Dubai is entering the second half of 2026 with signs of recovery in air traffic, creating fresh opportunities for travel agents to rebuild demand for the destination following significant disruption to regional aviation earlier in the year.
Dubai International Airport (DXB) handled 31.5 million passengers in the first six months of 2026, according to Dubai Airports, although this represented a 31.3 per cent decline from the 46 million passengers recorded during the same period in 2025.
The decline reflects the impact of regional airspace disruptions on Gulf aviation during the first half of the year. However, traffic began recovering steadily during the second quarter, rising from 3.5 million passengers in April to 4.5 million in May and five million in June.
Dubai Airports said the return of international airlines, improving connectivity and stronger aircraft load factors were pointing to renewed demand ahead of the traditionally busier second half of the year.
For Kenyan travel agents, the recovery presents an opportunity to reposition Dubai for the upcoming travel season, particularly as airlines restore capacity and travellers begin making holiday, shopping, family and business travel plans.
The destination remains one of the key international gateways available to Kenyan travellers. Emirates currently operates the Nairobi–Dubai service, with the airline’s Kenya website listing return Economy fares to Dubai from USD643 for travel between August 25 and October 15, 2026.
The five-hour Nairobi–Dubai flight also gives agents a relatively short-haul international option when packaging Dubai holidays, stopovers and onward journeys.
The opportunity extends beyond Dubai as a transit point. Travel agents can package the city around shopping, family entertainment, beaches, dining, culture and heritage, outdoor activities and other experiences, allowing clients to purchase a complete holiday rather than simply an air ticket.
Dubai’s aviation recovery is also important to the wider international travel market. By the end of June, DXB was serving about 50 international airlines connecting the city to 217 destinations across 99 countries.
The figures point to the importance of Dubai not only as a destination but also as a major connecting hub for travellers moving between Africa, Asia, Europe and other international markets.
For Kenyan agents, this creates an opportunity to sell Dubai in two ways: as a standalone leisure destination and as part of a wider itinerary.
The current recovery also allows the travel trade to rebuild consumer confidence around travel through the Gulf. Rather than focusing solely on the disruption experienced earlier in the year, agents can use the restoration of capacity and improving connectivity to engage customers planning travel in the coming months.
The timing is particularly important as the final quarter traditionally brings stronger international travel demand, including family holidays, shopping trips, business travel and end-of-year vacations.
For the Kenyan travel trade, the commercial message is therefore shifting from disruption to opportunity: as airline capacity returns and traffic at DXB strengthens, agents have an opportunity to actively package and promote Dubai while monitoring fares, airline schedules and destination offers.
With Dubai connected to a global network of destinations and Emirates continuing to provide a direct link from Nairobi, the destination remains an important product for Kenyan travel agents seeking to diversify their international holiday portfolio and generate additional value from outbound travel.
The recovery at DXB will ultimately depend on the continued restoration of airline capacity and stability across regional aviation. But the steady increase in passenger volumes through the second quarter provides an early indication that demand is returning—and gives travel agents a timely opportunity to put Dubai back at the centre of their outbound travel sales strategy.
Jambojet is returning to Uganda, reopening the Nairobi–Entebbe route on October 1 after a six-year suspension, in a move that adds new capacity to one of East Africa’s key travel corridors and strengthens links between Kenya and Uganda.
The Kenya Airways-owned low-cost carrier will operate daily non-stop flights between Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Entebbe International Airport, with one-way fares starting from about KSh22,950.
The return marks the revival of a route that holds particular significance for Jambojet. Entebbe was the airline’s first international destination when it launched the route in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the suspension of its regional operations.
Jambojet Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Karanja Ndegwa said the return forms part of the airline’s wider regional expansion strategy.
“Our return to Uganda is a strategic step forward in our mission to strengthen regional connectivity,” Ndegwa said. “We see significant opportunities to support business, tourism and trade between Kenya and Uganda while providing travellers with an affordable, reliable and convenient flying experience that Jambojet is known for.”
Daily service
The airline will operate the route using its De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft.
Flight JM8522 will depart Nairobi at 9:30 am, arriving in Entebbe at 11 am. The return flight, JM8523, will leave Entebbe at 11:40 am, arriving in Nairobi at 1:10 pm, according to the published schedule.
The approximately 90-minute service will give passengers another direct option between the two cities, while putting additional capacity into a market already served by other carriers.
Jambojet will also carry cargo and parcels on the route, creating an additional channel for trade between the two countries.
A route with regional significance
The Nairobi–Entebbe corridor extends well beyond leisure travel.
