Kenya Airways joins forces with TUI to relaunch KQ Holidays and boost tourism

Kenya Airways relaunches its brand KQ Holidays by joining forces with TUI Airline Holidays to offer dynamic holidays combining flights, accommodation and experiences, and to position Kenya - and Africa more widely - as a leading year-round tourist destination.

Announced on March 2, 2026 in Nairobi, this partnership is also in line with the Kenyan national airline's strategy of diversifying its revenues beyond air transport, by capitalizing on its Nairobi hub to capture more value from the tourism chain. The new version of KQ Holidays presents itself as an end-to-end booking platform that enables you to assemble a single transaction Kenya Airways flights, superior accommodations, airport transfers and a range of local experiences.

Travelers can opt either for à la carte services (flight only, hotel only, activities), or for dynamic packages combining several services according to their budget and traveler profile. Technically, the offer is based on a white-label solution provided by TUI Airline Holidays, a subsidiary of the TUI group, which ensures real-time management of hotel and activity inventories, as well as customization of the options offered. TUI, which operates several European airlines as well as a vast portfolio of tour operators and hotels, is thus providing Kenya Airways with a technological infrastructure already tried and tested in other leisure markets.

Nairobi, stopover hub and upmarket lever

One of the most strategic aspects of the redesign concerns passengers in transit via the Nairobi hub, who are invited to transform a simple connection into a genuine tourist stopover. The platform makes it possible to add a stopover in Kenya to the same travel file, with synchronization of flights, transfers and excursion departures, to streamline the customer journey from tarmac to safari or beach.

In concrete terms, Kenya Airways and TUI are positioning themselves on a range of micro-stays, from a city tour of a few hours in Nairobi to 24- to 48-hour getaways to Nairobi National Park or other emblematic sites before continuing the journey. For the company, the stakes are twofold: to increase average spending per passenger and to establish Nairobi as a high value-added connecting hub in the face of competition from major hubs in the Gulf or Ethiopia.

Income diversification and sustainable tourism

On the commercial front, Kenya Airways is pursuing an upmarket, diversification strategy, at a time when African carriers are seeking to reduce their dependence on ticket revenues alone. «The launch of KQ Holidays is an important step in our drive to expand choice for our customers and create more value beyond the flight.», says Julius Thairu, Chief Commercial and Customer Officer at Kenya Airways.

The company also promotes an approach based on sustainable tourism and local roots: packages are presented as a way of supporting the economy of Kenyan communities by combining hotels, guides and experiences. «authentic». KQ Holidays is thus set to become a showcase for the country's assets - safaris, Indian Ocean coastline, culture and heritage - while aligning itself with growing expectations for responsible travel.

A new bridgehead in Africa for TUI

For TUI Airline Holidays, This alliance marks a new stage in the company's expansion on the African continent, beyond its traditional European and Mediterranean markets. «We are delighted to extend our expertise to the African market through this partnership with Kenya Airways, comments Danyal Kaya, Head of Specialist Businesses at TUI, who sees this as an opportunity to «generate additional revenue» for the Kenyan company while offering differentiated experiences.

The TUI Group, which boasts several airlines, over a hundred medium- and long-haul aircraft and a portfolio of hundreds of hotels, thus confirms its strategy of deploying its digital platforms in support of third-party airline partners.