Jumia Travel Celebrates the Kenya Travel Awards 2018

Nairobi, 2nd January- 2018 - Jumia Travel , Africa’s leading online travel agency, on 1st Jan celebrated the 2nd edition of the Kenya Travel Awards, that were marked by pomp and color at Fairmont the Norfolk Nairobi.

The awards are aimed at celebrating hoteliers, airlines, and travel websites for their contribution to the success of the travel, hospitality, and tourism industries in 2017, as well as to encourage provision of improved quality services to Kenyans.

Emphasizing on the objective of the Kenya Travel Awards, Jumia Travel’s Country Manager Cyrus Onyiego noted that “diversification and quality of services, adherence to sustainable guidelines, as well as guest personalization and engagement; are some of the major determinants of the awards’ excellence, as our basic requirements of the hotels and airlines in ensuring the guests’ comfort”.

The 2017 African Travel Awards Winners were announced as follows, under seven categories:

Jumia Travel Booking Award 2017 - Ibis Styles Nairobi

Travelers’ Choice Award 2017 - Panari Resort Nyahururu

Best Leisure Hotel in Kenya 2017 - Voyager Beach Resort

Best Business Hotel in Kenya 2017 - Fairmont the Norfolk

Best Destination Website in Kenya 2017 – Adventure 254

Best Hotel in Kenya 2017 - PrideInn Paradise Beach Hotel

Best Airline Company in Kenya 2017 - Kenya Airways

(Diran Oloyede, Business Development Manager - KQ (middle), Receives an award from Antoine Luhugeonot, GM - Fairmont the Norfolk (left) and Vanessa Wanjiku, Head of Sales - Nomad Magazine)

Upon receiving the Best Hotel in Kenya 2017 award, the Sales, and Marketing Director of PrideInn Paradise Beach Hotel Farzana Noorani, thanked all clients for their confidence in the property saying, “we thank you for voting for us and we thank Jumia Travel for the recognition as the Best Hotel in Kenya. PrideInn Hotels will always endeavor to surpass our guest expectations at the best value. We value your patronage and appreciate your support and confidence in us”.

Her sentiments were echoed by Diran Oloyede, the Business Development Manager at Kenya Airways, whose appreciation went out to all their supporters. “Kenya Airways is happy to receive this award. This would not have been possible without the passion and dedication of the Kenya Airways staff and the strong support we receive from our guests.” He added that “as an airline we are committed to providing excellent service to our guests and we deeply appreciate it when our efforts bear fruit. We are committed to giving our guests the best experiences and we will always be the pride of Africa.”

Conservationist Dr. Winnie Kiiru who is the Founder of ConservationKenya and the event’s guest speaker representing the Kenya Association of Women in Tourism, remained enthusiastic of a technology driven hospitality industry and a ‘traveling Kenya’. “As the premier, easy to use, online platform in Africa, Jumia Travel is a forerunner in its field and these awards will go a long way towards promoting technology among the hospitality industry,” she said.

(Dr. Winnie Kiiru addressing guests at the Kenya Travel Awards 2018)

Winners of the various categories were also awarded with several giveaways including free hotel stays by Jumia Travel’s hotel partners Bahari Dhow Beach Villas, Lerruat Log resort , Gelian Hotel, Nyali Sun Africa, Sentrim Elementaita, Lake Naivasha Panorama, and Fairmont the Norfolk. Airline partners Air Kenya, Skyward Express, and Kenya Airways also gave out free air tickets to various winners.

The inaugural awards held in 2016 ascertained Jumia Travel’s commitment to keep bettering the travel experience in Africa, positioning the awards ceremony as a key event in the travel and tourism sector in each country. This year, the awards were simultaneously held in 9 African cities including Algiers, Dakar, Abidjan, Accra, Douala, Dar Es Salaam, and Kampala on 25th January, with Kenya and Nigeria holding the ceremony on 1st February 2018.

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