Uganda topped East African Community (EAC) nations as a source of visitors to Kenya in 2024, with business and conferences ranking as the most common reason.
- According to the 2024 Tourism Performance report, Uganda leads the list of travellers to Kenya with 225, 559 visitors, followed by Tanzania, Somalia, and Rwanda as the top sources from the continent.
- 46.7% of the Ugandans who visited Kenya in 2024 did so for business and conference purposes, while 29% visited friends and relatives on the other side of the border.
- Uganda is the second largest source market for Kenya after the United States, accounting for 8.49% of tourists in 2024.
“The number of international conferences held in the country increased from 977 in the year 2023 to 987 in the year 2024. The number of local conferences held in the country rose to 11,225 in 2024 from 10,725 that recorded in 2023,” The Tourism Research Institute (TRI) said in its sector performance report for 2024.
Africa accounted for 975, 883 visitors Kenya received in 2023, followed by Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East.
JKIA received the highest number of EAC arrivals followed by Busia and Namanga Borders, but land borders accounted for the majority of EAC arrivals, highlighting the cross-border movement within the EAC.
The ease of travel, cultural ties, and proximity between Kenya and Uganda is often cited as the primary reason for growing tourist traffic between the two. In 2023, more than 490, 000 Kenyans visited Uganda, similarly making Kenya the top source of tourists for Uganda after the United States. Both countries are working to diversify their source market, with specific focus and investments in promoting tourist attractions to markets in the Middle East and Asia.
In total, the government is projecting that the country will receive about 3 million tourists in 2025.
