Kenya crowned top safari destination

The annual Great Migration of wildebeest and other grazing herbivores across the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem (PHOTO:FILE)

Kenya has been named the World’s Leading Safari Destination by World Travel Awards (WTA) at the 27th Annual WTA Grand Final 2020 held to celebrate excellence in the global travel and tourism industry.

This is the seventh time in eight years that the country has won the award. Kenya Tourism Board Chairman Jimi Kariuki said the win is a testament to the country’s superior offering while CEO Betty Radier said the award cements Kenya's position as a key tourist destination.

The award comes barely three weeks after the destination scooped top continental awards in the inaugural Africa Winners Day, at the World Travel Awards. This included being named Africa’s Leading Tourist Destination with Nairobi being voted as Africa’s Leading Business Travel Destination. KTB prevailed as Africa’s Leading Tourism Board.

Earlier, Kenya also scooped the award for Africa’s Best Golfing Destination during the 7th Annual World Golf Awards held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Kenya prides itself in having the best safari destinations such the World famous Maasai Mara National Reserve, Amboseli National Park, the Tsavo East and West National Parks, Lake Nakuru National Park as well as Nairobi National Park-the only national park in the world within a Capital city.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) Chairman, Jimi Kariuki lauded the win as yet another milestone for Kenya’s tourism industry adding that it was a testament to the country’s superior offering of the Safari experience.

“This victory is an endorsement of the destination known as the home of authentic African Safari. Without a doubt, this is a well-deserved win, and we can only get better. We shall continue with our commitment towards preserving the unique wildlife heritage bestowed to our country for the sake of generations to come,” he said.

He added that the recognition meant a lot in 2020 when global tourism is hampered by the global Covid-19 Pandemic.

“Despite there being less travel into the country, destination Kenya has won three global awards this year which are Africa’s Leading Golf destination, Africa’s Leading Tourist destination and now World Leading Safari destination. This means that globally Kenya is acknowledged as one of the best in tourism offering. As we head into the new year, ours will be to build on this to ensure that Kenya’s tourism Industry recovers even better than it was before” added Mr. Kariuki.

On her part, KTB CEO, Dr. Betty Radier welcomed the news saying that it came at the right time when the country was seeking to bounce back to life.

“This is yet another great achievement for the destination this year because it provides a great sense of optimism of the industry. These awards will be important because they will help us in profiling the destination going forward. This is also a motivator for us to keep on improving our offerings in other areas like Beach and experiences,’’ said Radier.