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.

For travel agents, the cheapest airfare can be the easiest fare to sell, and sometimes the hardest to explain later.

The reason is simple: the price displayed at the beginning of a search increasingly represents only the core transportation. Baggage, seat selection, flexibility and other services can move the final cost considerably higher.

Ancillaries are no longer small change

Globally, airlines generated an estimated US$148.4 billion in ancillary revenue in 2024, according to IdeaWorksCompany. The figure was forecast to rise to US$157 billion in 2025, more than double the US$67.4 billion recorded in 2016.

Ancillary revenue accounted for about 15.7% of airline revenue in 2025, compared with just 9.1% in 2016. Depending on the airline, the proportion ranges from only a few per cent to more than half of total revenue.

IATA separately forecast US$144 billion in ancillary revenue in 2025, up 6.7% from the previous year, alongside US$693 billion in passenger revenue.

The numbers explain why airlines have increasingly separated the basic fare from additional services.

What it looks like on a Nairobi itinerary

Consider a hypothetical return journey from Nairobi to a European destination.

An agent finds a basic return fare of US$520. It looks like the obvious option when compared with another fare priced at US$590.

But suppose the US$520 fare does not include a checked bag. Adding one for both directions costs US$100. The passenger wants a selected seat on both flights at US$25 each way, adding another US$50.

The apparent US$70 saving has now disappeared.

Basic fare: US$520
Checked baggage: US$100
Seat selection: US$50
Final cost: US$670

The alternative fare at US$590 could therefore be US$80 cheaper in the final transaction, depending on what it includes.

The figures are illustrative, not current market prices. The point is the calculation: the lowest base fare is not necessarily the lowest total price.

The problem for agents

This creates a difficult conversation at the point of sale. A customer searching online may see a fare advertised at US$520 and ask an agent why the agency is quoting US$670. The answer may be that the two prices are not selling the same product.

For an agent, therefore, fare comparison increasingly means comparing what is included, not just what appears next to the flight number.

That is particularly important for business travellers, families and passengers carrying checked luggage. A traveller who needs baggage, a specific seat and flexibility may have little interest in the absolute cheapest fare.

NDC changes the shopping experience

This is also where NDC becomes relevant. The standard allows airlines to distribute richer offers and ancillary products rather than limiting the transaction to a traditional fare and schedule display.

For agents, that can mean more information, but also more variables.

Two fares for the same Nairobi–Europe itinerary may differ in baggage allowance, seat conditions, changeability, refundability and other inclusions.

The agent therefore has to interpret the offer rather than simply identify the lowest number.

The revenue is becoming material

The growth in ancillary revenue shows why this model is unlikely to disappear.

Global ancillary revenue increased from US$67.4 billion in 2016 to US$148.4 billion in 2024, an increase of roughly 120%. The 2025 forecast of US$157 billion would put the industry more than US$89 billion above its 2016 level.

And ancillary revenue is not limited to baggage. IdeaWorks includes seat selection, onboard food and other a-la-carte purchases, as well as wider revenue streams such as hotel, car-rental and co-branded card partnerships.

For airlines, the attraction is obvious: the base fare can remain competitive while passengers pay separately for products they value.

What agents should be selling

The lesson is not that agents should stop looking for the lowest fare.

It is that the lowest fare should be the beginning of the comparison, not the end of it.

For agents, the more useful question is increasingly: What will this passenger actually need?

A passenger travelling for two weeks with checked luggage has different requirements from someone travelling with hand baggage only. A corporate traveller may value flexibility more than saving US$50. A family may place greater importance on sitting together.

The agent’s value therefore moves beyond finding a fare.

It is in explaining the difference between the fares and calculating the cost of the journey the customer is actually trying to buy.

As airlines generate an increasing share of revenue from services outside the basic ticket, that distinction is becoming an increasingly important part of selling air travel.

Kenya’s air network is becoming more diverse, with international carriers adding capacity while domestic airlines continue to open links between Nairobi, the coast, secondary cities and the country’s tourism circuits.

