Air Cairo to Open Direct Mombasa–Hurghada Route in December

Air Cairo is scheduled to launch a direct Mombasa–Hurghada service in December, creating a new air link between Kenya’s Coast and Egypt’s Red Sea resort region.

The Egyptian carrier’s flight SM734 is scheduled to make its first Mombasa–Hurghada operation on December 26, 2026, with current timetables showing two weekly services around the launch period. The flight is expected to take about five hours, with the return service operating as SM733.

The route will connect Moi International Airport and Hurghada International Airport without a stop in Nairobi or Cairo, adding another international city pair to Mombasa’s aviation network.

Hurghada is one of Egypt’s principal Red Sea tourism centres, while Mombasa is the main international gateway to Kenya’s Coast. The new service therefore links two established leisure markets directly and gives tour operators in both countries another air connection around which to build itineraries.

Current schedules indicate that Air Cairo will use an Embraer 190 on the route. The initial twice-weekly operation represents a relatively small addition to available capacity, but the opening of the city pair gives the airline a foothold in Kenya’s coastal market and places Mombasa within its wider East African network.

Air Cairo already serves the region, including connections involving Nairobi and Zanzibar, making the Mombasa service part of a broader expansion of links between Egypt and East Africa.

The airline is also displaying Mombasa–Hurghada and Hurghada–Mombasa as bookable city pairs through its own sales channels, providing a stronger indication that the route has moved beyond a purely theoretical schedule listing. Flight times, frequencies and fares remain subject to change as the December operation approaches.

For Mombasa, the addition comes as airlines continue to expand the range of international destinations served directly from the Coast. The route also gives the Kenyan tourism market another connection into Egypt beyond the established Nairobi–Cairo traffic, while opening Hurghada to travellers originating from the Coast.

The first scheduled service is December 26, rather than December 27, although December 27 is also shown as an operating date under the current timetable.

Source : flightsfrom.com

Magical Kenya Travel Expo Opens as Kenya Courts Global Tourism Business

Kenya’s tourism industry is preparing for its largest Magical Kenya Travel Expo (MKTE) yet, with thousands of tourism professionals expected in Nairobi as the country seeks to deepen its presence in international markets and expand the business generated from visitors.

The 16th edition of the expo runs from October 6 to 8 at Uhuru Gardens, bringing together international buyers, exhibitors, tourism organisations, airlines, hotels, tour operators, technology companies and other players from across the travel economy. Organisers expect more than 10,000 delegates from 40 countries and more than 400 exhibitors.

The growth in scale follows a strong 2025 edition, which recorded 7,691 delegates, 365 exhibitors and 10,852 business-to-business meetings, according to Kenya Tourism Board figures released ahead of this year’s event. The meetings provide the less visible machinery behind a tourism exhibition: international buyers sit down with Kenyan and regional suppliers to discuss products, destinations, prices and potential commercial relationships.

That marketplace is becoming increasingly important as Kenya pursues its ambition of reaching five million international visitors by the end of 2027. The strategy requires not only attracting travellers to the country but also maintaining relationships with the overseas companies that package, distribute and sell Kenyan tourism products in their respective markets.

The buyer mix illustrates the breadth of that distribution network. MKTE’s hosted-buyer programme includes destination management companies, incentive buyers, independent travel agents, online booking companies and outbound tour operators specialising in Africa. On the supply side are hotels, lodges, camps, villas, experiences, tour operators, DMCs, tourism boards, airlines, transport companies and other tourism services.

This year’s exhibition also puts technology closer to the centre of the tourism conversation. Its theme, “Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence: Shaping the Future of Tourism,” reflects a market in which the discovery, comparison and purchase of travel products increasingly takes place through digital channels. The programme is expected to examine artificial intelligence, big data, immersive technologies, digital payments and smart-destination tools.

The technology discussion comes as the tourism industry faces a broader change in how destinations compete for attention. A safari, hotel or conference package is no longer presented only through brochures, trade catalogues or face-to-face sales calls; its visibility can depend on how easily information can be found, understood and compared across digital platforms. MKTE is consequently putting the traditional travel trade marketplace alongside the technologies reshaping how that marketplace operates.

MICE is another growing part of the Kenyan proposition. Nairobi’s conference infrastructure, international air connections and proximity to safari and coastal products have allowed the country to position business events alongside leisure tourism. The combination creates a market in which a conference, incentive trip or corporate visit can extend into accommodation, transport, excursions and leisure travel, spreading the value of a single international arrival across several parts of the tourism economy.