The route supports business travel, tourism, government movement, trade and family travel between two closely integrated East African markets.
Jambojet’s return also comes as the airline expands beyond its established domestic network. The carrier currently has 11 aircraft, having expanded its active fleet in April, and has identified regional routes as part of its next phase of growth. It also recorded an 86.45 per cent on-time performance in July 2026, according to the airline.
For Uganda’s tourism industry, the additional Nairobi capacity creates another opportunity to tap into Kenya’s large aviation network. Ugandan travellers can use Nairobi as a gateway to Kenya’s coast, including Mombasa, Diani, Malindi and Lamu, while Kenyan travellers gain another option for reaching Uganda.
The route can equally support multi-destination itineraries combining Kenya’s wildlife and coastal attractions with Uganda’s safari, nature and cultural experiences.
Six years later
Jambojet first entered Uganda in 2018 as part of its international expansion, but the pandemic brought the service to an abrupt end as airlines across the region cut capacity and concentrated on rebuilding domestic networks.
The return comes with a different operating environment.
East African travel has recovered, regional business links have strengthened and airlines are once again adding capacity as demand grows.
For Jambojet, Entebbe is therefore more than the reopening of an old route. It is a test of how far the low-cost model can travel beyond Kenya—and a renewed attempt to connect two of East Africa’s most closely linked markets.
From October 1, the Nairobi–Entebbe route will once again be part of Jambojet’s network, six years after the pandemic put the connection on hold.
As Africa’s national carriers expand their networks and move deeper into digital distribution, travel agents remain embedded in the business of selling air travel,with airlines increasingly using technology to bring the two sides closer together.
Ethiopian Airlines offers a telling example.
The Ethiopian flag carrier reported $9.1 billion in revenue for the 2025/26 financial year, a 20% increase, after carrying 20.7 million passengers, according to Reuters. The airline also added nine aircraft during the year as it continued expanding its network and connectivity through Addis Ababa.
Behind that growth is a distribution system that extends well beyond the airline’s own website and ticket offices.
Ethiopian’s agency programme currently covers more than 700 IATA, non-IATA and NDC agencies across more than 60 countries, with the airline offering agencies access to its content, booking capabilities and commercial support.
Its NDC strategy is particularly significant. Rather than removing travel agents from the distribution chain, Ethiopian is connecting them to its newer retailing infrastructure, allowing travel sellers to access airline content, products and services through modern technology.
The result is a travel market in which the question is no longer simply whether passengers book directly with airlines or through agents. Increasingly, both channels are being connected to the same airline inventory and retailing systems.
The money moving through agencies
Kenya provides a useful measure of the scale of the travel-agent channel.
Travel agencies accredited through IATA’s Billing and Settlement Plan processed more than Sh74 billion in airline ticket sales in Kenya in 2025, illustrating the volume of air travel business moving through the agency distribution system.
The figure is not airline revenue and does not represent sales for a single carrier. It does, however, put the agency channel’s scale into perspective in one of Africa’s most important aviation markets.
Globally, IATA’s BSP handles more than $240 billion in annual settlements, connecting hundreds of airlines with tens of thousands of accredited travel agencies.
For airlines operating across multiple markets, that infrastructure provides access to a distribution network that extends well beyond their own digital platforms.
KQ is building the same bridge
Kenya Airways is following a similar path as it modernises its relationship with the travel trade.
The national carrier has been recognising travel agencies using measures including revenue contribution, market share and year-on-year growth, providing a direct indication of how airline management evaluates agency performance.
At the same time, KQ has been expanding access to its NDC content.
Its NDC trade platform enables agencies to search, price and book Kenya Airways products while providing access to additional services through a more modern distribution environment.
The airline has also expanded NDC access beyond traditional IATA-accredited agencies, allowing more travel sellers to connect to its content through technology partners.
The shift is important because NDC is often described as an airline-versus-agent story.
In practice, the technology is increasingly becoming an airline-and-agent story.
From ticket sellers to digital distribution partners
The traditional travel-agent relationship was relatively straightforward: an airline supplied the seat, while the agent marketed and sold it to the customer.
Modern airline retailing is considerably more complex.
Airlines want greater control over how fares, branded products, baggage, seats, upgrades and other ancillary services are presented and sold. Travel agencies, meanwhile, want access to that content without losing the ability to compare options, serve customers and manage complex itineraries.
NDC provides a technological bridge between the two.
For airlines such as Ethiopian and Kenya Airways, it creates a way to distribute richer content through travel sellers while retaining greater control over their products.
