Kenya’s tourism sector needs stronger crisis-management, health-security and risk-response systems before the next major disruption strikes, Kenya Airways has warned.
Kenya Airways Chief Commercial and Customer Officer Julius Thairu said the industry must move from relying on experience gained from past crises to deliberately building systems that can withstand future shocks.
Thairu was speaking during a panel discussion at the Magical Kenya Travel Expo (MKTE) 2026, held around the UN Tourism World Tourism Day theme, “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism.”
The session, titled “Tourism Preparedness and Resilience Beyond Global Crisis,” examined measures the sector can adopt to protect travellers and tourism businesses during future disruptions.
Thairu identified three areas requiring greater attention: a travel insurance market that serves both tourism operators and visitors, a health-security system capable of responding beyond Nairobi, and a coordinated crisis-management and business-continuity framework.
“Kenya’s tourism sector has proven its resilience time and again, from post-election violence to COVID-19 to the 2024 protests, largely on the strength of the product and the determination of individual operators,” Thairu said.
He, however, warned that surviving previous crises should not be mistaken for being adequately prepared for the next one.
“But surviving a crisis is not the same as being built for one,” he said, calling for systems that can strengthen traveller confidence, protect tourism businesses and accelerate recovery when disruptions occur.
The call comes as Kenya continues to position tourism as a major source of foreign exchange, employment and investment, making the sector’s ability to withstand global and domestic shocks increasingly important.
Kenya Airways is the official airline partner of MKTE 2026.
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