For travel agents, the change is less about counting new routes and more about what the expanding network does to itinerary options, connections and the ability to build multi-stop trips.

International capacity builds up

Nairobi remains the centre of the network.

Emirates currently operates 21 flights a week between Nairobi and Dubai, giving agents three daily options on one of the most important connections between East Africa and the Gulf.

Qatar Airways also operates 21 weekly flights between Doha and Nairobi, following its increase from 15 weekly services.

The significance for agents is not simply additional seats. Dubai and Doha function as connecting hubs into Europe, Asia, the Middle East, North America and Australia, giving Kenyan travellers alternatives when constructing long-haul itineraries.

Kenya Airways remains the country’s largest network carrier, connecting Kenya to more than 46 destinations, including 37 in Africa, according to its latest published network data.

That African footprint gives agents another option for building regional itineraries around Nairobi rather than routing every journey through a foreign hub.

Domestic aviation is becoming more granular

The other side of the story is happening at Wilson Airport, where smaller carriers are connecting Nairobi with destinations that do not always support large-aircraft operations.

Jambojet currently serves seven domestic destinations — Mombasa, Malindi, Lamu, Ukunda, Kisumu, Eldoret and Nairobi — alongside Entebbe in Uganda. Its busiest scheduled markets include Nairobi–Mombasa, Nairobi–Kisumu and Nairobi–Eldoret.

Skyward Express has an even broader domestic footprint. Its current schedule covers Mombasa, Malindi, Lamu, Ukunda, Eldoret, Kitale, Lodwar, Migori, Kakamega, Garissa and other destinations, while also operating Nairobi–Dar es Salaam and Mombasa–Dar es Salaam services.

The result is a domestic network that is increasingly less dependent on the traditional Nairobi–Mombasa and Nairobi–Kisumu corridors.

Safari Aviation is a network of its own

For agents selling safari packages, the map looks different.

Safarilink currently serves 18 destinations across three countries, with a fleet of 15 aircraft and more than 30 daily flights, according to the airline. Its network covers destinations including the Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Lamu, Diani, Mombasa, Malindi, Kisumu, Nanyuki and northern Tanzania.

That connectivity is particularly relevant to international agents because Wilson is effectively another gateway into Kenya’s tourism economy.

A client arriving in Nairobi does not necessarily need to return to JKIA for every subsequent sector. A safari itinerary can be built around Wilson connections into the Mara, northern Kenya and the coast.

AirKenya operates a similar specialist model, with scheduled services to 12 destinations and a network spanning Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda through its sister carriers.

Its 2026 schedule also introduced a daily Wilson–Arusha service, while its Mara–Serengeti operation provides a direct link between the two major safari ecosystems.

The Maasai Mara alone receives up to four AirKenya flights a day during July–September, compared with three daily services for much of the year.

Smaller airlines are filling regional gaps

Renegade Air is concentrating on shorter domestic markets, with twice-daily Kisumu services, daily flights to Wajir and daily services to the Mara.

Premier Airlines is taking a different approach, connecting Nairobi with the wider Horn and East Africa. Its current network includes Juba, Mogadishu, Hargeisa and Entebbe. The carrier operates daily Nairobi–Juba services, four weekly Nairobi–Mogadishu flights, two weekly Juba–Entebbe rotations and a weekly Hargeisa service.

The airline also recently placed its inventory on Amadeus and Travelport, putting its schedules in front of more than 100,000 IATA-accredited travel agencies and major online travel platforms.

For agents, distribution is an important part of this story. A route is commercially more useful when it can be found, booked and ticketed through the systems agents already use.

More choice, but more complexity

The expanding network gives agents more ways to build itineraries, but it also creates a more complicated marketplace.

A Nairobi–Mara–Mombasa itinerary may involve a safari carrier rather than a conventional domestic airline. A Nairobi–Juba journey can now be compared across regional operators, while long-haul travellers have multiple Gulf and European connection options.

This makes schedule knowledge increasingly valuable.

