Strategic planning is important to an organization as it provides a sense of direction and outlines measurable goals.
Indeed, strategic planning is a tool that is useful for guiding day-to-day decisions and also for evaluating progress and changing approaches when moving forward.

Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Najib Balala, is convinced that in order to make the most of strategic planning, an organization should give careful thought to the strategic objectives it outlines, and then back up these goals with realistic, thoroughly researched, quantifiable benchmarks for evaluating results.

Mr. Balala, who was accompanied by his Principal Secretary, Ms. Fatuma Hirsi Mohamed, made the remarks when he officiated the opening of a workshop organized by the recently launched Tourism Research Institute (TRI).
The Institute has contracted the Kenya School of Government (KSG) to develop its initial strategic document, the Strategic Plan 2018 -2022.
After previous successful deliberations with the Institute’s management, the School presented the final draft of the document to the TRI Board for input and finalization at a workshop held at the Pride Inn Paradise Resort, in Mombasa.

Mr. Balala, in his opening remarks, recognized the importance of a strategic plan as one that will foster performance of the Institute, appreciating the School for spearheading its development.He encouraged the Board to continue partnering with KSG, which is a reputable organization, in capacity development of employees and other institutional policy documents like board charters and corporate work plans.
The Principal Secretary, Ms. Mohamed, in her remarks emphasized that the Tourism Research Institute has a big role to play in research for tourism growth and sustainability.

She accentuated the CS’s call for the Board to work closely with seasoned institutions like KSG for capacity development.The meeting was also attended by the Kenya Tourism Federation Chief Executive, Ms. Susan Ongalo and United Nations Commission for Human Rights.

By EPHLINE OKOTH AND JANE GICHUKi