For agencies, it provides access to airline content that increasingly goes beyond the basic fare-and-seat transaction.
That is particularly relevant in Africa, where travel can involve multiple airlines, cross-border connections, corporate travel, group movements and complex itineraries.
The national-carrier network effect
The importance of the relationship becomes clearer when viewed against the expansion of African aviation.
Ethiopian’s 20.7 million passengers demonstrate the scale that can be generated when a national carrier develops a large hub-and-spoke network.
Kenya Airways, meanwhile, provides a key East African network linking Nairobi with regional and international destinations.
For both airlines, the value of a route does not end with passengers who find and purchase a ticket directly from the carrier.
Every additional distribution point expands the number of places where the airline’s network can be discovered, priced and sold.
This is particularly important for destinations where travellers may not know which carrier operates the route, where itineraries involve multiple sectors, or where corporate and group travel requires specialist handling.
The travel agent therefore occupies a different position in the modern airline ecosystem.
It is no longer simply about issuing a ticket.
It is about distribution, market reach, customer access and increasingly, digital retailing.
A relationship being rewritten
Africa’s airline industry is moving towards a distribution model in which direct sales and travel-agent sales can coexist rather than compete for the same space.
Ethiopian’s growing NDC ecosystem, KQ’s expanding trade platform and the billions of shillings flowing through Kenya’s agency settlement system point to the same evolution.
The technology is changing.
The commercial relationship is changing.
But the underlying business remains remarkably familiar: airlines need passengers, passengers need access to airline products, and travel agents remain one of the channels through which that market connects.
Uganda has officially ended its latest Ebola outbreak after completing the internationally recognised 42-day countdown without detecting a new confirmed case, a development expected to provide greater reassurance to travellers, tourism operators and regional businesses across East Africa.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday welcomed Uganda’s declaration that transmission of Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus has ended.
The announcement comes at an important time for East Africa’s tourism and travel industry, where Uganda and Kenya are closely linked through business, tourism, road transport and regional air connectivity.
Uganda recorded 20 confirmed Ebola cases after the outbreak was declared on May 15, including 15 imported cases from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and five locally acquired infections among contacts and health workers. Eighteen people recovered while two died.
More than 800 contacts were identified and monitored during the response.
The country had already announced the interruption of local transmission on July 28 after going 42 days without a locally acquired case. The latest milestone follows a further 42-day monitoring period after the last imported patient was discharged from care on July 16.
The 42-day period represents twice the upper limit of Ebola’s incubation period and is the international benchmark used to confirm that transmission linked to an outbreak has ended.
A relief for regional travel
For Kenya and Uganda, the development is significant because travel between the two countries is extensive, with movement of tourists, business travellers, traders and residents taking place by air and road.
Kenya also serves as an important gateway for international travellers heading into the wider East African region, including Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.
WHO has stressed that Ebola outbreaks should not automatically translate into restrictions on international travel.
The UN health agency does not recommend suspending flights, closing borders or denying entry to travellers from countries experiencing Ebola outbreaks. Instead, it advocates proportionate measures focused on early detection, surveillance and preparedness.
That position is particularly relevant to East Africa, where regional tourism relies heavily on relatively seamless movement between destinations.
Uganda’s tourism sector has in recent years positioned wildlife, gorilla trekking, adventure tourism and cultural experiences as major attractions, while Kenya remains one of the region’s principal international tourism gateways.
The end of the outbreak therefore removes a significant health concern for travellers considering Uganda as part of a multi-country East African itinerary, although health authorities continue to emphasise vigilance.
Tourism industry gets breathing room
For East Africa’s travel trade, the end of the outbreak provides an opportunity to restore confidence around Uganda without creating the impression that regional travel had been halted.
The health authorities’ approach also reinforces a broader lesson for tourism-dependent economies: strong surveillance at airports and border crossings can help countries manage health risks without resorting to blanket travel restrictions.
Uganda’s latest Ebola response involved rapid case detection, contact tracing, isolation and treatment, infection prevention and control, community engagement and surveillance at health facilities and points of entry.
Those systems will remain important as Uganda seeks to protect the gains made during the outbreak and maintain confidence among international visitors.
For Kenya, the development is equally relevant because the country’s tourism and aviation sectors are intertwined with regional travel flows. A traveller arriving in Nairobi can continue into Uganda as part of a wider East African itinerary, while regional businesses depend on the movement of people, goods and services across the two markets.
The latest declaration does not eliminate the wider regional health risk, particularly given the continuing situation in the DRC. But it provides a clear signal that Uganda has contained its latest outbreak—and that vigilance, rather than isolation, remains the preferred strategy for keeping East Africa open to travel.
