Magical Kenya has received a record five nominations for the 2016 World Travel Awards (WTA), Africa to be held in Zanzibar on April 9, 2016.
Kenya has been nominated for Africa's Leading National Park, Beach Destination, Meetings and Conference Destination, Destination and Tourist Board.
Tourism Principal Secretary Fatuma Hirsi who will be representing Kenya during the gala event said the awards will continue to positively project the profile of the destination.
“The WTA celebrates excellence across the travel tourism and hospitality sector. These prestigious award nominations are a strong reflection of our ongoing commitment to delivering an outstanding quality experience and unique tourism products to our visitors,” she said.
The nominations comes barely a year after Kenya was voted as Leading Safari Destination during the 2015 World Travel Awards (WTA) held in El Jadida, Morocco, on December 12 beating seven other nominees including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
On the regional front the destination took home Africa’s leading Beach and leading National Park. Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) was also voted Africa’s leading tourist board for the fourth time in a row in 2015 while Maasai Mara National Reserve named for the third time as Africa’s leading National Park. Kenya Airways also took home Africa’s Leading Business Class for the third year in a row last year and is nominated again this year in the same category and as the region’s leading airline.
Last year, Kenya was also ranked third most popular African destination for the super-rich tourists during the 12-month period to September 2015 by New World Wealth, a London-based research firm that provides information on the global wealth sector.
Acknowledged across the globe as the hallmark of industry excellence, WTA serves to recognise, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the global travel and tourism industry. This year’s Africa event will be held on Sunday, April 9, 2016 in Zanzibar.
KTB Acting Chief Executive Officer Jacinta Nzioka-Mbithi said the sterling performances by the industry will go a long way in building the country’s brand equity and called on the players in the sector to continuously improve on their service delivery.
“Hospitality industry has to keep pace with the changing needs of clientele and therefore a need for constant improvement of product and services,” she said