The challenge for agents is no longer simply finding a flight. It is knowing which combination of airlines, airports and frequencies produces the most practical itinerary for the client.

Nairobi is becoming a stronger connecting point

The broader trend is clear: Kenya’s aviation network is developing at several levels simultaneously.

International airlines are adding or maintaining high-frequency hub connections. Kenya Airways continues to provide a large African network. Jambojet and Skyward are extending domestic connectivity, while Safarilink, AirKenya and other specialist operators connect tourism markets that conventional airlines cannot serve as efficiently.

For travel agents, that creates a larger inventory of possible journeys.

It also makes the agent’s role more relevant. As the number of routes and combinations increases, the value increasingly lies in knowing how the network fits together:  not simply which airline flies where.

New Distribution Capability (NDC) is moving from an airline technology project into a practical issue for travel agents as carriers increasingly distribute fares, ancillary products and other content through the standard.

For agents, the change can affect what fares are displayed, which products can be sold and how bookings are subsequently serviced.

Africa trails mature markets

The numbers suggest Africa is entering the NDC transition later than some mature distribution markets. In the United States, NDC transactions represented 21.6 per cent of ARC-settled agency transactions in June 2026.

Africa, by contrast, remains heavily dependent on traditional distribution, with AFRAA data showing 88 per cent of airline sales still moving through legacy channels.

Yet the gap is beginning to narrow. More than 40 per cent of African airlines surveyed by AFRAA and TPConnects said they were planning or implementing NDC initiatives.

The figures are not directly comparable because they measure different aspects of adoption, but they illustrate the different stages of the transition. NDC is already accounting for a significant share of agency transactions in the US, while traditional distribution remains dominant across Africa.

For African agents, the issue is therefore becoming less about whether NDC will arrive and more about how quickly airlines serving the continent will adopt it.

Travelport expands its NDC connections

Travelport is one of the distribution companies trying to bring NDC content into agency workflows alongside conventional airline content.

During 2026, the company has announced or launched NDC connections with a growing number of carriers.

LOT Polish Airlines’ NDC content became available to Travelport-connected agents in June, initially across 63 countries spanning Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Middle East.

Royal Jordanian’s NDC content followed in May, while Saudia’s rollout in April covered 68 countries across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, as well as the US and Canada.

Travelport has also announced NDC agreements with Turkish Airlines, Icelandair and Oman Air, among others.

For agents, the significance is that NDC content is increasingly appearing within distribution systems they already use rather than being confined to direct airline channels.

What changes at agency level?

NDC allows airlines to distribute richer offers than the traditional fare display, including branded fares, baggage, seat selection and other ancillary products.

It can also allow airlines to construct offers differently depending on the market, customer or sales channel.

That does not necessarily mean every NDC fare will be cheaper.

Instead, the difference may be in what is included in the offer and what additional products the agent can sell alongside the base fare.

For agencies, this makes the ability to compare content across distribution channels increasingly important.

Servicing remains the test

The biggest question for agents may not be whether an NDC fare can be booked, but what happens afterwards.

Changes, refunds, exchanges, disruptions and other servicing requirements can vary between airlines and distribution channels.

NDC is therefore not a single uniform product. Airlines can implement the standard differently, with different capabilities and rules.

That creates a learning curve for agents, particularly those handling complex international itineraries.

A hybrid system is emerging

The transition also does not appear to be an immediate replacement of traditional GDS distribution.

Travelport’s agreement with Oman Air, for example, provides for NDC content while the carrier’s existing EDIFACT distribution remains available.

This hybrid approach is likely to continue as airlines move at different speeds.

For African agencies, it may be particularly relevant because international itineraries often involve several airlines operating at different stages of NDC adoption.

What agents should watch

The practical questions for agents are increasingly specific: which airlines offer NDC content, whether it is available in their market, whether registration is required and what servicing functions are supported.

The economics also matter.

If NDC gives an airline access to new ways of pricing and merchandising its products, agents will need to understand how those offers affect fare comparison, commissions, incentives and ancillary sales.