Lufthansa is ushering in a new era of long-haul travel from Nairobi with the introduction of its Allegris cabin experience on flights to Frankfurt and beyond, giving Kenyan travellers access to redesigned cabins, greater privacy and more personalised seating options.
The new product, being introduced on the Nairobi-Frankfurt route from August 2026, marks one of the German carrier’s most significant upgrades to its long-haul passenger experience, spanning Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy.
For business travellers, the centrepiece is a redesigned Business Class offering featuring different seating configurations, including enhanced privacy through Business Class Suites, direct aisle access and upgraded inflight entertainment.
Premium Economy offers additional personal space, improved comfort and an enhanced dining experience, positioning the cabin between conventional Economy and the more premium Business Class product.
Economy passengers will also receive redesigned, ergonomically focused seats, larger entertainment screens and a more personalised onboard experience.
Across the Allegris cabins, Lufthansa has introduced larger next-generation entertainment screens, additional space and privacy, greater choice in seating and Human Centric Lighting designed to support passengers’ natural sleep-wake rhythms during long-haul journeys.
The Nairobi-Frankfurt connection is particularly significant for travellers using Germany as a gateway into Europe and beyond, with Frankfurt providing onward connections across Lufthansa’s network.
Catering takes a new turn
The cabin upgrade comes as Lufthansa also expands its onboard food programme, giving passengers greater control over what they eat during their journey.
From September 1, 2026, the airline will add five hot meals to its Onboard Delights programme for Economy Class passengers travelling on continental routes of two hours or more.
The new choices include beef roulade with potato dumplings, chicken teriyaki, tortellini in tomato sauce with zucchini, currywurst from Dönninghaus and a cheeseburger from HANS IM GLÜCK.
The meals will be available exclusively through pre-order, which passengers can make from four weeks until 24 hours before departure.
Lufthansa says the pre-order model is designed to give passengers greater choice while ensuring that their selected meal is available onboard.
“With these hot meals, we’re expanding Onboard Delights to offer our passengers on longer continental flights an additional selection,” said Olaf Mauthe, Head of Hospitality Catering Management at Lufthansa. “Pre-ordering guarantees our guests that their desired meal will be waiting for them on board – for a relaxed and predictable journey.”
Business Class gets wider choice
Lufthansa is also expanding its pre-selection service for Business Class passengers on long-haul flights.
The airline has offered passengers departing from Frankfurt and Munich the ability to select their main course in advance since 2023. From September 1, the service will extend to most long-haul flights returning to Germany.
Passengers will also have a wider menu to choose from, with six main courses available for pre-selection instead of three.
The selection window will run from four weeks to 24 hours before departure.
For the East African market, the changes place the passenger experience—not just connectivity—at the centre of Lufthansa’s proposition as competition among international carriers serving Nairobi continues to intensify.
With Allegris, the carrier is betting that the next stage of long-haul competition will be fought not only over where airlines fly, but also over how passengers experience the journey once they are onboard.
When Lalit Jobanputra spoke about the Kenya Association of Travel Agents at the 2026 KATA AGM and Convention, he was speaking about an organisation he had watched grow from about 25 members paying KSh3,000 in subscriptions into a much larger voice for Kenya’s travel trade. The emotion caught up with him as he recalled those early days. Later, he presented a cheque towards KATA’s CSR activities and left the stage with a line that drew applause: “Giving while living is the fun of living.”
Lalit Jobanputra speaks during a panel discussion at the 2026 KATA AGM and Convention.
It was a fitting moment for a man whose career has stretched across some of the biggest changes in Kenya’s travel industry. Jobanputra, who turned 75 in July, entered the workforce long before online bookings, electronic tickets and automated settlement systems changed the way travel was sold.
Born in Kisumu in 1951, Jobanputra grew up between Kisumu, Kampala and Nairobi. He returned to Kenya after failing to secure employment in Uganda as a Kenyan and found work as a systems analyst, earning KSh1,000 a month. The job came with a 3 per cent commission, which eventually became almost four times his basic salary.
His next move was to a global textile company, where he spent 14 years and dealt with travel arrangements for more than 10,000 employees. It was his first sustained exposure to corporate travel and gave him an understanding of the needs of business travellers before he entered the industry himself.
Kenya’s tourism market was expanding during this period. International tourist arrivals rose from about 365,000 in 1978 to more than 614,000 in 1986 and about 801,000 in 1990. The growing movement of international visitors and business travellers was creating room for a larger travel services industry.
