KTB taps northern Kenya to boost domestic tourism

Kenya Tourism Board CEO June Chepkemei. [File, Standard]

The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) is targeting the untapped potential of the Northern Kenya circuit, positioning the region as a launchpad for a wider domestic tourism drive to lesser-known destinations.

The push forms part of the Board's broader target of 5.6 million bed nights by 2027, anchored in promoting year-round travel across Kenya's diverse regions through a campaign that shifts focus from raising awareness to driving growth in bookings and bed nights.

Dubbed the Hapa Ni Wapi Sales Conversion Campaign, the initiative establishes a national platform that brings together tour operators, county governments and tourism partners under a unified framework for developing and selling structured, ready-to-book travel packages.

Speaking during the flag-off of the first leg in Samburu, KTB Chief Executive June Chepkemei described the launch as a milestone in the Board's efforts to build a more structured domestic tourism market.

According to the CEO, the campaign is intended to showcase the region's wildlife, cultures, landscapes, and community-led conservation.

"This campaign marks a shift in how we approach domestic tourism marketing. Rather than simply raising awareness, we are building direct pathways from interest to booking, working closely with trade partners to package our regions affordably and deliver steady, measurable growth in bed nights nationwide," said Chepkemei.

She noted that domestic tourism has shown steady resilience in recent years, with more Kenyans travelling beyond the familiar coast and savannah circuits, adding that the campaign would help spread visitation more evenly across the calendar year, particularly during the traditionally quiet low and shoulder seasons.

Chalbi Desert and Northern Kenya circuit will serve as the first destination under the initiative, showcasing the untamed beauty of the region and its rich cultural and geographical diversity, before a progressive rollout to Mambrui–Malindi, Western Kenya and other destinations across the country.

The initiative is expected to play a central role in spurring domestic travel growth, serving as a model for how structured, affordable packaging can be replicated across other regional circuits nationwide.

"Our target is to grow bed nights from the 5.15 million recorded in the 2025/26 financial year to 5.6 million this year, and we intend to achieve this through a series of regional activations, starting here in the north before we move to other underexplored circuits later in the year," said Chepkemei.

The CEO further noted the transformation of infrastructure across Northern Kenya as a key enabler and driver of the initiative, adding that improved road access will open up destinations once considered out of reach for ordinary travellers.

According to Tour Operators Society of Kenya (TOSK) Chairperson Raymond Cheruiyot, the campaign is a timely and practical framework that gives the travel trade a structured platform to generate business from the domestic market.

"Our members have long known that Kenyans want to travel locally, but pricing and access have often stood in the way. This campaign gives us a clear structure to package the north affordably and sell it directly, and we are ready to deliver on that promise," said Cheruiyot.

The launch of the campaign comes against the backdrop of sustained expansion in Kenya's domestic tourism market, which has registered consecutive growth in bed nights and visitor numbers over recent years.

Speaking at the event, a County official noted that northern Kenya, long treated as a colonial-era buffer zone, is now opening up as a key tourism frontier. “Tourism is of course a very key aspect in northern Kenya. We have vibrant cultures out here. Of course we have significant wildlife populations,” Guyali Adano, Chief Officer for Tourism, Marsabit County, said.

 “There are people right now in Kenya who don’t know where North Horr is, where Chalbi is,” Guyali Adano said, stressing the need for sustained marketing so that these products become widely known.