Ray Mutinda is an Associate Professor and the Dean of the School of Hospitality and Tourism of Murang’a University of Technology. He holds of a Ph.D in Tourism and Hospitality Management and a Post-Doctorate in Sustainable Tourism Development.

Prof. Ray is currently the National Chairman of the Tourism Professionals Association (TPA), a member of the Association of Hospitality Professional of Kenya (AHPK), a member of the UN Roster of Consultants, and a member of the Tourism Panel of Experts at the African Union Commission (AUC) and UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).]

Besides teaching and research in the tourism sector, Prof. Mutinda has extensively been involved in tourism planning and development within Kenya and the African region at large for the over 15 years. At the regional level, Prof. Ray has offered professional and technical support in tourism development focusing on both the entire African region and individual countries. Key among these include: Formulation of African Tourism Strategic Framework for the African Union; Formulation of the Sustainable Tourism Master Plan (2015-2025) for Ethiopia; formulation of Sustainable Tourism Master Plan for the IGAD region (2013-2023); Tourism for Rural Economic development in Ethiopia; Republic of Burundi Tourism Policy and Implementation Strategy, Tourism Bill, and Tourism Investment Guide; Tourism Product Development in Sierra Leone; the EAC Tourism Barometer; Policy Research on African Air Transportation and Tourism Sectors’ Regulatory Convergence for the UN Economic Commission for Africa; and the Hanga Ahazaza Project (2020) for development of competency-based curriculum in hospitality and tourism for Rwanda. Prof. Ray is also leading the proposed Tourism Human Capital Development project for the Republic of Djibouti.

In Kenya, Ray has offered his expertise in various National and County tourism development initiatives including being the lead expert in supporting County governments of Makueni, Kitui and Meru in planning and developing their tourism sector; Reviewing of the Strategic Plans for both Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) and the Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA); and leading the transaction team on the proposed privatization of hotels owned by the former Tourism Finance Corporation (TFC). He has also been a lead expert in a number of research projects at the Tourism Research Institute (TRI).