic about the country’s economic resilience, highlighting Kenya’s diversified economy as a key buffer against global and domestic shocks.
“We either continue with business as usual and risk economic collapse, or we take bold action now,” the CS emphasized.
He at the same outlined the government’s efforts to rationalize spending and enhance revenue collection, and announced that the projected revenue for the 2025 financial year has been revised down to Ksh 3 trillion, while the total expenditure is now estimated at Ksh4.2 trillion, down from over Ksh4.3 trillion.
The survey also shows a drop on inflation from 7.7percent in 2023 to 4.5 percent in 2024, food prices stabilized, with the Kenyan shilling appreciating against the US dollar from Ksh159.69 at the beginning of 2024 to Ksh129.36 by end of 2024.
