UGANDA is seeking to increase cross-border tourist flows with Kenya by promoting joint holiday packages, easing travel bottlenecks and using technology to connect tourism businesses in the two countries.
The East African neighbours will bring more than 200 decision-makers from the tourism, technology, government and investment sectors together in Mombasa later this month to explore ways of turning regional travel into a bigger source of tourism revenue.
The fifth Uganda–Kenya Coast Tourism and Innovation Summit, scheduled for October 26–27 at Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort, comes as Kenya targets five million international visitor arrivals by 2027.
The summit, organised by the Consulate General of the Republic of Uganda in Mombasa alongside tourism stakeholders from both destinations, will focus on removing policy bottlenecks, improving mobility and using technology to develop tourism products.
Uganda is already Kenya's second-largest source market for international visitors, behind the United States, with arrivals increasing from 201,623 in 2024 to 234,556 in 2025, according to the Kenya Tourism Board.
This represents growth of about 16.3 per cent in one year.
Meanwhile, Kenyan visitors to Uganda increased from 466,902 to 519,041 over the same period, according to the Uganda Tourism Board.
The combined traffic exceeded 750,000 visitors in 2025, highlighting the commercial potential of regional tourism and joint destination marketing.
Herbert Kiguli, Uganda's Consul General in Mombasa, said the two destinations should be marketed as complementary products rather than competing for visitors.
“Kenya's ambition of five million visitors is one Uganda shares, because our two destinations grow together,” Kiguli said in a statement read on his behalf during the Magical Kenya Travel Expo 2026 in Nairobi.
“Our task now is to remove what still slows travellers down, cost, access and paperwork, so that a visitor to the Coast can add Uganda to the same trip, and the other way round.”
The proposed joint packages would allow tourists to combine beach holidays in Mombasa or Diani with wildlife experiences in Uganda, including gorilla trekking, safaris and visits to the source of the Nile.
For tourism businesses, the approach could create opportunities to increase spending per visitor by encouraging longer stays and linking accommodation, transport, tour operations and attractions across the border.
Unlike previous editions of the annual tourism platform, the 2026 meeting has been elevated to a summit intended to move discussions towards policy action and commercial partnerships.
A key agenda item will be Article 104 of the East African Community Treaty, which addresses cooperation on the free movement of persons, labour and services.
The session is expected to produce a joint declaration on measures needed to improve regional mobility and address barriers affecting tourism and business travel.
The organisers say the summit will also feature an innovation showcase where youth-led technology ventures demonstrate digital tourism prototypes to a panel drawn from UTB, KTB and private-sector investors.
Business-to-business meetings will connect tour operators, technology developers, investors and institutional buyers to explore partnerships and facilitate deals.
The emphasis on technology reflects efforts to make it easier for travellers to discover, book and combine tourism experiences across national borders.
However, the commercial success of joint packages will depend on addressing the practical challenges travellers face, including transport costs, flight connections, travel documentation and coordination between tourism operators.
Improved regional connectivity could allow Kenya's coastal tourism businesses to benefit from Uganda's wildlife attractions, while Ugandan operators could sell beach extensions to visitors seeking a wider East African holiday.
The summit follows several years of collaboration between the Ugandan Consulate in Mombasa and tourism stakeholders along the Kenyan Coast.
The platform, established in 2022, has built a network of travel agents, tour operators, hoteliers and tourism organisations working to promote the two destinations jointly.
Its familiarisation trip programme has exposed more than 450 stakeholders to tourism products on both sides of the border, according to the organisers.
This year's programme includes excursions along the Kenyan Coast from October 22 to 25, followed by a familiarisation trip to Uganda for Kenyan delegates from November 1 to 8.
The trips are intended to give tourism professionals first-hand experience of the destinations, helping them develop packages and market products to their clients.
The 2026 summit also coincides with the tenth anniversary of the Ugandan Consulate General's work in Mombasa, where it promotes cooperation in tourism, trade, investment and cultural exchange.
For Kenya, the initiative offers an opportunity to increase arrivals from a neighbouring market that already accounts for a significant share of regional travel while for Uganda, stronger links with coastal operators could provide access to international visitors entering Kenya for beach holidays and other tourism experiences.
The challenge will be translating the growing visitor numbers into more commercially integrated products, supported by reliable transport connections, coordinated marketing and smoother cross-border travel.
