Kenya Tourist Board is celebrating a successful 2010 for tourism after officially releasing its Tourism Performance International Arrivals figures for last year.

Tourist arrivals for 2010 by air and sea totalled 1,095,842 compared to 952,481 in 2009, an increase of 15.1 per cent, while the United Kingdom maintained the top position in market share.

The former colonial power accounted for controlling 15.9 per cent of all inbound arrivals by air and sea.

The top five rankings also remained the same as in 2009 with the UK the highest source market for international arrivals by air and sea (174,051) followed by the United States (107,842), Italy (87,694), Germany (63,011) and France (50,039).

Kenya has also sought to boost 2011 visitor numbers recently, lowering the cost of visas to visit the country.

Worldwide, arrivals surpassed 2007’s previously record performance when compared in the same period at 1,048,732 which is an increase of 4.5 per cent.

As a result, 2010 became the best year yet for Kenya’s tourism industry in relation to international arrivals.

According to UNWTO international tourism rebounded strongly in 2010, with international tourist arrivals up 6.7 per cent over 2009 to 935 million.

This increase more than offsets the decline caused by the economic downturn, with an additional 22 million arrivals compared to the former peak year of 2008.