Jobanputra’s own entry came through an unlikely route. He started a video cassette business, selling and hiring out tapes for about KSh100 each. Customers paid upfront, making the cash cycle relatively simple. He later established a travel department within the business, changed the company’s name, obtained the necessary licences and began the process of securing IATA accreditation.
It took two years to get the IATA licence.
Travel in Style was built from that modest beginning. What started as an ambitious venture 39 years ago, with limited experience but considerable determination, developed into a corporate and travel management business under Jobanputra’s leadership. His background in economics and finance also shaped the way he approached the company’s growth, while his involvement in building relationships with clients and industry partners became central to the business.
Lalit Jobanputra addresses delegates during the 2003 KATA AGM.
Over the years, Jobanputra also served on the KATA Board, giving him a role in the association beyond his own company. At Travel in Style, his leadership has been characterised by a focus on relationships, service and the people around the business.
The business he entered was very different from the one he had left behind. Ticketing was manual, and travel agencies depended heavily on their knowledge of airline schedules, fares and ticketing procedures. But the biggest difference for Jobanputra was financial. While his video customers paid upfront, a travel agency could sell a substantial ticket and wait as long as 90 days for payment.
“Competition was money. Turnover is big. Where is the money coming from?” he recalls.
For years, airline commissions provided an important revenue stream for travel agencies. Then the commissions began to fall. Jobanputra remembers the decline as “10, nine, seven, one” before the industry eventually reached zero.
Lalit Jobanputra (centre), Roger Sylvester of Bunson Travel, then KATA Chairman (left), and Sauda Rajab of Kenya Airways (right) during the 2003 KATA AGM, as the association pushed for airlines to retain the 9 per cent commission paid to travel agents.
The change triggered a major battle between airlines and travel agents. Through KATA, agents opposed the removal of commissions and campaigned against the zero-commission model. As supplier commissions disappeared, KATA pushed for service charges, with the association introducing them in 2007. By 2012, the basic service fee had reached KSh1,245, with different charges applying to various travel services.
The industry was being forced to change its business model just as another disruption was gathering pace: the internet. By 2008/09, Kenya Airways was attracting about 230,000 visitors a month to its website, while online sales had exceeded $10 million. About 3 per cent of its 2.8 million passengers were already using online check-in.
The travel agent could no longer depend on controlling access to fares and schedules. The role increasingly moved towards managing complexity, serving corporate clients and providing assistance when things went wrong.
Jobanputra was also involved in the infrastructure behind the industry. He recalls working with Jayant Acharya of Acharya Travel in the introduction of IATA’s Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) in Kenya, helping develop the manual processes through which agents and airlines reported ticket sales, reconciled accounts and settled payments.
His involvement with KATA also extended beyond the commission battles. As the association developed, issues around airline-agent relations, ticketing, settlement and the commercial viability of agencies became increasingly important to the industry.
Then came COVID-19.
The pandemic brought international travel to a standstill. Aircraft were grounded, bookings disappeared and refunds accumulated, leaving travel companies with little visibility on when business would return.
Travel in Style had about 35 employees at the time. Jobanputra and his family decided not to send them home without support. Staff were sent home but remained insured and received assistance, while the family also used its own resources to support employees and their families.
The company eventually emerged from the shutdown. Its workforce has since grown to 48 employees.
Jobanputra describes the period in simple terms: “Relationships are more valuable than transactions.” The transactions had stopped. The relationships remained.
The experience also accelerated a process Jobanputra had already begun: handing responsibility to the next generation. He believes founders can become too closely identified with their companies, with decisions, relationships and institutional knowledge centred around one person.
He has taken a different approach. His children, family members and staff have been brought into the business, and decision-making has increasingly moved away from him.
“I don’t make decisions today,” he says. His children and staff now make many of the decisions that once came to him.
Jobanputra says Travel in Style has since grown four-fold across its finances, relationships and other aspects of the business. His approach has been influenced by advice from his guru: “Let go. If there’s a problem, let go; a solution will come.”
The company’s early motto also remains with him: “Promise less, perform more.”
Looking ahead, Jobanputra expects artificial intelligence and technology to change how travel businesses operate. Processes will become increasingly automated and customer expectations will continue to evolve, but he places particular emphasis on emotional intelligence, empathy and trust.
His advice to business owners is to invest their knowledge in employees and family members, make staff feel that they have a stake in the business and, where appropriate, consider giving them shares.
