Boon for business owners as Lamu gears up for 10th Yoga Festival

Hoteliers, beach operators, shop owners, dhow and boat riders have high hopes that this year’s Lamu Yoga Festival will bring a boom in business.

The 2024 Lamu Yoga is the 10th edition since its inception.

According to Lamu Yoga Festival Founder Monika Fauth, this year’s event will be marked for five days and will kick off from October 30 to November 3

Yoga is an ancient form of exercise that focuses on strength, flexibility, and breathing to boost physical and mental well-being.

The main components of yoga are postures (a series of movements designed to increase strength and flexibility) and breathing.

“About 400 Yoga enthusiasts from across the globe are expected to take part in this year’s fete,” said Fauth.

Speaking to The Eastleigh Voice, hotel proprietors and other stakeholders in the tourism industry expressed their expectations that the festival will boost the sector’s performance.

Swaleh Abdallah, the owner of Shela Guest House said since last week, he has seen great improvement in the number of visitors booking spaces ready for the Yoga fete.

“So far, I have already received over ten guests who have booked rooms contrary to previous months when the business was very low. The Yoga festival will be a blessing for us,” said Abdallah.

Clement Komen Kiptoon, the owner of Lamu Local Artist, a curio tourist shop based in Shela Town said he has already recorded a high number of clients visiting his place and buying items, all thanks to the expected Lamu Yoga Festival.

Monika Fauth, the founder of the Lamu Yoga Festival. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

Kiptoon said in normal days, he would sell less than 10 items within his premises but since the high tourist season began and the anticipated Yoga Festival in October he has been selling more than 20 items as both domestic and international tourists visiting the archipelago have become his number one clients.

“We have witnessed an increased number of guests and tourists in our town since the high tourist season began. These guys have been flocking to our shop to buy decorations and other items for their stay here in Lamu. Business is good and I believe things will be even better during the Yoga celebrations starting October this year,” said Kiptoon.

Lamu Tourism Association Vice Chair, Fridah Njeri told The Eastleigh Voice that Lamu has been undergoing tough times, adding that holding the Yoga Festival and other lined-up events this year will generally attract visitors to the county in droves.

Njeri noted that apart from the Yoga, they are also preparing for the mega Lamu Cultural Festival set for November this year.

She said such festivals marked in the archipelago are crucial as they assist in the rediscovery of Lamu as a key tourist destination.

“Our key aim is to rediscover Lamu as the ‘Island of Festivals’ through hosting such cultural festivals and other events like Yoga. We hope to see more positives out of Lamu as we believe there lies immense potential in the county as a key tourism destination. We won’t relent in our zeal to market Lamu both locally and internationally,” said Njeri.

“We hope that through this vigorous and concerted effort in celebrating our cultural heritage, tourism will flourish and Lamu will reclaim its glory once more as a preferred destination of choice."

Said Twalib, a coxswain of a tourist dhow in Lamu Island, acknowledged that business had already improved since the beginning of the high tourist season.

According to Twalib, he has been making various trips, ferrying tourists to Shela where Yoga is set to commence in October.

“Normally, I would make only one or two trips from Manda Airport to Shela Town daily. But at the moment, we’ve seen an influx of guests coming to the archipelago to book in advance ready for the Yoga celebrations. I can make at least five to six trips per day. Business is good,” said Twalib.

The Lamu archipelago is one of the most authentic and best-preserved Swahili settlements.