The Ministry of Tourism plans to launch the Tembea Kenya initiative to increase international tourist arrivals to five million by 2027.

When she hosted tourism players, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano said the initiative seeks to increase the current annual arrivals by about 2 million.

“This happens mainly through participation in local and international events, campaigns, policy advocacy, and in creating innovative tourism products and experiences.”

“During my interaction with the tourism sector stakeholders this afternoon, I made a commitment to build strong linkages with the private sector and to make the tourism industry the number one contributor of foreign exchange earnings and job creation,” she said.

According to the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), Kenya generated 142.5 billion shillings in tourism revenue in the first half of this year, assisted by a significant rise in visitor numbers.

This represents an increase from 1.06 billion dollars in the same period last year, the KTB reported.

The KTB said that Kenya welcomed 1.03 million international visitors, marking a 21.3 percent increase from 847,810 visitors during the same period in 2023.

However, domestic tourism also saw growth, with 2.25 million bed nights recorded, about a 10 percent increase from 2.06 million bed nights in the previous year.