Compared to last year’s expo, the first tourism expo of the year at Sarit Center had fewer stands, foreign exhibitors, and focus was on getting domestic tourists to rediscover the usual haunts.

You have to salute the industry for going ahead and trying to rebuild after two months of violence wiped out a decade of steady growth. While they were advertising Easter packages (discounts of about 10% if booked at the fair), their goal was to get the sector back on track in the long term.

Here are a few of the offerings still have a bias for the Coast;

New

• Holiday Homes Kenya, a network of fully staffed private homes for the holidays.
• New Man Eaters Camp by Voi Wildlife Lodge at the site of the infamous man eating lions that terrorized railways builders in 1898.
• Mombasa Continental hotel (former Intercontinental hotel) opened in December 07 (days before the election) has introductory rates valid up to December 20, 2008.
• Wild Waters theme park in Nyali – which closed in January when the tourists left but reopened over the weekend (March 9)

Coast

• Jacaranda Beach flying package from Nairobi for East Africa residents for Kshs. 22,400 (inclusive of 2 nights)
• Kenya Bay Beach Hotel has these prices for 2008; Kshs. 3,700 (up to April 30), Kshs. 3200 up to June 30, and Kshs. 3,500 (July up to December 31) (all half-board, per person sharing)– lock in these low rates for the rest of the yeat before the tourism prices pick up.
• Sun n Sand no special offers, but the hotel is still a favourite for state and private sector retreats at the coast, so may not struggle

Wildlife safaris

• Discover Wilderness has flying packages to the Mara (Keekorok) and Samburu for Kshs. 24,950 per night and Kshs. 11,950 for extra night – (includes 3 game drives, full board valid up June 30).
• Serena have flying package to the Mara, Amboseli, Samburu, (2 nights, 2 game drives at 40,000 pp)

Other

• Kenya Wildlife Services: who have self-catering bandas in Amboseli, Tsavo and Mt. Kenya as well as Homa Bay, Marsabit, Mt. Elgon, Malindi and Kisite-Mpunguti (Kwale).
• Nairobi’s Silver Springs Hotel has two new sister premises in Sangare Tented Camp and Green Hills Hotel in Nyeri

Airlines

• Discovered some ‘truths’ behind Fly 540 airline: low special offers; that $79 Entebbe and Juba $199 fare to Juba re one way and translate to $135 and $279 after the hefty taxes on both routes. So a round trip to Entebbe costs $270 while Nairobi-Juba and back is $558.
• Air Kenya with their point to point flights are the best way for a tourists to avoid Kenya’s roads and get around in as little time as possible – so you can fly from Mombasa to Masai Mara, Mombasa-Kilimanjaro, fly from Nairobi to Lewa, from Samburu to Masai Mara etc.
• Virgin Atlantic have $425 Nairobi to London and $829 fares to Los Angeles or San Francisco

Elsewhere
not at the trade fair, but in the news over the weekend

• Lewa marathon sponsored by Safaricom is open for registration up to 23/5
• Vipingo Ridge, a housing estate/golf course under development in Kilifi (40km north of Mombasa) by Rea Vipingo was a sponsor at the Kenya Open Golf Course. Some plots of land are still available but not much info is online yet about it.