The tourism boom in Watamu is now unstoppable and growing year by year.
Even for this Christmas holiday season, with yesterday's arrivals, the top tourist destination on the Kenyan coast is selling out.

The secrets of the success of the 'Kenyan pearl of the Indian Ocean' are many, besides the beauty of its beaches and marine nature.
First of all, the (still) sustainable growth of tourism construction, to which even the new structures, residential complexes, private villas or hotel facilities, have adapted, although there is (as alas in almost all of Kenya) no master plan.

Secondly, there is the variety of the offer, which goes from the luxury proposals of some resorts and b&bs, to the 'super economy', albeit decent ones. This attracts a very varied clientele, which, however, adapts to the beauty and tranquillity of the place, as well as its undeniable holiday tendency, including nightlife.
The return, after the pandemic, of charters and 'all-inclusive' tourists has increased the number of presences, boosting local employment in the hospitality sector, creating jobs and salaries, thus relieving hundreds of families, and saving many hotel structures built and designed in past years precisely for large numbers. The newfound success of Jacaranda Beach and Seven Islands, for example, has allowed the owners to renovate and improve the facilities.

Then there is the international vocation that Watamu, unlike other Kenyan destinations and especially neighbouring Malindi, has always had. In addition to Britons and Kenyans of Western origin, Italians have obviously joined the ranks, but not only: American tourism appreciates Watamu as the final port of call after a safari, Eastern European tourism, which is notoriously unfriendly to the sea, nature, the proximity to the Tsavo and, last but not least, the good food. Watamu also has appeal for executives and employees of the United Nations or related offices and diplomats stationed in Nairobi. Many of the rented houses and villas are taken by storm, during the Christmas holidays, by them, who now book up year after year.

The success of some clubs that have become cult venues in a few years and are known worldwide, adds admirers to Watamu: this is the case of Paparemo Beach, with its incomparable beach and sunbeds, cocktail bar and restaurant for lunch and dinner, but above all with the historic Saturday night beach party.
The Licht House at Temple Point, a trendy place that cannot be missed during a holiday, Prawns Lake, for lovers of the 'real' places in Africa, plus a whole series of restaurants and 'chiringuitos' that attract thousands of tourists with their proposals.

There is no doubt that Watamu has an edge, thanks also to the many entrepreneurs who have been able to be patient and see beyond immediate profit or their hunger (or frustration) for personal success, and to the many people who, with humility and even through inevitable mistakes and course corrections, have become it. Among these, it is worth remembering, there are many Italians who are accomplices in the rise of tourism in this splendid African resort with a cosmopolitan soul, all to be experienced amid entertainment and relaxation.