By Joris Holtus
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) recently released data depicting an increase in visitor arrivals from the rest of the world across the first four months of 2026. Arrivals totalled 584,825 between February and April 2026, up from 539,044 during the same period in 2025, representing an 8.5% year-on-year increase.
European destinations, such as Paris, Amsterdam and London, accounted for 217,633 of the 584,825 total arrivals, representing 37.2% of the total. This data complements findings of a new Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) survey showing that forward bookings for August through November rose to 56.25%, up from 49.5% in a comparable period last year.
Tourism earnings have also strengthened, with the sector generating Sh564 billion, an 18.7% increase, while average spending per tourist reached KSh204,300, the highest level in five years.
Taken together, these indicators point to a tourism sector that is generating greater economic value from each arrival. For us in the airline industry, that creates a clear opportunity to connect Kenya to more travellers and, just as importantly, to make it easier for those travellers to reach the country.
Indeed, it was just eight years ago that Air France resumed flights to the country after an 18-year break. Since then, the Paris-Nairobi route has continued to strengthen, such that, in May, we had to deploy larger aircraft on the route, increasing capacity by about 12 percent. Additional flights have also been added to Nairobi, with this increase in capacity continuing throughout the 2026 summer season.
More direct routes and greater frequency, we estimate, will open Kenya to markets that may previously have been difficult or expensive to access. The expansion will also make it easier for repeat visitors to return, encourage business and leisure travel and support the growing number of people who combine several destinations within a single trip.
The significance of such expansion lies in giving travellers greater flexibility and making Kenya more accessible from major global gateways. This is particularly important as the profile of international tourism continues to evolve, with travelers increasingly valueing convenience alongside the destination itself. For Kenya, this presents a strong case for continued investment in connectivity and an opportunity to think about tourism and aviation as part of the same growth story.
The opportunity extends beyond Nairobi as well as the benefits of increased are now flowing flow to other tourism hubs within East Africa, creating a stronger the international gateway with great potential to distribute visitors across the continent.
There is also a wider economic dimension to this because international aviation supports hotels, restaurants, tour operators, transport providers, retailers and countless businesses that depend directly or indirectly on visitor spending. It also enhances trade and investment by connecting Kenya to markets beyond tourism.
Meanwhile, the growth we are seeing today also provides an opportunity to look beyond the immediate recovery in visitor numbers and consider what a more connected Kenya could look like over the next decade. If demand continues to grow, airlines will need to respond with the capacity and networks required to support it.
The encouraging numbers from the first part of 2026 suggest that the foundation is already being laid. The challenge now is to turn that momentum into a sustained cycle that creates opportunities well beyond the tourism sector.
(The writer is Air France-KLM’s General Manager for East and Southern Africa).