The expo itself will also extend beyond the exhibition floor. A UN Tourism Investment Forum is scheduled for October 7, bringing tourism investment into discussions that would otherwise focus primarily on selling destinations and travel products. Following the exhibition, hosted buyers are scheduled to take part in five-day familiarisation trips, allowing overseas buyers to experience Kenyan destinations and products directly.

What happens in Nairobi over the three days will ultimately be measured beyond the exhibition statistics. The more consequential numbers will emerge later—in new buyer relationships, tourism products entering overseas programmes, contracts between suppliers and distributors, subsequent bookings and the investment decisions that follow exposure to the Kenyan market. MKTE is the visible part of that process; much of the business it generates will take shape after the exhibition has closed.

MICE Emerges as Kenya’s Next Tourism Growth Frontier

Kenya is looking to meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) as an increasingly important source of tourism growth as the country seeks to expand beyond its traditional reliance on wildlife and beach holidays and work towards a target of 5.5 million international visitors by 2028. Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) Chief Executive June Chepkemei argues that MICE offers a route to broaden both the country’s visitor base and the economic activity generated by tourism.

Kenya’s tourism data already shows the scale of the segment. According to the 2026 Economic Survey, the number of local conferences rose by 12.9 per cent to 12,671 in 2025, while international conferences increased to 998. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics attributed the growth in conferences mainly to the MICE sub-sector.

Unlike conventional leisure tourism, MICE brings several components of the travel economy into a single trip. A conference delegate may require an international or domestic flight, hotel accommodation, airport transfers, meeting facilities, meals, local transport and activities before or after an event. Incentive groups and corporate travellers similarly generate demand across several suppliers, giving travel businesses multiple points at which to participate in the same piece of business.

Chepkemei cites International Congress and Convention Association data showing that more than 11,000 international meetings were held globally in 2024, illustrating the scale of a market in which destinations compete not only for holidaymakers but also for organised business gatherings.

For Kenya’s travel agencies, a stronger MICE market puts greater emphasis on capabilities beyond individual flight and hotel bookings. Agencies serving corporate clients and groups can organise complete programmes covering air travel, accommodation, transfers, conference logistics and extensions into Kenya’s tourism circuits. The commercial value is therefore spread across the itinerary rather than concentrated in a single transaction.

The segment can also distribute tourism spending beyond the conference venue and host city. A delegate attending a Nairobi conference may extend the trip to the coast or a safari destination, while an incentive programme can combine meetings with leisure experiences. Business events can consequently feed into Kenya’s established tourism products rather than operating as a separate market.

The emphasis on MICE forms part of a wider effort to diversify Kenya’s tourism offering. The National Tourism Strategy 2025–2030 identifies MICE alongside cultural, wellness, sports, adventure and agritourism as areas through which Kenya can expand beyond its established beach and safari proposition.

That diversification is taking place alongside efforts to adapt Kenya’s tourism proposition to changing travel markets. In September, Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano said digital technology and artificial intelligence were becoming increasingly important to how travellers discover destinations, compare experiences and make travel decisions.

For the travel trade, MICE is therefore less a new standalone tourism product than a broader market for services already provided by agencies, airlines, hotels, transport companies and destination operators. As Kenya seeks to increase international arrivals and conference activity, agencies able to handle groups, corporate accounts and multi-service itineraries will have access to a wider share of the business generated by each visitor.

The growth of the segment will depend on Kenya’s ability to attract international events, retain domestic conference business, maintain competitive venues and accommodation, strengthen air connectivity and turn business visitors into wider tourism demand.

Source: businessdailyafrica.com

Tanzania Removes Nigerian Nationals from Referred Visa Category, Easing Travel Procedures

Tanzania has removed Nigerian nationals from its Referred Visa Category, ending the additional immigration clearance previously required before their visa applications could be processed. The change, confirmed by Tanzania’s Immigration Services Department on September 25, follows amendments published in Government Gazette No. 246 of 2026.

Nigerian passport holders will now follow Tanzania’s standard visa process rather than seeking separate referral approval. The change does not make travel visa-free: Nigerian travellers must still obtain the appropriate Tanzanian visa through the country’s normal application channels and meet the applicable entry requirements.

Under the previous arrangement, Nigerian applicants faced additional immigration scrutiny and were advised to apply well ahead of their intended travel dates. Removing that step gives travellers and travel agents greater certainty when planning trips, particularly for business travel, tourism, conferences and other journeys with fixed dates.

