The Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA) has approved the appointment of its first batch of 57 key employees to takeover strategic positions at the newly state corporation.

TRA chairman Sammy Nyule Ngumbao said the new employees will be deployed at the authority’s headquarters in Nairobi and in counties that include Mombasa, Nyeri, Kisumu, Malindi, Nakuru and Eldoret.

Full in-tray for TRA

“TRA has through a full board of directors meeting on May 12, 2017, approved the appointment of its batch of 57 key staff on permanent and pensionable terms in line with the Jubilee Government’s manifesto of creating employment opportunities to all Kenyans,” Mr Ngumbao said in a statement.

The TRA chairman said the authority, which has formulated tourist facilities’ classification criteria for Kenya and the Eastern African region, has mandated the management of TRA to work with tourism investors and other stakeholders to achieve the high hospitality standards across the industry for both international and domestic tourists.

TRA is established under section 4 of the Tourism Act no.28 of 2011 and is mandated to regulate the tourism sector in Kenya. This entails developing regulations, standards and guidelines that are necessary to ensure an all-round quality service delivery in the tourism sector.

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The Authority’s key functions include, among others, formulating guidelines and prescribe measures for sustainable tourism throughout the country, regulating tourism activities and services countrywide, in accordance with the National Tourism Strategy as well as developing and implementing criteria for standardization and classification of tourism facilities and services.

Mr Ngumbao appealed to tourism investors to cooperate with TRA staff to help revamp the tourism industry’s performance after Kenya re-emerged as the best choice for conference tourism in the region.

[crp]