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Kenya’s tourism industry suffered badly during the summer, but visitors from all over Europe are finally returning to coastal resorts following successful efforts by government forces to secure the country’s border with Somalia.


The Foreign Office has lifted its advice against travel to the islands of Lamu and Manda, reverting to its former position of advising against travel only within 60km (about 40 miles) of the Somali border. “It’s a huge relief,” one hotelier on Lamu told me. “Instead of facing another winter paying staff out of our savings, we are welcoming back regular guests and have no concerns about their security while they are here.”


Lamu’s resorts were booked up for Christmas and New Year, but there are still plenty of rooms in January and February, including over half-term week. Kizingo (00254 733 954770; kizingo.com) a friendly, comfortable “no-news, no-shoes” beach lodge on the southern tip of Lamu Island offers a full-board week for £875 per person next spring, based on two sharing a thatched cottage. Here there’s the chance to swim with dolphins, tour the mainland by bicycle, and explore the back alleys of Lamu Town.


The adjacent Kizingoni (00254 203 882763; kizingonibeach.com) is a collection of luxury hideaways popular with British celebrities, who often pop next door for a drink at Kizingo’s lively bar. Thanks to Lamu’s popularity with the rich and famous, the standard of accommodation is high.


Elsewhere on Kenya’s coast, many hotels are showing their age, though the service remains superb. An exception is the recently opened Swahili Beach Resort, on Diana Beach, south of Mombasa. “It’s a new generation, five-star beach resort and we’re getting superb feedback,” said Stuart Britton, managing director of Somak Holidays, one of the biggest tour operators to Kenya. “Our customers are also pleased with their experiences at the smaller boutique hotels, such as the Tijara Beach and Afrochic.”





Somak (020 8423 5282; somak.com) has scaled back its minibus tours of Kenya’s wildlife parks as prices for more luxurious air safaris have fallen. For example, a 14-night holiday combining its “Cheetah Safari” (six sharing a minibus) with a week at the Swahili Beach costs £2,540 per person. But for another £700 you can fly between game parks in a light aircraft and enjoy more intimate safari drives in smaller, open vehicles led by an experienced nature guide.

For sun-worshippers, Kuoni (0844 488 0417; kuoni.co.uk) has good offers based on scheduled flights (there are no charters this winter). A fortnight in a four-star beach hotel costs about £1,650 per person half board, with the option of an overnight excursion to Tsavo National Park for an extra £300 per person when bought locally. For independent travellers, there are some attractive prices listed with the online agent Booking.com – including a week at the Tembo Village Resort in Watamu, Kenya’s loveliest white-sand beach, for just £347 per person b&b.

The good news for those who have to spend a night in Nairobi before catching a regional flight is the opening – at last – of a smart hotel close to the international airport: Eka Hotel (00254 719 045000; ekahotel.com) charges £135 for a double room. For real character, join the safari pilots at Wilson Airport’s historic Aero Club of East Africa (00254 206 000479;aeroclubea.com) where basic double rooms cost £75.

The price of flying internally in East Africa is likely to fall in 2013 as Fastjet (fastjet.com), part owned by easyJet’s founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, expands its low-cost model into Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. This has prompted the national airline, Kenya Airways, to launch its own budget brand, JamboJet, which it hopes will start operations in the latter half of the year.

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Travel websites have reported a significant growth this month in searches and bookings to the country following the launch of the JRR Tolkien-inspired film.

The flight search website Skyscanner reported a 102 per cent increase in worldwide flight searches to New Zealand this month compared to December 2011, including a 117 per cent rise in searches to Wellington, the country’s capital city.

The travel booking website Expedia had an 84 per cent increase in flight bookings to the country in December.

Bookings for New Zealand in 2012 went up by 30 per cent last month for hotel booking website Laterooms.com, with a 100 per cent rise in bookings for the small town of Matamata alone, where much of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and its prequel were filmed.

Bookings from the US at Air New Zealand, which launched its first Hobbit-themed aircraft last month, were nearly doubled on the day before the world premiere in Wellington and increased by a third in Japan following a Hobbit promotion, reported The New Zealand Herald.


“We have seen an increased demand for New Zealand since The Hobbit was released and this is likely to continue into the new year,” said Nikki Davies, marketing director of the tour operator Trailfinders.
“Forward bookings for 2013 are up by almost 10 per cent so far this year,” she added.

The foreign currency exchange group Travelex reported a rise in demand for New Zealand dollars since the Hobbit premiere this month, with a 26 per cent increase in pre-orders for New Zealand dollars compared to this time last year.

"We predict the number of visitors will rise after families watch the movie during the Christmas break and see the spectacular scenery," said David Swann from Travelex.
Travel companies have responded to the surge in interest with new Hobbit-themed itineraries and packages.
Crystal Cruises recently announced a cruise itinerary which includes a guided tour of the Hobbiton set, where passengers can dine at The Green Dragon Inn, the hobbits’ favourite drinking hole in the film which is now a working pub.

Trailfinders has also introduced a new Hobbiton Express Day Tour from Auckland for 2013, which includes a journey through 'Middle Earth' and the Hobbiton set, including visits to 44 hobbit holes, the Mill and double arch bridge, the Party Tree and Green Dragon Inn.

New Zealand was named ‘favourite worldwide country’ this year by readers in the Telegraph Travel Awards last month.

Nayabad Mosque is situated on the bank of the Dhepa river in village Nayabad in Ramchandrapur Union under Kaharol Thana of Dinajpur district, about 20 km to the north-west of the district town. The mosque, built on about 1.15 bighas of land, has been renovated by the Department of Archaeology, Bangladesh. A madrasa has recently been built in front of the mosque.

An inscription on the central doorway records the date of its construction as 2 Jyaistha, 1200 BS (1793 AD) in the reign of Emperor shah alam II. According to local traditions, the mosque was built by Muslim architectural workers who had come to this place from the west to build Kantanagar Temple sometime in mid-18th century. They had settled in Nayabad, a village near the temple, and had built the mosque for their own use.

It is an oblong three-domed mosque with octagonal towers at the four corners and measures 12.45m ´ 5.5m externally. The walls are 1.10m thick. Of the three arched entrances the central one is bigger than the flanking ones. These are equal in height and width. The central arch is 1.95m high and 1.15m wide. There is an arched window each on the south and north sides. Multi-cusped arches have been used in the doorways and windows. There are three mihrabs inside in the western wall in line with the three entrances. The central mihrab (2,30m high and 1.08m wide) is bigger than the flanking ones which are of equal size. Three hemispherical domes cover the mosque, of which the central one is bigger than the side ones. Pendentives have been used in their phase of transition. The parapet and cornice are straight.

Of the four corner towers in the four outer corners of the mosque two (northeastern and northwestern) still possess the cupolas on their top. The top of the other two is now bare. The corner towers are plastered and gradually tapering; each had a lantern-like chhatri on the top crowned with a cupola. Four bands at regular intervals decorate the surface of each tower.

The terracotta plaques used in the decoration of the mosque have become loose and most of them have been damaged. At present there are about 104 terracotta plaques (rectangular in shape, 0.40m ´ 0.30m) used in the surface decoration of the mosque walls. Though damaged some of them show floral and creeper motifs. It is noteworthy that one contains a depiction of a pair of peacocks.