Tourists throng island for food, music, dance

Local tourists attend the 2014 Lamu Cultural Festival on November 29, 2014. Hundreds of local visitors are in Lamu Town to attend the county’s inaugural food festival that begins Friday. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• “We have received many local tourists and foreigners and more visitors are making inquiries on future visits,” said Governor Issa Timamy.
• The food expo will take place throughout the Easter weekend up to Monday and will have a street food bazaar, performances by renowned musicians and traditional dances.
• On Sunday, there will be a live cooking show, where locals will demonstrate traditional cooking methods.

By KALUME KAZUNGU
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Hundreds of local visitors are in Lamu Town to attend the county’s inaugural food festival that begins Friday.

The Lamu Food and Expo Festival, which will be covered live by NTV, was launched early this year.

“We have seen positive signs that the tourism industry is improving.

“We have received many local tourists and foreigners and more visitors are making inquiries on future visits,” said Governor Issa Timamy.

The county’s executive for trade, culture and tourism, Mrs Samia Omar, said many hotels in Lamu Town had more visitors and many of them had been fully booked by Wednesday.

She expressed optimism that tourism in the county would pick up through such exhibitions. It has suffered due to terrorists attacks.

ISLAND OF FESTIVALS

“What plan to brand Lamu as an island of festivals. We are sure that through such festivals, tourism, trade and the Lamu economy at large will be greatly boosted,” said Mrs Omar.
The county government spent over Sh10 million in organising the festival, she added.

The food expo will take place throughout the Easter weekend up to Monday and will have a street food bazaar, performances by renowned musicians and traditional dances.
It will also involve competitions, including cooking, fishing, a dhow race and swimming.

On Sunday, there will be a live cooking show, where locals will demonstrate traditional cooking methods.

Lamu Tourism Association deputy chairman Ghalib Alwy said he was confident the four-day fete would promote the county’s rich culture and heritage.

“We have had a large number of tourists coming to this region since the beginning of this month when the festival was announced,” he said