Africa’s relatively low adoption therefore does not mean NDC is irrelevant to the continent’s travel trade.

It means the market is at an earlier stage of the transition.

With more African airlines beginning to plan or implement NDC and international carriers expanding their connections through distribution platforms such as Travelport, the technology is likely to become increasingly visible in the agent’s booking workflow.

For now, traditional distribution remains dominant. But the direction of travel is becoming clearer.

Africa’s tourism industry is entering a period of significant opportunity. Visitor numbers are recovering, countries are progressively opening their borders and governments are increasingly recognising tourism as a major contributor to economic growth, employment and foreign exchange. Yet despite the continent’s enormous tourism assets, investment continues to fall short of potential. The challenge is no longer simply attracting travellers to Africa; it is creating an environment in which investors can confidently commit capital, develop projects and operate businesses over the long term.

One of the most visible changes has been the gradual improvement in visa openness across the continent. Visa-free intra-African travel increased from about 20 per cent in 2016 to 28 per cent in 2025, while several countries have introduced more liberal visa policies to encourage regional mobility. This is important for tourism because easier movement expands the potential market for hotels, airlines, tour operators, attractions and other tourism businesses. However, greater access alone cannot guarantee investment. An investor may be able to enter a country easily as a visitor and still encounter significant obstacles when attempting to establish a tourism business. Read the eTurboNews analysis

The more fundamental question is whether destinations have the infrastructure and operating environment required to support investment. Tourism projects depend on reliable roads, airports, electricity, water, telecommunications and other essential services. In many emerging destinations, investors may have to absorb some of these infrastructure costs themselves, significantly increasing the amount of capital required before a project can become operational. The result is that destinations with strong tourism potential can remain commercially unattractive because the cost and complexity of developing the supporting infrastructure are simply too high.

Land is another major consideration. Tourism development requires long-term confidence that investors can legally acquire, lease or develop land and that those rights will remain secure throughout the life of the investment. Research highlighted in the eTurboNews analysis identified land-tenure insecurity as one of the most frequently cited barriers to tourism investment in Sub-Saharan Africa. When investors cannot establish clear ownership or long-term development rights, even a highly attractive tourism opportunity can become too risky to finance.

Regulation also matters. Investors need to know how long approvals will take, which agencies are involved, what licences are required and whether the rules will remain predictable once a project is underway. Multiple approval processes, inconsistent enforcement and bureaucratic delays can increase project costs and discourage investment. The same applies to the movement of capital. Investors need confidence that legitimate profits can be transferred across borders and that foreign-exchange restrictions will not unexpectedly undermine the commercial viability of their projects.

Infrastructure, land and regulation are closely connected to another critical issue: investor confidence. Tourism is a long-term business. A hotel, lodge, resort, attraction or airport-linked development can require years to recover its initial investment. Investors therefore assess not only current conditions but also whether the policy and economic environment is likely to remain stable over the next decade. Issues such as corruption, security, taxation, foreign-exchange availability and political uncertainty can significantly influence that decision. Where risks are perceived to be high, investors demand higher returns or simply take their capital elsewhere.

This is why Africa needs to shift the conversation from attracting investment to converting investment interest into completed projects. Tourism conferences, investment summits and business forums can create valuable connections, but the real measure of success is what happens afterwards. How many projects secure financing? How many reach construction? How many create jobs and generate new tourism products? A memorandum of understanding can generate publicity, but a completed hotel, expanded aviation route, new attraction or functioning tourism circuit creates tangible economic value.

The continent also needs to become more sophisticated in how it presents investment opportunities. Rather than simply telling investors that Africa has extraordinary tourism potential, governments and tourism authorities need to present projects that are properly structured, researched and financially viable. Investors need access to reliable market data, clear land arrangements, infrastructure plans, regulatory information, projected demand and realistic financial models. Development finance institutions can support this process through guarantees, blended finance and risk-sharing mechanisms, particularly for projects that have strong development potential but face challenges in securing conventional commercial financing.