The market around him has changed dramatically. Kenya recorded about 2.4 million international visitors in 2024, generating Sh452.2 billion in tourism earnings. In 2025, international arrivals rose to about 2.7 million, tourism earnings passed Sh500 billion, and combined domestic and international travellers reached about 7.9 million.
The travel business Jobanputra entered with manual tickets and airline commissions now operates in a digital market, with customers able to search fares, make bookings and manage journeys from their phones.
Jobanputra has lived through each of those changes. At 75, the industry is still changing around him.
Kenya and Uganda are being urged to deepen their longstanding economic relationship by expanding tourism exchanges and developing travel products that encourage travellers from both countries to explore more of East Africa.
The call was made during the media launch of the 5th Uganda–Kenya Coast Tourism and Innovation Summit 2026 in Kampala, where industry stakeholders challenged travel agents and tourism businesses to move beyond selling individual destinations and instead develop complementary products across the two markets.
“Uganda has products that Kenya can sell. Kenya has products that Uganda can sell. Together, we can sell East Africa,” was the message at the launch, capturing the growing push for stronger cross-border tourism partnerships.
The summit, which was unveiled on August 25 at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala, will bring together tourism and travel trade stakeholders at Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort in Mombasa on October 26–27.
Representing the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA), Coast Liaison Patrick Maina Kamanga said the opportunity for Kenyan travel agents was not simply to sell the Kenyan Coast as a beach destination, but to reposition Mombasa as a broader leisure destination for the Ugandan market.
He called for increased promotion of Mombasa as a family holiday destination, highlighting the Coast’s combination of beaches, wildlife, adventure, history and heritage.
The strategy comes against the backdrop of an already significant tourism relationship between the two countries. Kenya received a record 2.4 million international visitors in 2024, with Uganda accounting for 9.4 per cent of arrivals, making it Kenya’s second-largest source market after the United States.
This translates to roughly 226,000 Ugandan visitors to Kenya in 2024, underlining the size of the market that could be further developed through targeted travel products, improved connectivity and stronger engagement between travel agents in the two countries.
The opportunity extends beyond tourism. Uganda is Kenya’s largest export market, accounting for 11.3 per cent of Kenya’s total exports in 2024. Kenya’s exports to Uganda were valued at about KSh125 billion during the year, compared with imports of KSh36 billion.
The figures highlight the depth of the commercial relationship between the two countries and provide a wider economic context for efforts to increase people-to-people travel.
In July 2025, Presidents William Ruto and Yoweri Museveni witnessed the signing of eight bilateral agreements covering areas including tourism, transport, agriculture, fisheries, investment and standards. The agreements brought the two countries’ trade and cooperation instruments to 25 and were aimed at strengthening economic integration and people-to-people ties.
The two governments have also moved to address barriers to cross-border commerce. In August 2025, Kenya and Uganda agreed to eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers affecting trade and directed that products originating from either country be treated as transfers rather than imports. The measures also targeted congestion at the Malaba and Busia border points to facilitate the movement of goods, services and people.
For the travel industry, smoother movement across the border creates an opportunity to connect business travel with leisure, family holidays and regional tourism.
KATA says travel agents have a central role to play in converting this potential into actual travel by developing joint packages, building stronger business-to-business relationships and helping consumers discover destinations on both sides of the border.
For Ugandan travellers, the Kenyan Coast offers an opportunity to extend trips beyond the traditional beach holiday. Family-oriented experiences, marine activities, wildlife excursions, cultural and historical sites, food and adventure can be combined into packages that give travellers more reasons to stay longer and spend more.
For Kenyan travellers, Uganda presents a complementary destination with its own tourism, business and cultural attractions, creating opportunities for two-way travel rather than a one-directional tourism market.
This approach also supports the wider East African Community objective of creating a more integrated regional market in which the movement of people, goods and services supports shared economic growth.
The summit therefore seeks to position the Kenya–Uganda tourism relationship as part of a larger regional proposition: one in which destinations are not marketed in isolation, but combined to create more compelling travel experiences.
As the two countries strengthen cooperation in trade, transport and investment, the tourism sector has an opportunity to build on those ties and turn existing commercial connections into increased visitor flows.
For travel agents, the proposition is straightforward: Uganda does not have to compete with Kenya for the same traveller, and Kenya does not have to compete with Uganda. By packaging their complementary products and selling them together, the two markets can create a stronger East African tourism proposition.
The 5th Uganda–Kenya Coast Tourism and Innovation Summit will seek to advance that conversation, bringing together tourism businesses, travel agents and other stakeholders to explore how stronger B2B partnerships, joint products and improved connectivity can translate the existing Kenya–Uganda relationship into more business for both markets.
