Kenya's tourism industry is enjoying phenomenal growth, with $800 million earned from visitors last year, making the sector the country's most profitable earner and this year the tourist board expects to yield $1 billion.

After a setback when the US market posted travel warnings following bombings in 1998 and 2002, American travellers actually increased by 20.7 per cent last year, Reuters reports.

Following extensive worldwide advertising campaigns across a variety of media, visitors have been returning to the country during the last three years and the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) have announced that March 2007 had been the most profitable month ever for tourism.

Although the KTB expects a growing number of travellers from Russia and China, traditional markets such as Europe and Japan will still feature strongly.

This is particularly true of UK visitors as Virgin Atlantic will start running daily flights from London to Nairobi next month, bringing 100,000 more travellers to the Kenyan capital in the next twelve months. If successful, Virgin has said it would add another flight at a later date.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), which runs over 60 parks and animal sanctuaries, is planning improved facilities at its resorts and repairs are already beginning on the potholed road leading to the main Maasai Mara reserve. Smartcards have also been introduced for tourists to sign in and out of the park automatically.

Although competition has grown from other safari destinations such as South Africa and Tanzania, the Kenyan government still expects to more than double the number of visitors to the country to five million by 2012.