The Kenyan government has revealed that its tourism revenue surged 83% in 2022 to KES268bn (€1.9bn), as COVID curbs eased.

Visitors rebounded to 72% of its pre-pandemic level in 2019, Kenyan Tourism Minister Peninah Malonza told reporters at a press conference, outpacing the rest of the continent which stands at 65% of the pre-pandemic level.

The number of international tourists also grew to over 1.4m compared with 870 000 in 2021.

The US was the main source of visitors (16%) during the year, followed by Uganda (12%), UK (10%) and Tanzania (10%).

Kenyan authorities would focus their marketing efforts on emerging markets like Rwanda, Nigeria and Ethiopia, Malonza added. The East African country also welcomed back visitors from China last month, its sixth-largest tourism source market.

Tourism earnings are projected to rise to KES425bn (€3bn) this year, according to David Gitonga, Chief Executive of the state Tourism Research Institute, before increasing to KES540bn (€3.8bn) in 2027.

The tourism sector accounts for 10.4% of Kenya's economy and 5.5% of formal employment.