The policy change also removes a procedural barrier between two major African markets. Nigeria is an important source of outbound business and leisure travel, while Tanzania is a significant tourism destination in East Africa. Simpler visa procedures may make it easier for Nigerian travellers to consider Tanzania, although the eventual effect on visitor numbers will also depend on factors such as air connectivity, fares, destination marketing and overall travel costs.

Tanzania continues to maintain a Referred Visa Category for nationals of other countries whose applications require additional immigration approval. Travel agents handling Nigerian bookings should therefore update their visa guidance while continuing to check the latest requirements with the Tanzania Immigration Services Department before finalising travel arrangements.

For the African travel trade, the change is a targeted adjustment to Tanzania’s visa regime, but one that removes an additional administrative step from travel between West and East Africa.

Jambojet Reconnects Nairobi and Entebbe as East African Travel Corridor Reopens

After a six-year absence, Jambojet has restored a direct air link between Nairobi and Entebbe, putting one of East Africa’s busiest regional connections back on the network and giving travellers, businesses and the travel trade another option for moving between Kenya and Uganda.

The airline resumed daily services on October 1, returning to a market it first entered in 2018 before suspending the route during the Covid-19 disruption in 2020. The reinstated service is operated with Jambojet’s Dash 8-400 aircraft, with the airline positioning the route around direct access, reliability and affordability. Published one-way fares from Nairobi start at KSh22,950, or about US$170, although fares vary by booking conditions and availability.

The significance of the route extends beyond the 65-minute flight itself. Nairobi and Entebbe are gateways to two economies whose commercial links stretch across tourism, trade, corporate travel and regional investment, making additional air capacity relevant not only to passengers but also to companies that depend on predictable movement between the two markets. At the launch, Kenya’s High Commissioner to Uganda Ababu Namwamba described the connection as a link whose opportunities extend into trade, tourism, investment and people-to-people movement, while Principal Secretary for Aviation and Aerospace Development Teresia Mbaika said the additional gateway would support business, investment and tourism connections.

For Kenyan travel agents, the return also changes the range of itineraries that can be constructed around Nairobi. A traveller originating in Uganda can use Entebbe–Nairobi not simply as an end-to-end journey but as the first sector of a wider Kenyan trip, with Jambojet’s domestic network providing onward access to destinations including Mombasa, Malindi, Lamu and Diani. That gives agents another way of packaging regional and coastal travel, while corporate travel managers have an additional scheduled option for journeys between the two business centres.

The commercial opportunity is particularly relevant because the Nairobi–Entebbe corridor serves several types of demand at once. Corporate travellers require frequent and predictable connections, tourism operators need reliable access for visitors moving between destinations, while traders and other businesses depend on transport links that allow people and, potentially, goods to move across borders without relying entirely on surface transport. Jambojet has said it also intends to introduce cargo and parcel operations on the route, potentially extending its role beyond passenger traffic.

The airline’s return also restores a regional dimension to a carrier whose network has historically been concentrated on Kenya’s domestic market. Jambojet is a subsidiary of Kenya Airways and operates short-haul services from Nairobi and Mombasa; the Entebbe operation therefore gives it a direct regional outlet while linking Uganda into a network that reaches several Kenyan destinations.

Jambojet’s relationship with Kenya’s travel-agent community provides another link between the airline and the trade. Jambojet is a corporate member of the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA), and the airline has maintained engagement with the association on opportunities affecting travel agencies and regional connectivity. KATA represents more than 300 travel agencies and works with airlines and other industry stakeholders on issues affecting the travel trade.

KATA CEO Nicanor Sabula represented the association at the launch at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, alongside senior government and tourism officials, including Mbaika, Namwamba and Kenya Tourism Board CEO June Chepkemei. His presence reflected the direct interest of Kenya’s travel-agent sector in the restoration of regional capacity and the opportunities it creates for bookings, corporate travel and multi-destination itineraries.

For Jambojet, the immediate challenge is now to build sustained demand on a route that has been absent from its network for six years. The airline’s CEO Karanja Ndegwa said the proposition would centre on taking passengers directly between the two cities and growing the service as demand develops, with the initial operation beginning at one flight a day.

That makes the return more than a symbolic reopening of an old route. It puts additional capacity onto a corridor where the strength of the connection will ultimately be measured by how effectively passengers, companies, traders and the tourism industry use it. For the East African travel trade, the Nairobi–Entebbe link is once again an active piece of the regional network.