Muriithi Ndegwa, managing director, Kenya Tourism Board, speaks to Breaking Travel News at the World Travel Awards Africa Gala Ceremony hosted by Safari Park Hotel & Casino, Kenya.

Kenya has dominated at the 20th World Travel Awards Africa Gala Ceremony hosted by Kenya Tourism Board at Safari Park Hotel & Casino, with the destination picking up more than ten awards. Kenya Tourism Board led the pack by retaining the title of Africa’s Leading Tourist board after its first win in 2012.   

The third edition of the annual Magical Kenya Travel Expo, a high profile international tourism exhibition hosted by the Kenya Tourism Board, has launched in Nairobi. The expo is one of the fastest growing exhibitions in the tourism industry aimed at raising the profile of the destination, and this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of Kenyan independence.

At least 68 people have been killed during a shooting rampage at a shopping mall in an upscale district of Nairobi which is popular with tourists and British expatriates. The attack, which is ongoing, is thought to have been orchestrated by extremists from the Somali al-Shabab movement in protest at Kenyan activity in Somalia.

Organisers of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum and other leaders of the hotel investment community have welcomed the new pro-tourism administration in Kenya, hot on the heels of the announcement by the president of several ministerial candidates. The new government stood for election with tourism highlighted in its manifesto and since Uhuru Kenyatta’s inauguration, commitments have been made to increase the intensity of Kenya’s tourism marketing activity, to double the number of tourists to three million a year and to provide incentives to encourage investment in tourist accommodation.

This year’s Maralal Camel Derby is set for August 24-26, 2012 with more countries expected to participate in the event following aggressive marketing and publicity campaigns the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) has rolled out.