Kenya Tourism Board

KTB is mandated to market Kenya as a tourism destination and does so under the well known brand of Magical Kenya.
A parastatal body, under the Ministry of Tourism, KTB employs professional marketing firms in key source markets around the world and also works with various tourism Associations and media and entertainment bodies on numerous promotional activities.

Kenya Wildlife Services

KWS is a large state corporation with the mandate to conserves and manages Kenya’s wildlife by enforcing laws and regulations. Challenges include habitat degradation and loss, forest depletion, human wildlife conflict brought on by population growth and poaching.

KWS undertakes conservation and management of wildlife resources both inside and outside protected areas in collaboration with stakeholders.  The community wildlife program of KWS encourages biodiversity conservation by communities living on land essential to wildlife, such as wildlife corridors and dispersal lands outside parks and reserves.
KWS manages about 8 per cent of the total landmass of the country. This land contains 22 National Parks, 28 National Reserves and 5 National Sanctuaries.  Also under KWS management are 4 Marine National Parks and 6 Marine National Reserves at the Coast. In addition, KWS manages 125 field stations outside protected areas.   


National Museums of Kenya

NMK is a multi-disciplinary state corporation whose role is to collect, preserve, study, document and present Kenya’s past and present cultural and natural heritage for the purposes of enhancing knowledge, appreciation, respect and sustainable utilization of these resources.  
NMK also manages many Regional Museums, Sites and Monuments of national and international importance alongside priceless collections of Kenya’s living cultural and natural heritage. Museums include the Nairobi National Museum, Nairobi Snake Park, Nairobi Gallery, Karen Blixon House, Fort Jesus, Lamu, Malindi and Gede.  NMK also make some of their sites available for special events and Fort Jesus in Mombasa makes a stunning backdrop.

Kenya Tourism Federation

KTF is the tourism private sector tourism umbrella body and many of Kenya’s leading tourism business associations are members. A 24 hour Safety Centre provides information to the industry and monitors security in tourism areas. The KTF mandate is to help shape national tourism policies and drive up standards in the industry. All members are required to have a code of ethics or conduct and a dispute resolution mechanism.

Kenya Association of Hotels and Caterers

KAHC is the oldest established tourism body, and a business members association for Kenya’s better lodges and hotels. It does not cover the interests of budget hotels, B&B or Villas. Some tented camps, however, are members. The annual hotel symposium is a major event. The Hotel Association has an active branch at the coast as the coast region has more hotel beds than any other region in Kenya.

Pubs, Restaurants and Entertainment Association of Kenya

PERAK, is the most recent tourism association and covers the interests of the entertainment industry, pubs and restaurants. Members are drawn from quality service providers and have a strict code on underage drinking and exploitation of children. PERAK has a branch at the coast.

Kenya Association of Air Operators

KAAO has few members but a long reach. Members include air charter firms, training schools, maintenance organizations and a small number of scheduled airlines.

Kenya Association of Tour Operators

KATO is one of the longer established tourism associations and describes itself as the driving force behind tourism. This play on words emphasises that Kenya, with its unique wildlife attractions, requires considerable local knowledge to build a successful holiday plan with a well thought out itinerary and specialized vehicles. KATO has more than 300 members that agree to abide by a code of conduct and the decisions of a dispute resolution board. KATO has a coast branch with about 20 members.

Kenya Association of Travel Agents

KATA is a long established business member’s organisation with many accredited IATA agents. KATA has a well crafted trading code of practice and, as with travel agents worldwide, have had to adapt to new trading norms in a digital age.

Eco Tourism Kenya

ETK has been steadily growing in numbers as the concepts of low impact tourism with community benefits takes root. It has an eco rating scheme for tented camps with bronze, silver and gold awards. ETK seeks ways to meaningfully bring low impact practices to larger lodges and beach hotels.

Laikipia Wildlife Forum

LWF is membership business organization conserving wildlife outside protected areas within the Ewaso ecosystem. It brings together local community initiatives, private ranchers, pastoralists, small scale farmers, and tourism ventures.  They unite to conserve the integrity of the Laikipia ecosystem and manage natural resources that improve the livelihood of area residents.

Watamu  Marine  Association

WMA is a non profit voluntary organization with diverse membership to benefit the local community, and protect the environment. WMA involves local public authorities and government agencies in decision-making processes.  Private donations go directly to projects such as the Community Waste Management Project aiming to recycle plastic waste and flip flops for arts and crafts production and provide an income for community groups.  WMA helps resolve beach conflicts with regular meetings between hotels and community groups to promote good business practices and codes of conduct on beaches and provide customer care courses. WMA Campaigns against illegal and destructive fishing methods and over fishing that threaten coral reefs and sea grass habitats.

Kenya Association of Local tour Operators

KALTO was formed recently at the coast to represent the interests of some of the smaller local tour operators that are not associated with the major European charter firms.  Tourism represents an income opportunity for local communities and some have created firms with a small fleet of safari vehicles and in recent years gained expertise on safari packages. There are over 2,000 licensed tour operators and about 90 are members of KALTO. Being accredited to a recognized body provides credibility for credit card pre-payment.

Kenya Association of Sea Anglers

KASA is the governing body for saltwater sports fishing in Kenya and a member of the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), the world's governing body for sport fishing. KASA is the angler's voice with the Kenya Government on all issues affecting the sport including legislation, fisheries and environmental issues.  Kenya saltwater angling "records" have been maintained by KASA since the 1960’s as well as "Catch statistics" for the top marlin, sailfish and swordfish boats.
KASA defines the standards by which all charter boats registered with the association are expected to adhere in the form of a "code-of-conduct". Visitors should be aware that not all boats offered for charter in Kenya are members of KASA
The conservation of billfishes is a very important aspect of Kenya's sport fishery and has been extended to sharks and giant trevally.  Kenya's "tag and release" programme for billfish began around 1987 and more than 30,000 billfishes have since been tagged. Tags used are mostly from Kenya's own African Billfish Foundation.