Karibu Kenya has made a name for itself as a pioneer in the travel and tourism sector by providing a distinctive and environmentally friendly method of discovering Africa’s treasures. The company prioritizes ecotourism and environmental sustainability while offering visitors an authentic and immersive experience of Kenya and Ethiopia through its expertly crafted travel packages. Karibu Kenya is transforming the travel experience and establishing a new standard for responsible tourism practices with an emphasis on wellness and cross-cultural exchange.

Join us for an engaging discussion with Tamara Britten, the founder of Karibu Kenya, a well-known author and tireless researcher.

Q1. What inspired you to create Karibu Kenya, a friendly and personalized travel service?

Tamara Britten: For the last 35 years, I’ve experienced living and working around the world, mostly in Asia and Africa. I’ve worked in restaurants and beach bars, language schools and magazines, safari camps and mobile safaris, yoga centers and wellness festivals, and more.

With an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, I built on my knowledge of the tourism industry and wrote a guidebook to Kenya, the Karibu Kenya Accommodation Guide, endorsed by the Kenya Tourist Board, the Kenya Tourism Federation, and the Kenya Professional Safari Guide Association. I’ve also had articles published in magazines and publications around the world.

My many years of travel and research have given me the edge when designing holidays. I help others experience the joys of travel and use my knowledge to create for them the holiday of their dreams.

Q2. In the context of global tourism, how would you characterize Kenya’s tourism potential?

Tamara Britten: Kenya has an extraordinary diversity and richness of experiences that few other countries come close to.

The national parks and conservancies are filled with multiple species of animals and birds, offering a safari experience second to none. The beaches are fringed with palm trees and have clear seas ideal for kite surfing, scuba diving, and dolphin watching alike. The mountains have interesting hikes, icy lakes for fishing, craggy peaks for rock climbing, and rivers for white water rafting.

The many tribes still live according to their cultures and traditions, including unique dress, coming-of-age ceremonies, a knowledge of the medicinal uses of plants, and an authentic way of being in the world. Cultural visits to these peoples bring a wealth of knowledge and an exciting exchange of ideas.

The country has recently become known as Africa’s Premier Wellness Destination and offers a multitude of yoga and wellness retreats and festivals. Wellness tourism, growing at a much faster rate than conventional tourism, is taking the industry by storm.

Kenya offers all these and more. The country’s potential is huge.

Q3. Karibu Kenya has won numerous honors and recognitions. How do you see the development of your business in the travel and tourism industry?

Tamara Britten: I’m delighted to have been recognized for the work my team and I have put into Karibu Kenya. We’re committed to providing personalized service and design each holiday specifically for each client.

When clients contact us, I suggest having a Zoom call to discuss their preferences. I like to know whether they want an active holiday, a holiday that includes kids’ activities, a private honeymoon, a girls’ trip to the beach, a birdwatching trip, or something else. I like to discuss places I think they might like and activities they might enjoy. We then put together a selection of itineraries, with quotes for different budgets. If they’re doing a safari, we assign a guide who specializes in what they’re interested in, such as birds or big cats, or someone who speaks their language. We work with the client on every aspect of their trip until we create a holiday that delights them. Throughout their holiday, our team is on hand to make sure everything runs seamlessly so our clients can sit back, relax, and enjoy the experience.

In 2018, in collaboration with Mulugeta Ababu, a highly qualified and experienced tour guide, I built a similar service in Ethiopia. Our company, Exclusive Ethiopia, has been operating there for the last six years, providing personally designed holidays all over the country, including visits to rock-hewn churches, painted monasteries, scenic lakes, stunning mountains, and tribal villages.

In 2023, in collaboration with Paul Karanja, a local expert, I expanded into Uganda. We now offer personalized gorilla tours, chimpanzee treks, safaris, and other holidays in Uganda.

The sights, activities, peoples, and animals are completely different in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda. In each of these countries, we offer a bespoke travel service, listening to our clients’ interests, and designing holidays that suit their tastes.

Q4. How much emphasis is placed on ecotourism, and what key elements are included in it?

Tamara Britten: Ecotourism is a core pillar of our company. We strongly believe that tourism should benefit wildlife, local people, and the ecosystem.

We offset the domestic flights and road transportation of all who travel with us through Stand for Trees. Stand for Trees protects forests around the world, reducing carbon emissions in those areas. These projects, assessed by independent auditors to verify their success, are funded by the sale of carbon credits. Through Stand for Trees, companies, organizations, and individuals can buy credits to offset their carbon footprint or the carbon footprint of their clients.

We’re a proud member of Ecotourism Kenya, and we work with organizations, accommodation facilities, and activity providers who are certified by Ecotourism Kenya. All members of Ecotourism Kenya accept responsibility for protecting and enhancing the natural and cultural environment of the areas in which they operate. They undertake to implement sound environmental practices in all their operations, the properties they manage and/or promote, the destinations they manage and/or sell, the natural areas they visit, and the tours they package. All this is done in collaboration with the communities they are part of.

As part of our welcome gift to everyone who travels with us, we give reusable water flasks and reusable shopping bags to encourage our clients not to use single-use plastic items.

