Kenyan visitors to Uganda increased from 466,902 in 2024 to 519,041 in 2025, while visitors from Uganda to Kenya reached 234,556 in 2025. The two-way movement highlights a significant regional tourism market that the countries’ industries are seeking to develop through stronger trade ties, joint destination marketing and more accessible travel.

Data from the Uganda Tourism Board show the increase in Kenyan visitors to Uganda, while figures attributed to the Kenya Tourism Board put Ugandan arrivals to Kenya at 234,556 in 2025. Uganda remains an important source market for Kenya, accounting for approximately 31 per cent of arrivals from Africa, according to figures cited by tourism stakeholders.

The commercial opportunity lies in turning these visitor flows into business for a wider range of tourism operators. Travel agents connect customers with accommodation, transport, tour operators and attractions, making them important intermediaries in the development of cross-border travel products.

The relationship has developed through the Uganda–Kenya Coast Tourism Conference, familiarisation trips and business-to-business engagements convened since 2022 by Uganda’s Consulate General in Mombasa and tourism stakeholders from both countries. Across four editions, the programme has exposed more than 450 tourism stakeholders to products in the two markets. The fifth edition, elevated to a Tourism and Innovation Summit, is scheduled for 26–27 October 2026 at Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort & Spa in Mombasa.

For the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA), the initiative connects Kenyan travel sellers with Ugandan tourism suppliers, while giving businesses in Uganda access to a wider distribution network. Attractions alone do not guarantee bookings: suppliers must reach customers through channels that can explain, combine and sell their products.

KATA Chairman Dr Joseph Kithitu has framed collaboration as central to building a stronger travel industry. Speaking at a recent KATA Chairman’s breakfast meeting in Mombasa, he said, “Tourism is about people, connection, and shared responsibility.” He added that partnerships could shape “a stronger and more sustainable future for our industry.”

Uganda’s State Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Susan Nakawuki Nsaambu, has highlighted the commercial importance of travel distribution, pointing to Kenyan travel sellers’ success in selling Uganda’s gorilla experiences. Her observation illustrates how destination suppliers can reach customers through agents who already sell African holidays and can incorporate additional experiences into existing itineraries.

The potential runs in both directions. Uganda’s gorilla trekking, wildlife and Nile experiences can complement Kenya’s safaris and Indian Ocean coast in multi-country itineraries. Meanwhile, Kenya’s coastal destinations can be marketed to Ugandan families and leisure travellers through a broader mix of beaches, marine activities, wildlife, heritage and adventure.

Patrick Maina Kamanga, KATA’s Coast region liaison, has argued that Mombasa should be promoted to Ugandans as more than a beach destination, with its history, heritage, wildlife and adventure experiences forming part of the offer. Such positioning would give coastal businesses a broader proposition to sell into a neighbouring market.

Figures cited by Uganda’s Consul General in Mombasa put Ugandan visitors to Kenya’s Coast at approximately 170,000 in 2024 and 260,000 in 2025, an increase of about 53 per cent. These Coast-specific estimates point to a market that coastal hotels, tour operators and other tourism businesses could seek to develop further.

Converting demand into bookings will depend partly on the cost and convenience of travel. Kamanga has identified the absence of a regional tourism Electronic Travel Authorisation arrangement as an obstacle to packaging multi-country itineraries across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. He has also cited one-way Mombasa–Entebbe fares reaching US$800, arguing that lower regional airfares would help stimulate passenger traffic.

For travel businesses, these barriers affect whether a package is practical and competitively priced. Expensive connections and complicated procedures can make a multi-country holiday harder to sell, even when the destinations complement one another. Better connectivity and more coordinated travel arrangements would make it easier to market regional experiences as a single holiday rather than separate trips.