At the same time, Africa should avoid being treated as a single tourism or investment market. The opportunities and risks vary dramatically between countries and destinations. Investors should be able to distinguish between individual markets based on their infrastructure, governance, connectivity, security, tourism products and economic fundamentals. A strong investment environment in one country should not be undermined by broad perceptions about the continent as a whole.

The opportunity is nevertheless substantial. Tourism already contributes significantly to Africa’s economy and supports millions of livelihoods across the continent. The combination of rising travel demand, a growing African middle class, expanding intra-African travel and increasing international interest presents a strong foundation for future investment. What is required now is the enabling environment to match that demand.

Africa does not need to convince the world that it has tourism assets. The wildlife, beaches, culture, heritage, landscapes and cities already make that case. The next challenge is making it easier to invest in those assets. That means improving infrastructure, securing land rights, simplifying regulation, strengthening governance, addressing security concerns and developing projects that are genuinely bankable. If these barriers are addressed, Africa’s tourism investment story could move from one of immense potential to one of sustained, measurable delivery.

Source : eturbonews.com

Dubai is leaning further into Africa as it seeks to sustain its position as one of the world’s busiest tourism hubs, with rising air capacity, resilient visitor demand and a growing network of connections creating new opportunities for travel between Kenya and the emirate.

The strategy comes as Dubai recovers from a difficult period for regional travel in 2026 while continuing to expand the infrastructure needed to handle long-term growth.

The emirate closed 2025 with a record 19.59 million international overnight visitors, up five per cent from 18.72 million in 2024. Hotel occupancy averaged 80.7 per cent, compared with 78.2 per cent a year earlier, while occupied room nights increased four per cent to 44.85 million.

The performance gave Dubai its third consecutive year of record tourism growth.

But the numbers also reveal the scale of the challenge facing the destination: maintaining momentum in a market where visitor expectations, airline capacity and regional conditions can change quickly.

Dubai started 2026 strongly, recording 2 million international overnight visitors in January, a three per cent increase from the same month a year earlier.

For Kenya, the relationship is particularly important because Dubai is both a destination and a global aviation gateway.

That connectivity has now expanded.

Emirates introduced a third daily Nairobi-Dubai service from March 2026, taking the route to 21 flights a week. The additional frequency was designed to strengthen connectivity between Kenya and Dubai while improving access to the airline’s wider network.

The extra flight also added 280 tonnes of weekly cargo capacity between Kenya and the UAE. Emirates now transports more than 1,100 tonnes of cargo in and out of Kenya each week when its passenger and freighter operations are combined.

For the travel industry, the significance goes beyond the number of seats.

More frequencies give Kenyan travellers greater flexibility while making Dubai easier to package as a short-break destination, stopover or gateway to Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Travel agents can therefore sell Dubai in several ways: as a standalone leisure destination, a shopping and entertainment trip, a family holiday, a business stopover or the first leg of a longer international itinerary.

That flexibility is increasingly important as African travellers become more accustomed to combining several destinations in a single journey.

Dubai’s appeal also rests on the scale of its tourism infrastructure. The emirate ended 2025 with 154,264 hotel rooms across 827 establishments, while average daily rates rose eight per cent to AED579 and revenue per available room increased 11 per cent to AED467.

The figures show that Dubai is not simply attracting more visitors. It is also generating greater value from its accommodation sector.

That creates opportunities for African travel businesses selling higher-value packages rather than simply competing on airfare.

For Kenyan agents, the strongest proposition may be combining Dubai’s attractions with other destinations.

A traveller could fly from Nairobi to Dubai for a few nights before continuing to Europe or Asia. A family could build a holiday around shopping, theme parks and attractions. A corporate traveller could combine meetings with leisure. And a leisure traveller could use Dubai as a short stopover on a longer journey.

Dubai has spent years developing precisely this kind of multi-purpose destination proposition.

Its airport infrastructure is equally central to the strategy.

