Kenya Opens Skies to Boost Foreign Arrivals and Tourism Growth

Kenya is relaxing restrictions on foreign carriers to reach its target of 5 million international tourists by 2028. Tourism Principal Secretary Julius Bitok announced that the government will ease aviation policies and boost flight frequencies to overcome current capacity limits and double last year’s 2.7 million arrivals.

Key strategies and developments include

• Open Skies Initiative: The state plans to lift caps on weekly flight frequencies and allow more airlines into the country to foster a more flexible aviation environment.
• Infrastructure Upgrades: To support increased capacity, officials are targeting improvements to short runways at coastal airports, specifically in Malindi and Diani.
• Industry Push: Tourism stakeholders, including the Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers, have advocated for these reforms to help Kenya stay competitive against other regional destinations.