Susan Ongalo

Chief Executive Officer

BIO

Susan M. Ongalo has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Tourism Federation—the private sector’s unified voice in Kenya’s tourism and hospitality industry—since 2015. Trained in leadership, management, and public relations, she brings over a decade of experience in advocacy, strategic management, customer relations, and crisis management. Under her leadership, KTF has strengthened its institutional capacity, including establishing the Secretariat and operational oversight of the Safety and Communication Centre for tourism stakeholders. She also serves on several key governance boards—among them the Tourism Fund Board (since 2019), the Tourism Work Permit Vetting Committee (since 2015), the Kenya National Convention Bureau Board (since 2019), and the East Africa Tourism Platform (EATP) since 2015. Susan is widely recognized for her role in public-private collaboration on tourism policy, and has voiced critical sector concerns such as the need to resolve technical issues with Kenya’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system during peak season operations. She also advocates for diversification strategies—including intra-Africa tourism expansion—as part of improving Kenya’s competitive position and resilience