Dubai International Airport handled a record 95.2 million passengers in 2025, up 3.1 per cent from 2024, and is forecast to handle about 99.5 million passengers in 2026.

That puts DXB within touching distance of the 100-million-passenger mark and reinforces its role as a major connecting hub between Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The emirate is also investing $35 billion in the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport, with plans to raise its capacity to 150 million passengers annually over the next decade and eventually to 260 million.

For Africa, the long-term implication is significant.

As Dubai expands its aviation infrastructure, African cities gain access to a larger global connecting network without requiring direct services to every destination.

For a Kenyan traveller, a stronger Dubai hub can mean more choices for reaching markets in Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas.

For travel agents, it creates more combinations to sell.

The opportunity comes at a time when Dubai is also seeking to deepen its tourism reach beyond traditional source markets. The emirate’s tourism strategy involves more than simply increasing visitor numbers; it is focused on attracting different categories of travellers throughout the year, supported by airlines, hotels, events, attractions and international partnerships.

Africa fits naturally into that strategy.

Kenya is particularly valuable because of its position as an East African aviation and tourism hub. Nairobi connects a large regional market while also serving as an important business centre and gateway for safari tourism.

The stronger the Nairobi-Dubai air bridge becomes, the easier it is for travel agents to build products around both markets.

There is also a wider commercial relationship.

The additional Emirates service is carrying more than passengers. The extra 280 tonnes of weekly cargo capacity strengthens trade links between Kenya and the UAE, particularly for time-sensitive exports such as flowers and fresh produce.

That creates a broader business-travel ecosystem in which leisure tourism, corporate travel, trade and aviation reinforce one another.

Dubai’s recovery in 2026 will ultimately be measured not only by visitor numbers but by how effectively it converts connectivity into sustained demand.

For Kenyan travel agents, however, the direction is already clear.

More flights mean more inventory. More hotel capacity means more packages. A larger global hub means more itineraries.

And with Dubai continuing to expand its tourism and aviation infrastructure, the opportunity for African travel businesses is shifting from simply selling Dubai as a destination to selling Dubai as the gateway through which Africa connects to the world.

Africa’s aviation market is proving more resilient than its modest global share would suggest, with domestic and intra-African travel continuing to provide an important foundation for passenger growth even as airlines contend with high operating costs, fuel-price volatility and limited connectivity.

The latest data from the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) shows just how important domestic travel has become. During the second half of 2025, Africa’s top 100 domestic routes carried 13.4 million passengers, compared with 9.3 million on the continent’s top international routes and 4.1 million on intra-African routes.

The figures point to a market increasingly driven by Africans travelling within their own countries, rather than relying solely on international traffic.

The busiest route was Cape Town-Johannesburg, which carried almost 1.99 million passengers between July and December 2025. Durban-Johannesburg followed with 1.39 million passengers, highlighting the scale of demand on established domestic corridors.

The trend is continuing into 2026. OAG data for July shows total African airline capacity at 26.3 million seats, up 7.5 per cent from the same month last year. Domestic capacity increased by a stronger 11.1 per cent, while international capacity grew 6.6 per cent.

Nigeria recorded the sharpest expansion among the leading country markets, with total capacity up 44.5 per cent year-on-year to 1.22 million seats. Tanzania’s capacity increased 10.5 per cent, while Ethiopia grew 10.3 per cent. Kenya, however, recorded a 1.6 per cent decline in total capacity in July.

Domestic aviation is particularly important because it provides airlines with a market less exposed to some of the shocks affecting international travel.

Africa continues to face high fuel costs, foreign-exchange constraints, aircraft shortages and expensive operating environments. IATA expects African passenger traffic to grow by about 6 per cent in 2026, ahead of the global growth rate, but forecasts African airlines will collectively make only about US$200 million in net profit, equivalent to a margin of roughly 1 per cent.

The combination of strong demand and weak profitability remains one of the industry’s central contradictions.

Airlines have passengers to carry, but converting that demand into sustainable returns remains difficult.

