New Zealand Visitors Spend Most Per Day in Kenya, KNBS Survey Finds

The data come from KNBS’s 2025 Inbound and Outbound Tourism Expenditure Survey, published in 2026 and based on surveys conducted in December 2024 and June 2025. They measure average daily expenditure by visitors’ country of residence and travel arrangement.

They do not, on their own, show the total revenue generated by each nationality, because total spending also depends on visitor numbers and length of stay.

Which visitors spent the most?

In June 2025, New Zealand residents recorded average daily spending of KSh78,095. Visitors from the United States followed at KSh60,141, while those from Australia spent KSh48,230. Visitors from the East African Community recorded the lowest average at KSh7,130 a day.

The rankings differed in December 2024. New Zealand residents again recorded the highest average daily expenditure, at KSh39,771. West African visitors followed at KSh30,820, then visitors from Canada at KSh29,714. The lowest average in that survey period was among visitors from the East African Community, at KSh8,090 a day.

Looking across both periods, KNBS reported an overall daily average of KSh47,755 for New Zealand residents, KSh40,355 for visitors from the United States and KSh29,473 for those from Canada. Visitors from the East African Community spent an average KSh7,631 a day. The overall average for an inbound visitor was KSh19,306.

These figures are averages, not spending guarantees for every traveller from a particular country. A visitor’s budget can vary with the purpose of the trip, the length of the stay, season, accommodation, transport and the activities purchased.

Package tours show a wide spending gap

The survey also found a large difference between visitors on organised package tours and those who arranged their trips independently. In December 2024, average daily spending for package tourists was KSh40,702, compared with KSh10,883 for non-package visitors.

In June 2025, package-tour spending was KSh49,444 a day, while the average for non-package travel was KSh8,796. Across the two survey periods, KNBS reported average daily expenditure of KSh43,879 for package tourists and KSh10,119 for non-package visitors.

The figures suggest that organised tours are associated with higher recorded daily spending in these survey periods. They do not establish that the package itself caused the difference. Package prices may include accommodation, transfers, meals, guided excursions and entry fees, while independent visitors may pay for these items separately or choose different levels of service.

For hotels, tour operators, transport providers, guides, restaurants and shops, the distinction matters when designing offers. A business targeting package tourists may need relationships with tour companies and services that can be bundled into itineraries.

Businesses serving independent travellers may benefit from clear prices, easy booking and options that allow visitors to select activities individually. Those are commercial considerations, not outcomes measured directly by the survey.

Why the figures matter for tourism businesses

Tourism demand is often discussed through arrivals and overnight stays, but expenditure adds another measure: how much visitors spend each day. That helps distinguish a market with many visitors and modest daily spending from one where fewer travellers may spend more per day. Neither measure alone gives the full picture.

Mwenendo’s earlier report, JKIA departures rose in July, but the official data did not explain the increase, illustrates why movement counts must be interpreted carefully. Passenger totals do not automatically identify tourists, their reasons for travel or their spending.

The expenditure survey answers a different question and should be read alongside, rather than substituted for, arrivals and tourism-receipts data.

The survey also does not mean Kenya should focus only on visitors with the highest daily averages. Regional travellers who spend less per day may still be important because of their numbers, repeat visits, travel patterns or spending in particular destinations. The data do not quantify the total contribution of each market without combining expenditure with visitor volumes and length of stay.

The next evidence businesses need

Tourism businesses and policymakers can use future survey rounds to see whether spending patterns persist across seasons and whether changes reflect visitor mix, prices or travel arrangements. Comparisons should use the same measures and periods, and should not treat a change in daily averages as proof that total tourism earnings rose or fell.

For now, the KNBS survey identifies New Zealand residents as the highest daily spenders in the reported periods and shows a substantial gap between package and non-package visitors. Turning that information into business decisions requires additional evidence on visitor numbers, trip duration, destination choices and the costs of serving each market.