Kenya has taken a major step to cement its standing as East Africa’s premier travel destination, with the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), Visa, and Kenya Airways formally announcing a sweeping joint campaign aimed at making flights into the country more affordable and accessible for travellers across the region and beyond.
The partnership, unveiled at a ceremony held at the Kenya Tourism Board’s offices in Nairobi, will run from April through September 2026, a six-month window that straddles some of Kenya’s most sought-after safari and coastal travel seasons.
Under the arrangement, Visa cardholders will receive a 5% discount on local Kenya Airways domestic routes and savings of up to 8% on inbound international flights, redeemable by entering the promo code VISAKQ at the point of booking.
The announcement drew senior representation from all three institutions, with Kenya Tourism Board CEO Ms. June Chepkemei, Visa Senior Vice President for Southern and Eastern Africa Michael Berner, Kenya Airways General Manager for East, Central and Northern Africa Rose Kiseli, and Chad Pollock, Vice President and General Manager of Visa East Africa, all present to mark the occasion.
“Kenya has always offered world-class experiences from the Maasai Mara to the Kenyan coast, and this campaign is about removing the barriers that prevent more people from experiencing them. When we make it easier and more rewarding to travel here, we lift not just visitor numbers but entire communities that depend on tourism,” says Ms. June Chepkemei, the CEO of Kenya Tourism Board
Officials were keen to stress that the collaboration extends well beyond a six-month discount code. The three partners have committed to integrating data-driven insights and digital payment innovation into co-developed marketing initiatives, a move analysts say reflects the growing recognition that tourism competitiveness in East Africa now hinges as much on financial infrastructure as on natural assets.
For Visa, the partnership reinforces its push to deepen card acceptance and usage across the East African travel corridor. Kenya Airways, it offers a powerful incentive to funnel regional and international passengers through Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as the airline continues to expand its network. And for the Kenya Tourism Board, it adds a concrete commercial lever to its broader destination marketing playbook.
The campaign launch comes at a critical juncture for Kenya’s tourism industry, which has been working to recover and grow visitor numbers in a competitive regional landscape. With the April-to-September window covering the Maasai Mara’s wildebeest migration peak as well as Kenya’s long dry season widely considered the best time for game viewing the timing appears carefully calibrated to convert interest into bookings during the country’s highest-demand travel period.
Industry observers noted that Visa’s involvement, with its extensive network of regional cardholders, lends the campaign an unusually wide reach compared to typical airline or tourism board promotions. By tying the discounts to an existing payment method rather than a loyalty programme, the offer is accessible to a much larger pool of potential visitors.
Travellers looking to take advantage of the offer need only enter the code VISAKQ when booking a Kenya Airways flight and complete the transaction using a Visa card. The discount applies to both domestic routes within Kenya and to inbound international flights, with the higher 8% saving available on the latter.
With the campaign live from this month and running through to the end of September, travellers across the region have a six-month window to plan and book. For Kenya, the hope is that lower ticket prices backed by the commercial muscle of two of the world’s largest payment and aviation brands will translate into fuller planes, busier lodges, and a stronger case for the country as East Africa’s travel destination of choice.