Central Kenya posted the fastest growth rate in hotel bed-night occupancy in 2025, signalling a post-Covid boom in domestic tourism and conferencing.
Hotel bed-night occupancy refers to the total number of individual beds occupied by guests per night, rather than the number of rooms sold at a facility.
Official data shows that the Central region recorded a 32.9 percent growth in hotel bed-night occupancy last year, outpacing the Coast, Nairobi and Maasailand.
The region posted 1,168,800 bed-nights in 2025, up from 897,500 the previous year, marking the sharpest increase among all regions. Coastal beach bed-nights rose to 4,938,900 in 2025 from 4,135,900 a year earlier, representing a 19.41 percent increase.
Data shows that hotel bed-night occupancy in the coastal hinterland grew by 26 percent to 772,800 in 2025.
‘In contrast, hotel bed-night occupancy declined in the coastal other region and Maasailand by 40 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively, in 2025,’ the newly released Economic Survey 2026 said.
The Nairobi high-end segment recorded 1,972,400 bed-nights in 2025, compared with 1,879,800 the previous year, reflecting a 4.92 percent increase.
Coast shift
The South Coast emerged as the most preferred destination, followed by Kilifi, Malindi and Lamu. Bed-night occupancy at the South Coast more than quadrupled from 590,400 in 2024 to 2,537,100 in 2025.
By contrast, bed-night occupancy at the North Coast and Mombasa Island declined by 55.1 percent and 40 percent to 1,180,300 and 76,300, respectively, in 2025.
The Economic Survey further shows that bed-nights occupied by Kenyan residents at the Coast and in Nairobi declined by 6.2 percent and 1.9 percent to 2,316,300 and 811,900, respectively, in 2025.
‘On the other hand, the number of bed-nights occupied by residents of Italy and France at the Coast increased from 340,200 and 94,200 in 2024 to 685,600 and 242,200, respectively, in 2025. Kenyan residents’ spending in lodges increased by 32.2 percent to 364,400 in 2025,’ the survey said.
Mixed trends
Bed-nights in game lodges declined from 1,116,200 in 2024 to 1,036,000 in 2025, while occupancy in game reserves rose by 10.1 percent to 430,500.
However, occupancy in national parks fell from 725,100 in 2024 to 605,500 in 2025.
‘Visitors to game reserves and national parks who prefer self-service rose from 171,600 in 2024 to 235,900 in 2025,’ the survey said.