Over 20,000 visitors are expected to throng the streets of Lamu town for the 2025 Lamu Cultural Festival set for Thursday 20th to Saturday 22nd November 2025.
Speaking ahead of the festival, Lamu County Governor, Issa Timamy expressed the county’s readiness and enthusiasm about hosting the event.
“We are all set to host the 23rd edition of the Lamu Cultural festival from the 20th to the 22nd of November in Lamu Town, we welcome you all to come experience the best of Swahili culture and hospitality. This year we project to host between 20,000 to 30,000 visitors in Lamu, during this year’s Lamu Cultural festival.” He said.
“We’ll showcase a lot of activities, including our famous donkey race, dhow races which will be in three categories, we’ll also have fishing competitions, beach football, local performing acts, a street bazaar showcasing our local cuisine, there will be something for everyone. We’ll kick off our activities with a school’s parade, the whole purpose of engaging school children is to bring them awareness of the culture and to make sure that we sustain this culture.”
“Our activities will culminate in a music festival on Saturday evening featuring top talents from around the county and the region in a celebration of musical talent.” We want to thank the Kenya Tourism Board for once again supporting us, to make all this possible. ”He added.
The number of visitors expected at this year’s Lamu cultural festival, underscores its status as one of the largest cultural festival in the region, enhancing Lamu’s position as the island of festivals, having also recently hosted the Lamu Yoga festival.
Speaking on the Kenya Tourism Board’s involvement in the festival acting CEO Allan Njoroge said;
“For us as at Kenya Tourism Board, we have identified festivals as one of the means by which we will grow our tourism arrivals from the current 2.4 million to 5.5 million over the next couple of years. The Lamu Cultural Festival, being the biggest cultural showcase that we have here in Kenya, attracting over 20,000 visitors is a very important event, through which we are able to showcase what Kenya has to offer to both our domestic and international audiences.” He said.
“More importantly, this festival, and other festivals that have been or are held in Lamu have made the town attain a very enviable branding position as the island of festivals. As you know we just had the Lamu Yoga Festival a few weeks ago, what this means is that through tourism the local economy is able to benefit. It becomes a driver for youth employment and also empowering and uplifting livelihoods.” He added
Governor Issa Timamy underlined the economic importance of the festival noting its impact across the tourism value chain from transport to accommodation and food.
“The Lamu Cultural Festival has a huge economic impact, as mentioned we project to host between 20,000 to 30,000 people. There are a lot of economic benefits accruing to the people of Lamu, from transport, boat operators, hotels and eateries. The county government for instance, offers grants to over forty women groups, for them to supplement our eateries by cooking traditional Swahili cuisine, during the festival to ensure all our visitors are catered for.” He added.
The governor concluded by assuring visitors of their security and safety, during their stay in Lamu.
“Lamu is accessible by road and air, we are lucky to have three airlines servicing this route, and tarmac all the way to Lamu. Let me assure everyone that it is safe, we have made arrangements with our security agencies to ensure your safety on your way and during your stay in Lamu, so once again, welcome all.”