The October summit is intended to address these issues under the theme, “Unlocking Tourism Opportunities: Resolving Policy Bottlenecks through Technology, Youth and Seamless Mobility across East Africa.” Organisers are targeting 150–200 delegates from tourism businesses, government, travel agencies, technology providers and investment circles, with an emphasis on practical outcomes. A Kenyan trade familiarisation trip to Uganda is scheduled for 1–8 November 2026, extending the initiative through direct exposure to destination products.

KATA’s role in this relationship is to connect tourism suppliers with the travel businesses that can take their products to market, while bringing industry concerns into wider discussions about policy and connectivity. The commercial value of the partnership will ultimately depend on whether these relationships lead to more bookings, stronger supplier agreements and products that are straightforward for travellers to purchase.

The two countries already have substantial visitor flows in both directions. The next test is whether closer trade links can turn that movement into more joint itineraries and additional business for operators on either side of the border. Uganda’s inland attractions and Kenya’s coast offer complementary experiences; better-connected tourism products could make them parts of the same holiday rather than competing choices.

The competition for the modern traveller is no longer confined to destinations. It increasingly centres on how effectively countries use technology, connect experiences and persuade visitors to explore beyond a single market. That was the central message at the opening of the 16th Magical Kenya Travel Expo (MKTE 2026), where digital transformation, artificial intelligence and regional integration emerged as defining questions for East Africa’s tourism industry.

“The traveller of today bears no resemblance to travellers of yester years,” said Rebecca Miano, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, setting the tone for discussions under the theme Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence: Shaping the Future of Tourism. Her observation reflects a wider shift in an industry where travellers are changing how they discover destinations, compare products and make purchasing decisions, placing greater pressure on tourism businesses to adapt how they package and distribute their offerings.

For Kenya’s travel trade, the implications extend beyond adopting new technology. Artificial intelligence is changing the relationship between travellers and the businesses competing for their attention, while digital platforms are creating new ways to discover and compare destinations. The commercial question is how effectively tourism businesses can translate these changes into bookings, longer stays and greater visitor spending.

Ambassador Julius Bitok, Principal Secretary in the State Department for Tourism, pointed to technology and artificial intelligence as important to the future of the sector. But the opening also highlighted the need to protect the natural assets on which tourism depends. Silvia Museiya, Principal Secretary in the State Department for Wildlife, stressed the importance of conserving Kenya’s wildlife, the foundation of experiences spanning the country’s coastal and inland destinations.

The challenge, therefore, is to modernise the way tourism is sold without weakening the natural and cultural assets that make destinations commercially distinctive. Technology may improve how visitors discover and purchase travel, but the long-term value of that business remains tied to the quality and sustainability of the experiences being sold.

The regional argument was made more directly by Susan Nakawuki, Uganda’s State Minister for Tourism, who questioned why Kenyan travel sellers were outperforming Ugandan tour operators in selling gorilla experiences. Her observation illustrated a market in which tourism products do not necessarily generate the greatest commercial returns for the country in which they are located. The ability to reach international buyers, build itineraries and connect products to wider travel networks can be just as important as owning the attraction itself.

“We need to sell a borderless East Africa,” Nakawuki said, calling for stronger connectivity between Kenya and Uganda to make it easier for visitors to move across the two countries, experience more attractions and potentially extend their stays. She also raised the concern that tourists could leave the region with 50–60 per cent of the money they arrived with, underscoring the challenge of retaining more visitor expenditure within local economies.

A more integrated regional tourism offering could give international visitors reasons to combine destinations rather than choose between them. Kenya’s wildlife and coastal experiences, for example, can complement Uganda’s gorilla tourism, creating itineraries that offer a broader range of experiences within one trip. Such a proposition, however, depends on more than marketing: air and ground connectivity, border procedures, coordinated product development and the ability of travel sellers to assemble and distribute multi-country packages all influence whether the opportunity translates into business.

Nakawuki’s acknowledgement of Kenya’s private sector, including the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA), also highlighted the role of travel intermediaries in connecting destinations to markets. Tour operators and travel agents can help turn regional cooperation into commercially viable itineraries, linking suppliers across borders with buyers seeking a more comprehensive African experience.

