Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Najib Balala, has inaugurated the Tourism Research Institute (TRI) Board to provide leadership and direction to the management of the Tourism Research Institute.
Balala urged the Board to show its significance through programme activities and results.
He further advised them to affiliate themselves with tourism-related international research agencies, embrace technology through online research that will help in bench-marking and come up with evidenced-based analysis when giving advice.
“The government has full confidence in this Board and we want tangible results in form of statistical evidence. The Board members were selected because of their own value. I am very confident the team will deliver and give their best,” says CS Balala on Wednesday.
The Ministry has secured Sh40 million and space for the Board to operate from Kenya Utalii College. The (TRI) Board is composed of the following members:
(i) Chairperson - Jennifer Barassa
(ii) PS Tourism - Fatuma Hirsi Mohammed (Alternate Stella Amadi, MoT)
(iii) PS Finance or Alternate
(iv) PS Science and Education or Alternate
(v) Director General, KNBS - Mr. Zachary Mwangi
(vi) Director, KIPPRA - Dr. Dickson Khainga
(vii) Prof. Masibo Lumala
(viii) Dr Rahab Njeri Nyagah
(ix) Kenneth Kiprono
(x) Kemboi Bernard Koech
(xi) Zahra Bahlewa Moi
(xii) Michael Riungu – Ag CEO TRI
Jennifer Barassa, Chair of the TRI Board welcomed the opportunity to enhance tourism decision-making using sound data and statistics.
She said, “Thank you for giving me this honour of chairing this Board. There is need for the Board to have a vision and strategies of collecting and analysing data/information. I will ensure that we work as a team to help TRI deliver on its mandate.”
The Tourism Research Institute (TRI) was established under Section 51 of the Tourism Act No. 28 of 2011.
Its object and purpose is to undertake and co-ordinate tourism research and analysis in accordance with the provisions of the Act.