THE UN Tourism has projected a three to five per cent growth in international arrivals across the globe this year, with Middle East and Africa among key destinations.
This is after a strong performance in the first half of this year where international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) grew five per cent compared to 2024, or four per cent above pre-pandemic year 2019.
Growth for Africa, where Kenya is a key destination for beach and Safari, grew 20 per cent between January and June, compared to seven per cent same period last year, as the industry picked from a negative per cent in 2023.
This comes after the full recovery of international tourism in 2024 when arrivals reached 1.5 billion, shaking of the Covid-19 pandemic effects on travel.
“Almost 690 million tourists travelled internationally between January and June 2025, about 33 million more than in the same period of 2024,” the socialized agency of the United Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally-accessible tourism, says in its latest World Tourism Barometer.
Growth remained at five per cent in both quarter one and quarter two 2025 but fluctuated considerably month–by–month, partly due to the calendar effect of shifting Easter holidays.
“Despite growing geopolitical and trade tensions, the first half of 2025 saw sustained travel demand globally, though results were mixed among regions,” it said.
Country data on international tourism receipts show strong visitor spending in the first half of 2025, after record results in 2024 when export revenues from international tourism reached $2 trillion (Sh 258.3 trillion), up 14 per cent from 2019.
The September 2025 survey of the Panel of Tourism Experts points to high transport and accommodation costs, as well as other economic factors, as the main two challenges currently impacting international tourism.
The growth projections are in line with Kenya’s as the country target to hit at least three million international arrivals this year, with earnings projected at Sh560 billion.This is up from Sh452.2 billion last year when arrivals hit a record 2.4 million.
While Kenya National Bureau of Statistics has not given numbers in its latest quarterly report, it says international visitor arrivals via the two major airports, the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Mombasa International Airport (MIA) rose by 3.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2025.
The country targets to hit at least five million international arrivals by 2027 which according to the Tourism Research Institute (TRI), it will translate to earnings of about Sh800 billion.
by MARTIN MWITA
