Before a single exhibitor sets up a stand. Before the first buyer lands at JKIA. Before the show floor at Uhuru Gardens sees its opening day crowd. Something else happens. The industry gathers. Quietly. Over breakfast. And the real conversation begins.

That is exactly what happened last Tuesday morning at the Nairobi Serena Hotel, where the Magical Kenya Travel Expo 2026 held its Partners Breakfast the official soft launch of East Africa’s largest travel trade event, now entering its 16th edition.

Government. Industry. Sponsors. Partners. All in one room.

The Nairobi Serena Hotel’s event spaces filled from 7:30am as the Kenya Tourism Board, the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife and the MKTE secretariat welcomed partners, sponsors and industry stakeholders who have, across sixteen editions, helped build this event into something the continent talks about.

The programme opened with remarks from June Chepkemei, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Tourism Board. Industry associations including KTF, KATO, KATA and TOSK each made their remarks on the industry and the upcoming exhibition confirming the government’s commitment to making MKTE 2026 the most impactful edition of the event in its sixteen-year history.

The Bomas of Kenya delivered a live cultural performance that did what only Bomas can reminded everyone in the room, including those hearing about Kenya for the first time, exactly what this destination carries.

June Chepkemei on why MKTE matters more now than it ever has

KTB CEO June Chepkemei set the tone of the morning with remarks that were equal parts gratitude, ambition and strategic clarity. Her core message was simple: MKTE has never been just a trade fair, and in 2026, it will prove that more decisively than ever before.

“MKTE has evolved into one of Africa’s leading tourism trade exhibitions, bringing together the global travel trade, destination marketers, airlines, hotels, tour operators, travel agents, technology companies, investors, development partners, media, and tourism professionals from around the world. This growth has not happened by accident.”

— June Chepkemei, CEO, Kenya Tourism Board

She acknowledged the network of partners, sponsors, county governments, private sector operators and media who have consistently chosen to invest in this platform across its sixteen years and was direct about what that investment has produced.

The 2025 edition left no room for doubt about MKTE’s trajectory. Delegates grew by 84 percent. B2B meetings increased by 43 percent. Revenue reached KES 102.1 million, a 21 percent jump on the previous year. And the digital footprint of the event expanded to 21.8 million impressions, confirming that what happens in Nairobi in October now resonates well beyond the show floor.

What MKTE 2025 delivered, the baseline for 2026

Before looking ahead, the morning looked back. The numbers from 2025 make the case for why MKTE 2026 commands serious attention from any tourism professional still on the fence about attending.

These numbers also carried an honest reflection. The CEO noted that 2025 surfaced real operational challenges venue infrastructure issues including power disruptions and loose flooring, and low uptake of digital accreditation that led to crowding at registration points. MKTE 2026 has been designed with those lessons at the centre of its planning, not the margin.

MKTE 2026 the 16th edition and the final one at Uhuru Gardens

This morning announced something that gives October an added weight: MKTE 2026 is the final edition to be held at Uhuru Gardens. After sixteen years, the event moves to a new home from 2027. That makes this October not just the biggest edition yet, but the last of a chapter.

The theme for MKTE 2026 is Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence: Shaping the Future of Tourism a deliberate choice that positions the event at the intersection of Kenya’s destination strengths and the technological forces reshaping how the world discovers, researches and books travel.

June Chepkemei was precise about what this theme means in practice. Technology is not replacing what makes Kenya extraordinary. It is amplifying it. AI-powered marketing, personalised campaign delivery and data-driven audience targeting are tools that sit in service of the wildlife, the culture, the landscapes and the human stories that have always been Kenya’s competitive edge.

The 2026 edition targets a significant step up in scale and commercial rigour. The event is targeting 400+ exhibitors, 10,000+ attendees, 160+ quality vetted buyers, 10,000+ B2B meetings and 30+ fam trip itineraries.

What is structurally different this year is the depth of private sector involvement. The industry is not just attending MKTE 2026. It is helping to build it. Private sector partners are co-ordinating the expo, participating in hosted buyer vetting and approval, and leading the fam trip programme through DMC partnerships. The expanded MICE buyer programme also signals a deliberate push into conference and incentive tourism the segment with the highest per-visitor spend and the strongest year-round potential.

The bigger picture: where MKTE sits in Kenya’s tourism ambition

MKTE does not exist in isolation. It is the B2B engine of a national tourism strategy that is running at pace.

The Kenya Tourism Board’s international campaign, Experience Wonder Origin of Wonder, is currently positioning Kenya globally not as a collection of individual attractions but as a complete destination experience. Wildlife. Culture. Adventure. Cuisine. Creativity. Human connection. The campaign is designed to move beyond postcard imagery and into the emotional territory that drives real booking decisions.

Domestically, the Tembea Kenya and Hapa Ni Wapi campaigns are building the kind of strong internal travel culture that makes a tourism economy genuinely resilient — one that does not depend entirely on international arrivals to sustain the sector through seasons and cycles.

The KTB’s performance targets for 2026 and 2027 are not modest. Tourist arrivals are targeted at 4.22 million in 2026/27, up from 2.79 million in 2025/26, on a trajectory toward 5.5 million by 2027/28. Revenue is targeted to reach KES 759.6 billion this financial year, heading toward the one trillion shilling mark by 2027/28. Brand awareness is targeted at 82 percent this year and 84 percent the year after.

MKTE is the commercial mechanism that converts all of that marketing into actual business. It is where the campaign becomes a contract, where the destination becomes a booking, where Kenya’s ambition becomes somebody else’s confirmed itinerary.

“MKTE is where destination marketing translates into business opportunities. This year, we anticipate hosting approximately 250 carefully selected international buyers, over 400 exhibitors and co-exhibitors, and more than 5,000 travel professionals from around the world.”

— June Chepkemei, CEO, Kenya Tourism Board

A new framework for the travel trade: from seller to partner

One of the more significant structural announcements at the breakfast was the Kenya Tourism Board’s Trade Incentive Programme a formalised growth journey for travel agents and trade partners who choose to sell Kenya.

The framework runs in four stages: Certified Specialist, Active Seller, Kenya Ambassador and Growth Partner. It is backed by a practical incentive toolkit covering fam trips, cash incentives, joint marketing support, supplier offers, sponsored rewards and merchandise. The intention is clear: move beyond marketing to conversion, and reward the partners who are actively closing bookings for Kenya.

It is the kind of programme that turns casual sellers into committed advocates — and it is precisely what a destination competing at Kenya’s level needs in its distribution network.

One last time at Uhuru Gardens. Let’s make it count.

Sixteen editions of MKTE. Each one building on the last. Each one adding a layer to what has become Africa’s most credible tourism trade platform and Kenya’s most commercially impactful industry event.

The 16th edition closes a chapter at Uhuru Gardens and carries more ambition into October than any edition before it. A new theme. Private sector co-leadership. An expanded buyer programme. DMC-led fam trips. A government that is tracking arrivals, bed nights and revenue with the precision of a sector that knows exactly what it is capable of.

October 6 to 8, 2026. If you are anywhere in the travel and tourism industry and you are not yet registered, this morning’s conversation should have settled the matter.

The floor is open. Come and take your place on it. www.mkte.co.ke