This archive report was first published on 26 July 2021.
Published on July 26, 2021, a new report reveals a significant decline in international tourism in Kenya. The International Tourism Performance Report January to June 2021 indicates a 21.7 percent drop in international arrivals between January and June 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.
The UK was the fifth-highest source market of tourists in the country, with 16,264 persons representing 5.3 percent of the 305,635 total arrivals. This comes amidst fresh restrictions banning Kenyans from entering the United Kingdom due to concerns over the COVID-19 Delta variant.
The British government retained Kenya on its 'Red List' of countries whose nationals are barred from entering the country over the disease. Kenya has been on the list since April 2021, amidst fears that the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant may spark a fourth wave of infections in Kenya over the next two months.
The highest number of visitor arrivals was from the United States of America and Uganda, with 49,178 and 31,418 tourists, respectively. The tourism sector faces an uphill task of recovery post-COVID-19, with projections indicating a significant decline in earnings.
According to a study by Deloitte, tourist arrivals declined by 78.4 percent in 2020 compared to the 2019 average, resulting in a 99.7 percent decline in earnings from Sh163.6 billion in 2019 to Sh0.5 billion in 2020. This left over 1.1 million individuals employed in the sector in disarray.
