KENYA TOURISM AWARDS 2012 WINNERS UNVEILED AT COLORFUL GALA:

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Iris Francis
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1 Kenya Tourism Federation Secretariat P.O. Box , Nairobi Tel: ; Wireless: Cell: / Newsletter Issue 20, 6th July 2012 IN THIS ISSUE, KENYA TOURISM AWARDS 2012 Winners Unveiled at Colorful Gala on 22nd June EVENT CALENDAR KENYA TOURISM AWARDS 2012 WINNERS UNVEILED AT COLORFUL GALA: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; and for-thisreason, the tourism sector once again came together to celebrate its milestones in the journey towards excellence in sustainable tourism, through Kenya Tourism s KETA 2012 winners were unveiled at a gala dinner hosted by Kenya Tourism Federation and Kenya Tourist Board at Carnivore Nairobi, on 22 nd June. The gala was graced by Morocco National Tourism Federation President, Mr. Ali Ghannam and Tourism Assistant Minister Hon. Cecily Mbarire as guests of honor, among other dignitaries. Speaking at the gala, Tourism Assistant Minister Hon. Mbarire noted that the awards come at a time when the sector has recorded remarkable growth for the last two years and noted that the awards thus serves as recognition of the role the industry plays and contributes to the country s economy through the sector s GDP portfolio of 11%.

2 lio of 11%. KTF Chairperson Lucy Karume emphasized the value of partnership between the sector and the media so as to tap into the immense power that the media possess to drive growth of the sector and the country s economy; while KTB board member Patricia Ithau urged the industry to work hard and continually focus on improving service delivery to meet global standards. By being more innovative, customer-oriented, we will steer this sector to greater heights of prosperity, said Ms Ithau. In its second year, KETA 2012 comes in the backdrop of improved performance by the tourism sector despite several challenges. The awards centered on the theme Celebrate, Sustain, Diversify Tourism - Kenya Tourism s seek to promote diversification of the country s tourism product; so as to reduce pressure on the traditional natural tourist attractions and conserve them for posterity. At the heart of the awards evaluation process is demonstration by competing businesses of sustainable tourism practices, including support to local communities and resource saving initiatives. We congratulate KETA 2012 winners for their leadership and for pioneering the highest standards of excellence in tourism. The level of competition registered among the entries received is highly inspiring and indicates that indeed all KETA 2012 nominees are noteworthy for their efforts in sustainable tourism. KETA 2012 also celebrated members of the media who have done an outstanding job in reporting on and promoting tourism, in the categories Best Magazine, TV Journalist, and Digital media; the judges did not award Best Radio Journalist as the entry received in this category scored below the threshold for the award. Similarly, the judges did not award Domestic Tourism award to any of the entries received in this category because nominees scored below the minimum mark for the award. The winners of Kenya Tourism s 2012 are: AWARD CATEGORY Travel Agency Best tourism attraction Domestic Tourism Air Operator of the Year Tour Operator of Year Medium sized tour operator Large tour operator WINNER Express Travel Group Ltd Carnivore Restaurant Nairobi Judges declared no winner in this category as nominees scored below the minimum mark for the award AIRKENYA Express Exotic Golf Safaris Cheli & Peacock

3 Large tour operator Support & Integration with Local Community Best Entertainment Facility Best Accommodation Facility City hotel Beach / coast hotel Inland hotel Medium sized lodge Large lodge Newspaper Journalist Best Magazine Digital Media Television Journalist Radio Journalist Cheli & Peacock Porini Safari camps: Judges scored Porini Amboseli, Porini Mara & Porini Lion equally for the award Carnivore Simba Saloon Intercontinental Nairobi Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort & Spa Tortilis camp Sarova Mara Game Camp Peter Muiruri Go Places Leisure & Travel Guides E A Eat Out Kenya Francis Mutegi & Steve Mwei Judges declared no winner in this category as the nominee scored below the minimum mark for the award We wish to thank our sponsors East Africa Breweries Ltd, Kenya Airports Authority, PKF, Equity bank and Capital FM for their support; and tourism sector decision makers and stakeholders for their support which ensured the awards was a success1 Kenya Tourism Federation is the umbrella body for the private sector in tourism in Kenya and represents 7 key private sector associations in tourism in Kenya: Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers & Caterers Kenya Association of Tour Operators Pubs, Restaurants & Entertainment Association of Kenya Kenya Association of Air Operators Ecotourism Kenya Mombasa Coast Tourism Association Kenya Association of Travel Agents; KTB is the government marketing arm for tourism in Kenya.

4 EVENT CALENDAR EVENT VENUE DATE WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS 2012 IN- DIAN OCEAN GALA NAIROBI 26th September To remove your name from our mailing list, please click here. Questions or comments? us at or call (0)

Kenya South Africa USA

Kenya South Africa USA Kenya Tourism Federation Secretariat P.O. Box 15013-00509, Nairobi Tel: 020 8001000; Wireless:020 8001001 Cell: 0722-745645 / 0738-617499 www.kenyatourism.or.ke www.tourismawards.or.ke 25th Sept 2012 IN