The scale of the business activity at MKTE offered an indication of the industry’s appetite for those connections. June Chepkemei, chief executive of the Kenya Tourism Board, reported that the first day recorded more than 10,000 business-to-business meetings. More than 400 exhibitors and participants from over 40 countries had gathered at Uhuru Gardens for the 2026 edition, bringing tourism suppliers into contact with buyers and other industry stakeholders.

Those meetings matter because tourism growth depends not only on attracting visitors but also on converting interest into distribution agreements, partnerships and sales. An exhibition can bring destinations and buyers into the same space; the commercial test is whether the contacts produce business after the event.

MKTE 2026 consequently placed three interconnected priorities before the regional tourism industry: adapting to a traveller whose purchasing behaviour is changing, using technology to compete for attention and building a more connected East African proposition. Each depends on the others. Digital visibility has limited value if products remain difficult to access, while regional attractions may be underexploited if they are sold in isolation.

East Africa already has a diverse collection of tourism assets. Its next commercial advantage may lie in how effectively those assets are connected, packaged and sold together. The traveller has changed; the challenge for the region is to ensure that its tourism business models change with them.

Mombasa became a meeting point for Africa’s business-events industry as the Africa MICE Summit & Awards 2026 brought together travel and tourism stakeholders to examine how the continent can grow its Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector and use it to drive tourism, trade and investment.

Held from 29 September to 2 October 2026 at the Tembo International Convention Centre at PrideInn Paradise Beach Resort & Spa, the summit brought together industry leaders, destination marketers, hospitality businesses, event organisers, investors and other players from across the MICE value chain. The main summit took place on 1–2 October, following industry training sessions earlier in the week.

Held under the theme “Building Africa’s MICE Ecosystem for Trade, Investment & Innovation,” the conference focused on the infrastructure, investment, connectivity and collaboration needed to position African destinations as competitive venues for international business events.

The discussions are increasingly relevant to the wider travel industry. MICE travellers generate demand well beyond the conference venue, requiring flights, accommodation, airport transfers, ground transport, excursions and other destination services. For travel agents and tour operators, this creates opportunities to serve individual delegates as well as corporate and incentive groups.

It also presents an opportunity for destinations such as Mombasa to diversify their tourism offering. While the Kenyan Coast remains strongly associated with beach holidays, investment in conference facilities is giving the destination another product to sell to international and regional markets.

The presence of the Tembo International Convention Centre within PrideInn Paradise also demonstrates how the hospitality sector is positioning itself to capture both conference and leisure demand. Delegates attending an event can extend their stay, combine business with leisure or return later as holidaymakers, creating additional value for the wider destination.

Beyond individual events, the summit highlighted a broader challenge facing Africa’s MICE ambitions: making the continent easier to access and navigate for business travellers. Air connectivity, the cost of regional travel, visa processes and coordination between tourism authorities and private-sector players all influence whether organisers choose an African destination for major events.

For travel agents, these issues are particularly significant. A destination may have the right conference infrastructure and accommodation, but complicated entry requirements, limited air connections or high fares can make it less competitive. Improving the wider travel ecosystem is therefore as important as building the conference venue itself.

The summit’s programme included industry training, business-to-business meetings, investment discussions and policy conversations, bringing together different parts of the MICE ecosystem under one platform.

KATA and AESATA recognised at Africa MICE Awards

The conference culminated in the Africa MICE Awards 2026, which recognised individuals and organisations contributing to the development of Africa’s MICE industry.

Among those recognised were Nicanor Sabula, CEO of the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA), who received the Convening Leader of the Year award, while the Association of Eastern and Southern Africa Travel Agents (AESATA) was named Best MICE Association Congress.

The recognition of both KATA’s leadership and AESATA’s regional work underscores the increasingly important role of travel-agent associations in the MICE ecosystem, particularly in connecting destinations, airlines, accommodation providers and travellers across African markets.