For travel agents, however, the growth of domestic and regional aviation presents an expanding market.

Domestic flying connects the major commercial centres with tourism destinations, creating opportunities to package air travel with accommodation, ground transport and experiences. The growth of regional connectivity also creates scope for multi-country itineraries as travellers increasingly combine business, leisure and family trips across African markets.

This is particularly relevant to East Africa, where aviation and tourism are closely intertwined.

Kenya remains one of the continent’s important aviation markets. ATTA’s 2026 aviation outlook forecasts 10.2 million seats for Kenya during the first 10 months of the year, representing a 22.3 per cent increase from the comparable period in 2025. Eastern Africa’s overall capacity is projected to rise 24.3 per cent, making it the fastest-growing African sub-region in the report.

That expansion gives travel businesses more inventory around which to build products, although the actual benefit will depend on whether additional capacity translates into affordable fares and useful connections.

The biggest structural problem remains connectivity.

Africa is a vast continent, yet many neighbouring countries have no direct air links. Travellers can sometimes spend considerably longer connecting through major hubs than they would spend flying the actual distance between their origin and destination.

This remains a major constraint on intra-African trade and tourism, particularly in Central and parts of West Africa.

The Single African Air Transport Market initiative is intended to address some of these barriers by liberalising air services and improving connectivity between African states. Progress, however, remains uneven.

For airlines, the prize is significant.

Boeing estimates that African passenger traffic could grow by 7.4 per cent annually over the next two decades, with intra-African passenger traffic more than quadrupling during that period. It forecasts demand for 1,025 new commercial aircraft to support the expansion.

The long-term opportunity therefore lies not only in connecting Africa to Europe, Asia or the Middle East, but in connecting Africa to itself.

That shift could change the role of travel agents as well. As African aviation networks become more complex, customers will increasingly need help combining multiple airlines, destinations and travel products. Agents that understand regional schedules, fare structures, accommodation and ground logistics can turn fragmented connectivity into complete itineraries.

The market is not without risks. Rising fuel prices can quickly alter airline economics, while geopolitical disruptions can force carriers to reroute or reduce services. In 2026, African airlines have also faced pressure from higher fuel and supply costs linked to instability around key international air corridors.

Yet passenger demand continues to expand.

That resilience is perhaps the most important signal from the market.

Africa’s aviation story is no longer simply about waiting for international traffic to mature. Millions of passengers are already flying between African cities, and domestic routes are carrying the largest volumes.

For airlines and travel businesses, the opportunity is increasingly inside the continent.

The challenge is to make that movement cheaper, more direct and commercially sustainable.

If Africa can close its connectivity gaps while maintaining the demand now emerging across domestic and regional markets, the continent’s next aviation growth story may be less about flying Africans out of the continent — and more about helping them fly across it.

Source: aerospaceglobalnews.com

Kenya’s travel agency business is entering a new phase as artificial intelligence (AI), New Distribution Capability (NDC) and modern global distribution systems (GDS) begin to change how airline content is searched, sold and serviced.

For travel agents, the transformation is taking place at a time when customers increasingly expect instant comparisons, personalised offers and seamless digital service, while airlines are seeking greater control over how their products reach travellers.

The result is a shift from the traditional model of travel distribution, where agents largely relied on GDS platforms to search fares and issue tickets, towards a more connected environment where GDS, NDC, direct airline content and AI-powered tools work together.

The development is already visible in Kenya.

In April 2025, Kenya Airways became the first airline in sub-Saharan Africa to distribute its NDC-sourced content through the Amadeus Travel Platform. The move gives travel sellers access to richer airline content through the Amadeus environment, including offers generated through the carrier’s NDC channel.

For Kenyan travel agents, this is significant because NDC is no longer simply an industry technology concept being discussed in Europe and North America. It is becoming part of the local distribution ecosystem.

Eligible non-IATA agencies could access Kenya Airways’ NDC content through Amadeus, subject to requirements including a valid IATA Travel Industry Designator Service number and the appropriate Amadeus security arrangements.

