As an international development agency

dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and

building economically sound enterprises in the
developing world, the Aga Khan Fund for
Economic Development (AKFED) often works in
parts of the world that lack sufficient foreign
direct investment. AKFED operates as a
network of affiliates with more than 90
separate project companies employing over
47,000 people. It had revenues of US$4.1
billion in 2015, but because of its development
ethos, it reinvests all profits in further
development.

Tourism is travel for pleasure; also the theory

and practice of touring, the business of

attracting, accommodating, and entertaining

tourists, and the business of operating tours.
Tourism may be international, or within the
traveler's country. The World Tourism
Organization defines tourism more generally,
in terms which go "beyond the common
perception of tourism as being limited to
holiday activity only ", as people "traveling to
and staying in places outside their usual
environment for not more than one
consecutive year for leisure, business and
other purposes.

Tourism can be domestic or international, and

international tourism has both incoming and
outgoing implications on a country's balance of
payments. Today, tourism is a major source of
income for many countries, and affects the
economy of both the source and host
countries, in some cases being of vital

importance.

Tourism Promotion Services

(TPS)
AKFEDs Tourism Promotion Services,
operating under the brand name Serena
Hotels, seeks to develop tourism potential in
selected areas in the developing world,
particularly in under-served regions where
tourism facilities can contribute to economic
growth and the overall investment climate. It
builds and manages hotels, resorts, palaces,
forts, safari lodges and camps in an
environmentally and culturally sensitive
manner in the Eastern Africa region (Kenya,
Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and
Zanzibar) and in three countries in South Asia
(Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan). AKDN
seeks to promote tourism in areas where
natural beauty is one of the few assets at the
disposal of a community. It seeks to develop
these activities in culturally and
environmentally sensitive ways that improve
the quality of life for people in the vicinity of
these projects.

Tourism occupies a strategic position in AKFED's approach to

economic development in the third world. It enables developing
countries to use their advantages in climate and geography to
revitalize local architectural and craft traditions. Tourism
Promotion Services (TPS), AKFED's tourism development arm,
was established in the early 1970s. Its first ventures were in
Kenya, where Serena lodges and hotels are now recognized as
leaders for the quality of their services, architecture and
ecological sensitivity.

Its presence in East Africa has grown to include Tanzania,

where other international investors and development agencies in
an ambitious have joined AKFED and environmentally sound
"northern circuit" of safari lodges and a tented camp,
complementing the Serena group's lodges in the game parks of
Kenya. On the island of Zanzibar, it is converting two-seafront
structure into a Serena hotel designed with the support of the
Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which is involved in major
revitalization efforts in the Old Stone Town. TPS's presence in
Pakistan is also increasing. Along with its acquisition of lodges
in the north of Pakistan, TPS Pakistan has also built new Serena
hotels in Faisalabad, Quetta and Islamabad.

Sarena Hotels

Serena Hotels
Type: Public
Industry: Hospitality, Tourism
Founded: 1970's in Kenya
Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya
Products: Hotels, Lodges, and Resorts
Owner: Clara Mugabe, [Tourism Promotion
Services(TPS)]

Serena Hotels is a hotel chain that operates in

eastern Africa and southern Asia (Afghanistan,
Kenya, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda,
Tajikistan, Tanzania, and Uganda). The Serena
Group comprises a collection of 36 luxury
resorts, safari lodges, and hotels, which are
located in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania,
Rwanda, Uganda, and Mozambique) and
Central and South Asia (Pakistan, Afghanistan,
and Tajikistan).

The Serena Hotels Group trades under

the name Tourism Promotion Services (TPS
Serena). The company is listed on the Nairobi
Stock Exchange (NSE), where it trades under
the symbol TPS. The largest shareholder (45%)
is the Aga Khan Fund for Economic
Development (AKFED), with a further 4%
owned by the Aga Khan University Foundation.
[1] As of November 2011, the group has 25
properties in Africa, in the countries of Kenya,
Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The Group also maintains 10 properties in
three Asian countries of Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and Tajikistan.

Opening of Sarena Hotels.