For Mombasa, the Africa MICE Summit & Awards 2026 provided more than a platform for industry discussions. It was also an opportunity to demonstrate the Coast’s capacity to host business events and position the destination as a place where business travel and leisure tourism can work together.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: businessdailyafrica.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dubai welcomed 6.97 million international overnight visitors between January and August 2026, with August recording about 869,000 arrivals, according to the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism.

August was the emirate’s strongest month for international visitor numbers since February, with arrivals recording double-digit month-on-month growth since March

The recovery has also been reflected in the hotel sector. Hotel occupancy reached 66% in August, compared with 36% in March, while Dubai’s hotel inventory approached 149,000 rooms. Hotels recorded 21.61 million occupied room nights during the first eight months of the year.

Dubai’s visitor base remains geographically diverse. Western Europe accounted for 20% of international arrivals between January and August, followed by South Asia at 17%, the Gulf Cooperation Council at 16%, and the CIS and Eastern Europe at 14%.

The latest figures were released as Arabian Travel Market 2026 brought the international travel trade together in Dubai from 14–17 September. More than 115 Dubai-based exhibitors are participating, alongside more than 300 international travel trade professionals from over 40 countries through the ATM Hosted Buyers Program.

Emirates adds capacity ahead of winter

The stronger tourism numbers coincide with increased aviation capacity into Dubai. Emirates carried more than 8.6 million passengers in July and August, operating at about 93% of its pre-disruption capacity as it enters the winter travel season.

For Kenyan travelers and travel agents, the airline is set to deploy its A350 on Nairobi services from late October, adding the aircraft to a route that is currently served with three daily flights. The A350 will also be introduced on selected routes to other destinations as Emirates expands capacity for the winter season.

The airline says winter bookings are tracking positively, while more than half a million passengers arrived in Dubai on Emirates flights in late August alone, representing a 7% increase from the same period in 2025.

For Kenyan travel agents, the combination of rising visitor numbers and expanded air capacity provides additional connectivity for clients traveling to Dubai for leisure, shopping, business and stopovers, as well as for passengers connecting through Dubai to destinations across Emirates’ wider network.

Safarilink is offering travel agents 10% off selected fares on routes linking key safari and regional gateways in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, through its distribution partnership with Hahnair.

The promotion is available for bookings made in September 2026, with travel permitted until December 2026. The promotional terms impose no restrictions.

The offer covers routes from Wilson Airport in Nairobi (WIL) to Ukunda (UKA) and Arusha (ARK), as well as international services connecting Nairobi with Entebbe (EBB) and Wilson with Zanzibar (ZNZ).

For clients traveling to the Kenyan coast, the promotion includes Wilson–Ukunda, with two daily services in each direction. The Wilson–Arusha route also operates three times daily, connecting Nairobi and northern Tanzania.

The promotion also covers Nairobi–Entebbe, with daily services and additional evening flights on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The schedule includes a Nairobi–Entebbe service via Kisumu, while the return direction also offers a corresponding connection.

For travelers heading to Zanzibar, Safarilink operates Wilson–Zanzibar services daily, with additional services on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays via Mombasa. The promotion also covers Mombasa–Zanzibar, giving agents another option for connecting Kenya’s coast with Tanzania’s island destination.

Routes and schedules

For Kenyan travel agents, the promotion provides an opportunity to offer clients lower fares while building itineraries that combine safari destinations, the Kenyan coast and neighboring East African markets.

Safarilink is a Kenya-based safari airline operating from Wilson Airport, with a network covering destinations in Kenya and northern Tanzania, including the Masai Mara, Amboseli, Diani, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. Hahnair currently lists Safarilink under both the F2 and H1 codes.

Agents should check availability and the applicable promotional fare in their GDS before booking. The promotional fares are subject to the September booking window and travel period ending in December 2026.

View the Safarilink promotion on Hahn Air