Dubai is entering another year of tourism growth with a market that is becoming harder for competing destinations to ignore. The emirate welcomed a record 19.59 million international overnight visitors in 2025, up 5 per cent from 18.72 million in 2024, marking its third consecutive year of record arrivals.
The growth is not being driven by one source market. Western Europe supplied 4.1 million visitors in 2025, while the GCC contributed 2.99 million, South Asia 2.89 million, CIS and Eastern Europe another 2.89 million and the wider MENA region 2.17 million. The spread gives Dubai a diversified demand base rather than dependence on a single region.
That diversification matters for African travel sellers. Africa welcomed 99.2 million international visitors in 2025, up 14.1 per cent, while international visitor spending on the continent is forecast to grow another 6.8 per cent in 2026 to about US$80 billion.
For Dubai, the opportunity is not simply to attract African holidaymakers but to capture a growing mix of leisure, shopping, business, events and stopover traffic. Its position as a major aviation hub gives travel agents another reason to consider Dubai not only as an end destination but also as a gateway between Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Dubai’s tourism growth is being matched by investment in accommodation and aviation infrastructure. The emirate ended 2025 with 154,264 hotel rooms across 827 establishments, while average hotel occupancy exceeded 80 per cent. Average daily room rates rose 8 per cent to about Dh579, while revenue per available room increased 11 per cent to Dh467.
The aviation numbers are equally significant. Dubai International Airport handled a record 95.2 million passengers in 2025, up 3.1 per cent, and is forecast to handle about 99.5 million passengers in 2026. The airport is already operating close to its physical limits, increasing pressure for the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport.
For travel agents, the numbers point to a destination that is continuing to expand its inventory while maintaining strong demand. Dubai is no longer relying solely on the traditional sun-and-shopping proposition; its tourism model increasingly combines leisure, business, events, aviation connectivity and a large accommodation base.
The commercial question for African travel sellers is therefore less about whether Dubai is growing and more about where the next wave of African demand will come from — and how agents position the destination for it.
Kenya’s decision to make travel health insurance mandatory for international visitors has moved from policy proposal to a gazetted requirement, but the travel industry is still waiting for clarity on the procedures that will determine how the rule works in practice.
The requirement is anchored in the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023, and applies to non-Kenyans intending to enter and remain in Kenya for less than 12 months. The Government has prescribed a minimum cumulative benefit of US$50,000, including US$20,000 for medical expenses, US$25,000 for emergency medical transportation, US$300 for prescribed medicines, US$1,000 for mental illness treatment and US$5,000 for repatriation of mortal remains.
The implementation question came into sharper focus at a stakeholder meeting convened by the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services, on August 20, 2026.
Government officials at the meeting, including Evelyn Cheluget, Director General of Immigration Services, and Amb. Isaac Ochieng, Director General of eCitizen, provided industry representatives with details of the proposed operating model.
Officials said the mandatory policy will cost US$44 per traveller and will, in some respects, mirror Zanzibar’s model. Travellers from eTA-required countries are expected to acquire the insurance alongside their eTA through the eTA platform, while those from eTA-exempt countries will obtain it through eCitizen. The policy is expected to be valid for 12 months, with differentiated rates for categories such as children.
Another significant clarification was that ordinary travel insurance purchased from an overseas insurer will not satisfy the Kenyan requirement. The mandatory cover must be issued through the approved Kenyan arrangement by an insurer regulated by the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA).
Industry Waiting for Clarity
For the travel industry, the immediate issue is implementation rather than the existence of the requirement.
Agents, airlines and tour operators need clarity on the purchasing process, verification, documentation, exemptions and enforcement, particularly because travel is sold weeks or months before passengers arrive in Kenya.
Association leaders, including KATA Chief Executive Officer, Nicanor Sabula, called for continued consultation and greater industry involvement in decisions affecting the travel-selling process. The argument is that businesses selling Kenya should be involved early enough to understand and communicate new requirements accurately.
The Government is expected to provide further guidance as the scheme moves towards implementation.
A Sensitive Market
The timing is important. Kenya received about 2.7 million international visitors in 2025, up from approximately 2.47 million in 2024, while tourism earnings reached about KSh500 billion.
The Government is targeting 5 million international visitors and KSh1 trillion in tourism earnings by 2027. For an industry competing with destinations across Africa and beyond, the travel trade wants new entry requirements to protect visitors without adding unnecessary friction to the process of coming to Kenya.
Could Kenya Follow Zanzibar?
