Tourism

Tourism
Theme
Pillar	Economic Development

Tourism (Kiswahili: Utalii) is a theme of the Economic Development pillar. It covers beaches, marine and wildlife parks, Swahili heritage, cruise calls and the hospitality workforce across the six coastal counties. In 2025 hotels at the coast filled 5.79 million of the 11.56 million hotel bed-nights recorded in Kenya, 50.1 per cent of the national total. Moi International Airport in Mombasa received 235,184 international visitor arrivals in 2025, up from 205,051 in 2024.

What this page is for

This is the shared page for tourism on the coast: please add the projects, organisations, data and stakeholder views you know about, with a source for each.

Tourism on the coast today

Hotels within a kilometre of the beach recorded 4.94 million bed-nights in 2025, up from 4.14 million in 2024, and coastal hinterland hotels grew by 26.0 per cent to 772,800. Bed-nights taken by Kenyan residents at coast hotels fell by 6.2 per cent to 2.32 million in 2025, while those taken by residents of Italy doubled from 340,200 to 685,600.

The same survey reports a sharp change in where visitors stayed along the coastal strip. Bed-nights on the South Coast rose from 590,400 in 2024 to 2.54 million in 2025, making it the most visited area, while the North Coast fell by 55.1 per cent to 1.18 million and Mombasa Island by 40.0 per cent to 76,300. The Kilifi, Malindi and Lamu area rose from 919,300 to 1.22 million. The survey gives no reason for a change of this size.

In 2025 the coast's marine parks received 99,900 visitors to Kisite-Mpunguti, 97,600 to Watamu and 71,300 to Mombasa Marine Park, with 22,500 at Shimba Hills. Tsavo East received 265,800 visitors and Tsavo West 95,300. The two Tsavo parks cover 62.3 per cent of Taita-Taveta County. Fort Jesus in Mombasa and Lamu Old Town are UNESCO World Heritage properties.

Mombasa's own plan lists over-reliance on tourism among the county's emerging issues. For skills, the Ronald Ngala Utalii College at Vipingo in Kilifi began admitting students in 2026, with about 300 enrolled by October against a planned capacity of 4,000.

Plans and policy

The national frame is the draft Kenya National Tourism Strategy 2025-2030, which says it is anchored on Kenya Vision 2030 and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda. For the coast it proposes upgrading Malindi Airport to international status, opening Moi International Airport to more direct foreign carriers, strengthening the Ukunda and Lamu airstrips, a beach classification scheme drawing on the Blue Flag system, and an international convention centre in Mombasa. In late 2024 the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife launched a Coast Tourism Circuit for joint marketing across Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu and Tana River.

Most county plans for 2023-2027 seek to diversify. Mombasa plans to improve infrastructure at attraction sites, develop and brand new products, and restore historical and cultural sites under the UNESCO conventions. Kwale aims to add conference, sports, eco and cultural tourism, with better beach access roads and beach safety. Kilifi proposes a county tourism master plan and a tourism code of conduct. Lamu commits to building a coastal circuit with the other coastal counties and to an inventory and upgrade of its tourism facilities. Tana River plans a county tourism policy, investor forums and a tourism website, and Taita-Taveta reports work on scenic sites and Lake Jipe. On a Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani visit to Italy in July 2024, governors discussed a tourism memorandum covering Kilifi and Tana River.

Who is involved

The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife sets national policy, and its draft strategy gives the Kenya Tourism Board the national marketing role. The Kenya Wildlife Service and the National Museums of Kenya manage the parks and heritage sites and supply their visitor figures. The Kenya Airports Authority runs Moi International Airport, and cruise ships call at the port of Mombasa, run by the Kenya Ports Authority; four ships brought 8,366 passengers and crew in the first quarter of 2024. Each county plans for tourism in its CIDP, and the six cooperate through the Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani. The Kenya Coast Tourism Association speaks for hotels and operators, and beach operators and community groups matter too; Kilifi trained 200 beach operators in its last plan period. The Blue Economy and Arts & Creative Sector themes overlap with this one.

Open questions

Who should control the best beaches? The draft national strategy lists beaches and islands such as Chale, Funzi, Kiwayu, Manda Toto, Takaungu, Msambweni, Vipingo, Kipungani and Matondoni for private ownership, concessions or long leases aimed at luxury markets. Tourism Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa said beach land would remain under national government ownership and management. Judy Kepher-Gona of the Sustainable Travel and Tourism Agenda warned of "exclusive tourism enclaves"; Victor Shitaka of the Kenya Coast Tourism Association said concessions could create jobs under transparent law; and the analyst Steven Ododah asked what would happen to fishers and small traders.

How open should the coast's skies be? Shitaka argues that the lack of an open skies policy limits flights and keeps fares high, and that rivals such as Zanzibar, Mauritius and Seychelles have gained from liberalising. The draft strategy itself proposes opening Moi International Airport to more direct carriers, and Turkish Airlines resumed three weekly flights to Mombasa in October 2025, which Governor Abdulswamad Nassir called a win for tourism and logistics.

Can heritage tourism and a new port share Lamu? The World Heritage Committee in 2025 again asked Kenya to complete environmental and heritage impact assessments of the LAPSSET project, to enlarge the buffer zone of Lamu Old Town and to finish a revised management plan, and wants an updated report by 1 December 2026.

Who pays for the destination? The Kenya Coast Tourism Association said in 2022 that hotels must hold more than 25 county licences and asked for a single window. Mombasa's CIDP commits to reviewing high fees and charges, but also to engaging hotels on competitive pricing of the destination.

Coverage the plan expects

• beach tourism
• cultural and heritage sites
• Swahili heritage and Lamu Old Town
• cruise tourism
• eco-tourism and conservancies
• hospitality skills
• air access and airports serving the coast
• public access to beaches and community benefit

Projects

Kilifi Kitesurfing World Championship

Mombasa Convention Centre

Mombasa International Cruise Terminal

Mombasa Old Town Rehabilitation

Shimoni Marine Wildlife Destination

A project page joins this theme by naming it as the theme in its infobox. To start one:

Sources

• Economic Survey 2026, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2026 (chapter 12, tourism)
• Kenya National Tourism Strategy 2025-2030 (draft), Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, 2025
• Mombasa CIDP 2023-2027, County Government of Mombasa, 2023
• Kwale CIDP 2023-2027, County Government of Kwale, 2023
• Kilifi CIDP 2023-2027, County Government of Kilifi, 2023
• Lamu CIDP 2023-2027, County Government of Lamu, 2023
• Decision 47 COM 7B.156: Lamu Old Town, UNESCO World Heritage Committee, 2025
• Kenya plans to privatise beaches, Tourism Update, 2025