NAIROBI, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Tourist arrivals in Kenya through its two major international airports surged 49.9 percent in the first quarter of 2023 as the country continued to record a resurgence in tourism activities, according to new economic data released Monday.

The East African nation received 337,825 tourists through Jomo Kenyatta airport in the national capital of Nairobi and Moi airport in Mombasa, a coastal city, up from 225,321 during a similar period in 2022, the Central Bank of Kenya said in its report.

Most of the tourists, 292,979, arrived through the Jomo Kenyatta airport while the rest through Moi airport.

Besides the two airports that account for 90 percent of arrivals, some tourists also come by sea and chartered flights.

The tourism sector is one of Kenya's leading foreign exchange earners alongside horticulture, tea and diaspora.

The rise in the number of arrivals points to sustained growth since the sector started to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

Tourist arrivals stood at 1.48 million in 2022, a 70 percent increase as compared to 2021. This earned Kenya 268.09 billion shillings (about 1.93 billion U.S. dollars), up from 1.05 billion dollars in 2021.

Peninah Malonza, cabinet secretary for Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage, said recently that authorities are this year focusing marketing efforts on emerging markets. Enditem

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