Tourism body honours Gelian Hotel as best in Eastern, Northern and Samburu Regions

The Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA) has recognized Gelian Hotel as the best hotel in the Eastern, Northern, and Samburu regions, marking a major milestone in Kenya’s hospitality industry.

The recognition, announced during an event held at a Nairobi hotel on Saturday, highlighted TRA’s ongoing efforts to promote excellence in service and quality within the sector. The initiative is part of a broader national strategy to position Kenya as a leading global tourism destination and attract up to five million visitors by 2027.

TRA Director Alex Munyao emphasized the importance of collaboration in achieving this goal, calling on both county governments and private sector stakeholders to work hand in hand with TRA.

“I urge all county governments, private sector partners, and professionals to strengthen collaboration with TRA in making Kenya an attractive quality destination and ultimately a destination of choice,” Munyao said.

TRA Director General Nobert Tallam underscored the role of the Authority’s quality mark as a benchmark for improvement in the hospitality industry. He also addressed the financial challenges facing some establishments, noting that TRA is partnering with the Kenya Development Corporation (KDC) to support facilities seeking to upgrade or expand.

“So those facilities that have got challenges in terms of accessing loans, please come to us. We work together with the Kenya Development Corporation (KDC) to get you facilitation through loans that are on preferential rates so that you can improve your facilities and also open up the new ones that have not started,” Tallam said.

Receiving the top award, Gelian Hotel’s General Manager, Fred Nyangwe, expressed gratitude for the recognition and optimism about the future.

“We want to take this to the next level and we are now looking forward to doing classification and exploring what is ahead of us as a hotel,” he said.

The awards ceremony served as a platform to reaffirm TRA’s commitment to fostering innovation, service excellence, and sustainable growth in Kenya’s tourism and hospitality sector.