Zanzibar introduced mandatory inbound travel insurance on October 1, 2024, requiring foreign visitors to obtain designated cover through the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation. The policy costs US$44 per person and covers stays of up to 92 days.
The identical US$44 figure and the Government’s indication that Kenya’s system will mirror Zanzibar in some respects make the island an obvious regional comparison. The key similarity is the use of a designated destination-linked insurance arrangement rather than simply accepting any existing travel insurance.
For Kenya, this could mean travellers with comprehensive policies bought overseas would still need the mandatory Kenyan cover. The Government’s clarification that foreign-issued travel insurance will not satisfy the requirement makes the final purchasing and verification procedures particularly important for travel sellers.
A Wider Protection Question
The initiative also raises a broader policy question. If the objective is to protect travellers against the financial consequences of medical emergencies abroad, should a similar approach eventually cover Kenyans travelling outside the country?
Travel agents routinely handle outbound journeys to destinations where medical treatment can be costly. Extending the principle to outbound travel could turn the initiative from a border-entry requirement into a wider travel consumer-protection framework.
From Policy to Passenger
The August 20 meeting has provided the industry with key parameters: US$44, eTA and eCitizen integration, and mandatory cover through an approved Kenyan insurance arrangement.
What remains is the operational detail. The industry is waiting for formal guidance that clearly sets out how the policy will be bought, verified and enforced, and how different traveller categories and existing insurance arrangements will be handled.
For Kenya, the challenge is to introduce the intended protection while keeping the process predictable for passengers and practical for the businesses responsible for selling the destination.
Kenya’s travel agents are increasingly operating across a patchwork of digital systems as airline distribution, payments, visas, customer management and communication move online. A single international booking can involve a GDS, NDC platform, airline portal, payment gateway, visa system, CRM and WhatsApp before the passenger receives a final itinerary.
The shift is changing what it means to be a travel agent. The job is no longer limited to finding fares and issuing tickets; agents increasingly have to know where airline content sits, how different booking channels work and how to move information between systems when they do not integrate seamlessly.
The technology stack is expanding
The pressure is not unique to Kenya. A 2026 survey of travel industry professionals found that 34 per cent identified technology fragmentation as the biggest challenge facing the sector, while 27 per cent cited the complexity of integrating different technologies.
For Kenyan agencies, the problem can be particularly visible when handling international itineraries. An agent may find a conventional fare through a GDS, check an NDC offer for additional airline content, process payment through a separate platform and then use another system for visa requirements. The customer sees one booking; the agent sees several systems.
NDC adds another distribution layer
The growth of NDC is adding to the complexity while also expanding the content available to agents. In the United States, traditional leisure agencies accounted for 16 per cent of settled NDC transactions in 2025, up from 11 per cent the previous year, while corporate agencies accounted for another 7 per cent.
For Kenyan agents, the significance is that the GDS is increasingly becoming one part of the distribution environment rather than the entire environment. Different channels can present different combinations of fares, baggage, seats and other ancillary products, making it increasingly important for agents to understand where the content originates.
AI enters the agency
Artificial intelligence is now joining the technology stack. Travel Weekly’s 2025 industry survey found that 59 per cent of travel advisers had used AI tools, compared with 41 per cent a year earlier. Among agency owners and managers, 42 per cent reported using AI for marketing materials and website content.
The technology is moving beyond writing and marketing into itinerary preparation, research, customer communication and other repetitive tasks. Phocuswright reported in 2026 that 61 per cent of travel businesses surveyed were experimenting with or scaling agentic AI, although only 6 per cent were already scaling it across their operations.
Is technology actually saving time?
That is the question agencies will increasingly have to answer. A new platform can automate one task while creating another. NDC can provide richer airline content but requires agents to understand different booking and servicing conditions. A CRM can centralise customer information but still requires constant updating, while digital payment systems can simplify collections but add reconciliation requirements.
Technology can therefore shift the workload rather than eliminate it. The agent may spend less time entering information manually but more time checking whether data, payment status, fare conditions and booking details match across different platforms.
The agent becomes the connector
Kenya is already moving deeper into this transition. Kenya Airways began distributing NDC content through the Amadeus Travel Platform in 2025, while Travelport and other distribution companies continue adding NDC connections with international carriers.
For agencies, the competitive advantage may increasingly come from how efficiently these systems are used together. The most technologically advanced agency will not necessarily be the one with the greatest number of platforms, but the one that can complete a booking with the fewest manual steps.
The travel agent is therefore becoming something of a technology operator: not because technology is replacing the agent, but because someone still has to make the systems work for the customer.
