Tourism stakeholders are amplifying calls for deeper cross-border collaboration as Kenya pursues a 27 per cent growth in Ugandan arrivals targeting 300,000 arrivals in 2026.
The stakeholders, who were part of Kenya’s delegation at the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) in Uganda, said the platform offered an unmatched opportunity to deepen trade ties and strengthen the corridor that has made Uganda a top regional tourism source market for Kenya.
The 2026 POATE, which concluded on 23 May in Kampala, brought together buyers, investors and tourism professionals from across Africa and beyond to negotiate partnerships and market intra-regional travel.
Felix Mwangangi, Country Manager for Kenya Airways in Uganda, pointed to the airline’s daily Entebbe-Nairobi-Mombasa connections as a structural enabler of the cross-border visitor growth. “Kenya Airways sits at the integral point of improving these numbers,” he said. “Flights from Entebbe to Nairobi connect daily to Mombasa thus giving travellers consistent access to the coast.”
He said POATE, like the Magical Kenya Travel Expo (MKTE), continues to generate growth in passenger volumes and Kenya Airways intends to remain the primary facilitator of that movement.
Frank Gisha, CEO of the East Africa Tourism Platform said that the Kenyan coast’s appeal to Ugandan travellers has broadened considerably and credited years of structured engagement for that shift.
“Since 2016, our engagement with destinations like Diani and our campaigns such as Tembea Nyumbani as well as the Uganda-Kenya Tourism Conferencehave driven significant growth. Post-COVID, we are recording a 30 percent increase in cross-border tourism with Ugandans travelling to Kenya for weddings, MICE events and beach holidays,” he said.
Uganda remains Kenya’s leading regional source market, contributing 234,556 visitors in 2025, accounting for 31 per cent of all African arrivals and representing an 8.7 per cent growth compared to the previous year. Tanzania followed with 209,536 arrivals, reflecting a 7.7 per cent increase from 2024.
Stakeholders also pointed to the improved quality of engagement at POATE 2026 as evidence that the expo has grown into a high-value business platform.
“The interest in the Kenyan coast from Ugandan buyers has been significant. From the contracting I conducted at this expo alone, I have seen a growth of 17 per cent,” said Doris Makena, Group Sales and Marketing Manager for Jacaranda Hotels Kenya.
She further noted that destination weddings, conferencing in Kilifi and Kwale, and large-scale events have become compelling propositions for Ugandan buyers who are actively seeking premium experiential travel for their clients.
Improved air connectivity, progressive visa openness policies, enhanced regional infrastructure, forums like POATE and MKTE, familiarization trips for operators and joint conferences continue to accelerate travel flows into Kenyan destinations.
The growing regional market has helped sustain occupancy levels across coastal destinations throughout the year, cushioning the sector against fluctuations in long-haul international markets.
On her part, Margaret Masha, Sales and Marketing Manager for Bamburi Beach, Southern Palms and Royal Zanzibar, highlighted that POATE’s value lies in the bilateral nature of what Kenya and Uganda offer each other.
“Uganda is a top source market for Kenya’s tourism. These two destinations are complementary such that there are things you can only experience in Kenya, and things exclusive to Uganda. That is the basis of a strong tourism partnership,” she said.
Masha noted that Bamburi Beach Hotel, recently refurbished, now offers a range of facilities and services that give it a distinct position within the coast’s competitive hospitality market.
Kenya’s delegation at POATE included a significant number of coast-based hospitality brands who used the expo to market their offerings, among them Neptune Hotels, Reef Hotel, PrideInn, Bamburi, Tamarind, Diamond Leisure and Jacaranda Indian Ocean Beach Resort, alongside several establishments from Kwale County.