From booking tickets to selling travel

The significance of NDC goes beyond another way of accessing airline seats.

Traditional airline distribution has largely centred on fares, schedules and availability. NDC allows airlines to distribute richer offers, including branded fares, ancillary products and other elements of the airline proposition.

This supports the industry’s wider shift towards modern airline retailing, in which airlines increasingly want to sell travel products in a way similar to other digital commerce businesses.

For agents, that could mean greater opportunities to sell seats, baggage, meals, upgrades and other ancillary services alongside the basic air ticket.

It also means agents will have to understand where content comes from and how different distribution channels affect the price, product and servicing options presented to a customer.

The GDS is changing, not disappearing

The rise of NDC does not necessarily mean the end of GDS.

Instead, the major distribution platforms are adapting to aggregate different sources of content.

Travelport’s current APIs, for example, support both NDC and GDS content, while its 2026 strategy increasingly positions the company as technology infrastructure for AI-enabled travel commerce rather than simply a traditional distribution system.

Travelport has also been investing in its TripServices platform, which is designed to bring together different sources of travel content through APIs and make that content more accessible to digital and AI-powered applications.

This points to a future in which the question for an agent may no longer be, “Which GDS do I use?”

Instead, it may become:

“How effectively can my technology access and manage all the content I need?”

AI adds another layer

Artificial intelligence is now pushing the transformation further.

AI can already help travel businesses interpret customer requests, build itineraries, summarise fare rules, automate communication and support repetitive administrative tasks.

The next development is agentic AI — systems designed not merely to provide information but to take actions on behalf of users.

This is particularly important for travel because a booking is more complicated than a simple online purchase.

A system must identify live availability, understand fare rules, process passenger information, complete payment and ticketing, and potentially handle changes, cancellations and disruptions.

That is why the infrastructure behind the AI matters.

Travelport is explicitly positioning its technology as infrastructure for AI-enabled travel, while Amadeus has been testing AI applications that can interact with travel booking and servicing workflows.

The implication is important for travel agents.

AI may change how travel is searched and sold, but distribution infrastructure determines what the technology can actually book and service.

The threat is also an opportunity

For travel agents, the immediate concern is whether AI will make their role redundant.

But the more likely outcome may be a change in the type of work agents perform.

Technology can increasingly handle repetitive searches and administrative processes. Human agents can therefore spend more time on activities that require judgement — designing complex itineraries, advising customers, managing disruptions, handling corporate travel and building relationships.

The competitive advantage could consequently shift from knowing how to operate a booking system to knowing how to use several technology systems intelligently.

An agent who can compare GDS and NDC content, identify the best product for a customer, sell ancillary services and use AI to reduce administrative work could be more productive than one relying exclusively on traditional workflows.

This will also make training increasingly important.

Travel agencies will need staff who understand NDC, APIs, digital distribution and AI tools, alongside the conventional skills of fares, ticketing, customer service and destination knowledge.

A new role for the travel agent

The travel agent of the future may therefore be less of a ticketing intermediary and more of a travel-commerce professional.

AI could conduct the initial search. Distribution platforms could aggregate content. Automation could handle routine processes.

But the agent could remain responsible for interpreting the options, advising the traveller and resolving problems when things do not go according to plan.

That human role becomes particularly valuable when a journey is complicated.

A missed connection, a family travelling across several destinations, a corporate traveller facing a last-minute change or a group booking involving multiple passengers can require judgement that goes beyond simply finding the cheapest available fare.

For Kenya’s travel agencies, the opportunity is to prepare for this transition rather than resist it.

The technology landscape is moving towards an environment where GDS, NDC, APIs and AI complement one another.

The winners may not necessarily be the agencies with the most technology.

They could be the agencies that understand how to use technology to deliver better advice, faster service and more value to the customer.

The future of the travel agent, therefore, may not be about competing against AI.

It may be about becoming the human expert who knows how to make AI and modern travel distribution work for the customer.