Kenya’s proposed Tourism Amendment Bill 2026 is drawing concern from tourism industry players about plans to reorganise government institutions responsible for research, finance, marketing and tourism development.
The Bill seeks to streamline the institutional framework governing tourism with the government arguing that consolidating overlapping functions could improve efficiency, accountability and service delivery while reducing duplication and the cost of maintaining multiple agencies.
At the centre of the proposed changes is the dissolution of the Tourism Research Institute (TRI) and the Tourism Finance Corporation (TFC) with their functions and assets transferred under new arrangements, including an expanded mandate for the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB).
The changes would see the KTB take on responsibilities beyond destination marketing, including tourism research, market intelligence, data and statistics and industry learning platforms.
The Bill also proposes expanding the mandate of the Tourism Fund to finance tourism product development, safety, innovation, crisis communication and county co-financing.
Industry reaction
Fred Odek, Chairman of the Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO), said the association supports the principle of institutional efficiency but cautioned that consolidation should not come at the expense of essential statutory functions.
“Our position is not that institutions can never be consolidated. The issue is making sure that, when you consolidate, you don’t lose necessary functions,” he said.
KATO is particularly concerned about the proposed abolition of the TRI. The association wants the TRI’s existing responsibilities – including tourism statistics, market intelligence, sustainability, carrying capacity and safety research – to be preserved in any new structure.
Odek said simply transferring a broad research mandate to the KTB could create what he described as a potential “data vacuum” if the legislation does not establish clear systems for collecting, managing and sharing tourism information.
KATO is proposing the creation of a Tourism Research and Intelligence Directorate within the KTB together with a statutory National Tourism Data and Intelligence System.
The association also wants the Bill to provide explicit protection for the TRI’s research databases, intellectual property and other information during the transition.
The proposed dissolution of the TFC has raised greater concern for tourism businesses, particularly small and community-based enterprises that rely on specialised financing. KATO is calling for a modern financing model that could include blended finance, green finance and working capital facilities for tourism businesses.
Barry Clemens, CEO of Hospitality EQ, said the Bill is attempting to address a genuine problem. “Kenya’s tourism institutions have had overlapping responsibilities so there is a case for better coordination between research, data, market intelligence and destination marketing.”
He also sees merit in broadening the Tourism Fund to support tourism product development, safety, crisis communication, innovation and county co-financing.
However, Clemens is urging government to carefully consider the timing of another major institutional reorganisation.
He noted that the TFC is among three development-finance institutions – including the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation and IDB Capital – which formed the Kenya Development Corporation in 2020-2021.
“That means we are now considering moving or dissolving a specialised institution only about five or six years after it was absorbed into another structure,” Clemens said. Before undertaking another restructuring, he said, government should demonstrate what was learnt from the previous merger and whether its objectives were achieved.
For Clemens, governance is the biggest issue raised by the proposed Bill. An expanded KTB would potentially oversee destination marketing alongside major research, data and market intelligence functions while also receiving assets and obligations arising from the restructuring. “That could place an unusually large amount of influence and resources in one organisation,” he said.
“If the same institution controls much of the research, the marketing priorities and the implementation or influence over funding decisions, there is a real risk of excessive concentration of power, conflicts of interest and weak accountability,” Clemens added.
He called for clearly separated functions within the KTB, independent oversight of research and data, transparent criteria for Tourism Fund allocations and strong audit and parliamentary reporting requirements.
The proposed county co-financing mechanism has also raised questions about transparency. KATO wants government to publish clear criteria on the allocation of funds to counties to prevent discretionary or opaque decisions.
The association is also pushing for reforms in tourism licensing, arguing that the system should become digital, risk-based and less rigid. It has proposed considering 12-month rolling licence validity rather than fixed calendar year periods.