Q5. By means of specific policies, do you prioritize employment and community health?

Tamara Britten: We support schools and literacy projects through Kenya Connect, particularly their Running to Read campaign and their LitMums program. Running to Read is a 5km fun run through the hills of Wamunyu in aid of literacy; the project aims to build a culture of reading, and the event finishes with the crowning of the King and Queen Reader of the Reading Challenge. In schools around the area, they provide clean water, install water tanks, run a deworming campaign, provide handwashing stations, provide reusable sanitary pads, provide accurate sexual reproduction information, and their media campaign helps reduce teen pregnancy.

We support community health and employment through Mathare Children’s Fund (MCF) Panairobi. Every client who travels with Karibu Kenya receives the gift of a reusable heart bag stitched by young single mothers; each bag directly contributes to improving the lives of vulnerable women in Mathare slum. They offer training in different skills, including cosmetology and garment making, as well as life skills, and help graduates from the program find work, often in clothes manufacturing companies, local salons, and beauty shops. Our guided walking tours of Nairobi’s Central Business District are led by ex-street children from MCF Panairobi who have studied with National Museums of Kenya.

Our guide uniforms and yoga clothing are made in the eco-factory at Wildlife Works. Located in an impoverished part of Tsavo, Wildlife Works is the world’s only carbon-neutral, fair-trade factory protecting wildlife and producing quality clothes while providing employment. REDD+ – Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation – is a climate change mitigation strategy introduced by the UN to help stop the destruction of the world’s forests, which is contributing hugely to climate change. Wildlife Works’ protected area is 500,000 acres, which will offset a million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year for the next 30 years.

Q6. Can you tell us more about the unique wellness retreats that your company provides?

Tamara Britten: I’ve loved yoga for many years and, some years ago, I became certified to teach several different styles of yoga. Since then, I’ve been teaching yoga, leading yoga retreats, and running wellness festivals all over Kenya.

Combining wellness with the diversity of Kenya provides for a truly unique experience. Imagine practicing handstands against an acacia tree, guarded by a Masai askari while elephants amble past. Imagine doing a sunrise meditation looking over the ocean, then going out on a boat and diving with dolphins. Imagine attending a tribal ritual, then learning from the elders about their survival techniques.

It’s very important to me that these wellness retreats are intrinsically African. We combine the authentic knowledge of the local people in stunning destinations around Kenya with yoga, sound healing, meditation, dance, healing, and more.

I’m one of the founders of the Kilifi Wellness Festival, which takes place every February, and I’m on the organizing team of the Lamu Yoga Festival, which takes place every October.

Q7. Can you share with us some of your holiday and festival special packages?

Tamara Britten: We personally design each holiday for our clients and rarely do packages, although we do have some sample holidays on our website that show a selection of the kinds of trips we can provide.

However, we do have an extraordinary trip to Uganda and Tanzania coming up. From 24th November to 7th December 2024, and once a year after that, we’re offering Apes and Whale Sharks. The trip will be led by experts and will provide inside information about these extraordinary creatures from the people who study them. Starting with trekking with gorillas and chimpanzees in Uganda, participants will move on to a private island off the coast of Tanzania and dive with whale sharks and dolphins. The experience will be curated at exclusive lodges, with exquisite cuisine and discussions with the people who have worked with these creatures for decades.

Q8. How do you see Karibu Kenya’s future in a world increasingly reliant on technology?

Tamara Britten: Technology enhances the research people can do before a trip and means that our clients are more informed about the countries they travel to. However, it can also be overwhelming. The Karibu Kenya website, for example, has hundreds of places to stay all over Kenya and information about different regions, national parks, conservancies, mountains, beaches, and more. I’m always delighted when my clients have been online, and read our website and others, so they have an idea of the options.

They then come to us for a more personal experience. We talk about what they particularly enjoy doing, what sites in the region they’ve heard of, and what they would like to get out of the holiday. Nothing compares with talking to someone who has been to all the places, done all the activities, and understands what gives the most extraordinary experience.

You can, of course, now book hotels, resorts, flights, transfers, boat trips, activities, and more online – but there are a lot of moving parts when you’re organizing a complete package. Why not have a team curate the experience for you and put together a seamless holiday, leaving you free to relax and enjoy the trip?

Q9. And Tamara Britten, in addition to being the creator of Karibu Kenya, you have conducted extensive research on tourism and have been a prolific writer in the same field ever since. Kindly share your tourism industry experience with us, along with your plans to elevate Karibu Kenya to new heights?

Tamara Britten: I’ve been traveling and writing about my travels all my life. My travel articles have been published in a number of publications and magazines around Asia, Africa, and the UK, and my guidebook to Kenya is endorsed by leaders in Kenya’s tourism industry. I continue to travel, to discover new places, and to update my information about places that have changed, and to use this knowledge in my writing – and of course in planning holidays for visitors to the region.

I believe that using our in-depth knowledge to create bespoke holidays for each group will continue to enhance the appeal of Karibu Kenya.

Company Name: Karibu Kenya
Website: www.karibukenya.co.uk
Founder: Tamara Britten