The News
Ride-hailing giants Uber and Bolt are disrupting Kenya’s lucrative safari market with new services that are driving fears of price cuts among traditional tour operators.
San Francisco-headquartered Uber, which began operating in Kenya a decade ago, launched its “Uber Safari” service in Nairobi on Sept. 15. Barely a week later Estonian rival Bolt, which debuted in Kenya a year after Uber, said it will launch a safari service by the end of the year.
The news has prompted fears that the services will drive down prices, unsettling local tour operators in Kenya where the tourism sector accounts for 10% of the country’s GDP and employs more than a million people, many working in the safari tours space. “We’ve seen this before, when prices start high then drop,” Felix Migoya, head of the East Africa Tour Guides and Drivers Association, told trade publication Tourism Update. “A safari isn’t a taxi ride; it’s an experience requiring skilled guiding and conservation ethics.”
Uber East Africa General Manager Imran Manji told Semafor the company was “mindful of potential concerns around accessibility, pricing, and impact on local operators” and was therefore working in close consultation with licensed safari companies as well as Kenya’s Tourism Regulatory Authority. He stressed that the company’s new service was “designed to ensure it complements the existing ecosystem rather than replaces it,” saying that it could unlock “new earning opportunities for drivers, guides, and local fleet partners.”
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Uber’s safari service allows app users in Nairobi to book a wheelbase Land Cruiser that seats up to seven passengers for a three-hour game drive in Nairobi National Park, wilderness just three miles from the capital city that is home to animals including lions, giraffes, and cheetahs. It charges 25,000 Kenyan shillings ($194) for a day-trip and 40,000 Kenyan shillings ($309) for a nighttime drive.
The current prices are roughly on par with traditional tour operators who charge between 25,000 Kenyan shillings ($194) and 35,000 Kenyan shillings ($270) for a seven-passenger daytime game drive in Nairobi National Park, but operators fear the apps could lower prices as the service grows.
Uber’s Manji told Semafor the company had trialled the concept of safari tours in South Africa last year in partnership with Aquila Private Game Reserve near Cape Town, applying the learnings from that experience to tailor a service for Kenya. But he said Uber was currently not planning on expanding its safari service to parks beyond Nairobi or outside of Kenya.
Step Back
African safari bookings grew 54% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, with Kenya among key growth drivers, according to data from luxury travel company Kensington Tours.
Kenya’s tourism sector has been on a strong growth trajectory post the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, joining its East African neighbors Rwanda and Tanzania in drawing visitors back. Kenya’s tourism industry generated Kes452 billion ($3.5 billion) in 2024, up 19.79% from 379 billion Kenyan shillings ($3 billion) the previous year, with 2.4 million international tourists visiting the country in 2024. Kenya is targeting attracting 5 million international tourists annually by 2027.
Martin’s view
The entry of taxi-hailing apps Uber and Bolt in Kenya was greeted with antagonism — strikes by traditional taxi operators, protests over pricing by Uber drivers, and even intervention by government agencies. Traditional tour operators are hoping to avoid similar scenarios.
Customers will inevitably gravitate towards convenience. It’s up to tour operators to find ways to adapt to the situation, such as by launching competing local digital services as some taxi hailing companies have done. Uber, Bolt, and other entrants in the space will also have to be cautious on their pricing strategies to avoid regulatory action as was witnessed in their previous tussles over taxi-hailing services with government agencies such as Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority.
Ultimately, the success of Uber and Bolt’s new services will also depend on government decisions on matters such as tourism levies that have made it more expensive to travel. Kenya last month raised national park entry fees by between 50 and 200% to the consternation of many in the industry. Uber’s safari tour fee does not include park entry costs, with tourists required to pay those separately through a government portal. Intra-African travel also remains expensive, limiting the potential pool of visitors.
Kenya’s massive domestic tourism market is another opportunity to tap. Five million domestic tourists visited various attractions in Kenya in 2024, according to the tourism ministry, with the government aiming to double the figure to 10 million this year.
Notable
- Kenyan and Tanzanian tourism industry bodies have warned that new fees meant to boost conservation efforts and improve travel infrastructure could price out visitors.