Whether it falls early or late, Easter has always served as a watershed (or rather, a traffic divider, especially for air travel) in the tourism sector along the Kenyan coast.
Usually—and often wrongly, especially in the era of climate change—the end of the beach-and-safari season, and above all that of the resurgent mass tourism driven by the charter flight-tour operator combination, is associated with chocolate eggs and processions.
From the Italian perspective, bolstered by the Alpitour-Neos monopoly, if charter flights stop immediately after Easter—even if only for a little over two months—the season officially goes on hiatus. Resorts and hotels have time to spruce themselves up, and the beach boys can return to their villages and rediscover their true identities, dedicating themselves, if anything, to nurturing the friendships forged through social media.

In reality, those who live in Malindi, Watamu, or Diani have long known that vacations could continue even in April, May, and June, because not only does it not rain all the time, but there are wonderful days and equally spectacular landscapes. It is no coincidence that for other Europeans, charter flights do not stop, and similar destinations like Zanzibar keep their facilities open year-round.
But this year’s closure—which, with NEOS charters, arrives on April 10, with the final departure that same day via two dedicated flights to Milan and Rome—is also understandable, much like it was in the 1990s when tourism in Kenya was booming. It’s time for a well-deserved rest for operators and industry professionals, as well as managers and owners of businesses tied to package tourism.
Meanwhile, for those working in the restaurant industry or not tied to tour operators, work continues with residents and local tourism or visitors of other nationalities.
The season for Italians on “quick getaways” and incentive trips will resume with the first charter flight to Mombasa on June 23 from Milan Malpensa, while flights from Rome Fiumicino will not begin until the first week of July.

The echo of the exceptionally positive season now drawing to a close bodes well for the next one, and bookings for August point in this direction; fortunately, they are not affected by the psychological consequences (and rising fuel prices) of the war in Iran.
So let’s welcome the break from the so-called—and no longer accurate—Great Rains and the final “surge” of Easter, along with local tourism during the holidays, and then a bit of hibernation in a land that’s already a bit lethargic (in a good way, of course) by nature.