A thousand kilometres, two border points, four cities, three lakes and an entire rift valley — the Everbased Tours Department's road-trip dispatch from Kili Fair in Arusha, Tanzania, including Uganda Day, the dust of Magereza Grounds, and a Maasai fam trip to remember.
In the latest of our long line of adventures was **Kili Fair**. The tours and travel industry is demanding — it requires attending fairs and exhibitions at a grinding consistency, across the board: national, regional, continental and worldwide. Kili Fair, Tanzania's flagship travel expo, was not one to be spared.
The long road to Arusha
On the second day of June, the entire Tours Department took to the road, with **Arusha** as the end in mind. A journey of a thousand kilometres — spanning two land border points, four cities, three lakes and an entire rift valley — takes more than just a day to conquer. So it came as no surprise when touchdown was finally achieved after dusk on the 3rd of June.
On arrival we checked into our rooms — exhausted, hungry and more than a little frustrated, for the journey was not without layovers that cost a great deal of time. But although Kili Fair was slated for the 4th to the 7th of June, our category of buyers meant we would skip the opening day. That became a day of rest.
Who attends a fair like this
Fairs such as Kili Fair draw three categories of people — exhibitors, hosted buyers and trade visitors:
- **Exhibitors** pay for spots at the exhibition grounds to promote and show off their products and companies.
- **Buyers** represent their companies and visit exhibitors with the explicit intention of doing business — often setting up meetings well before the fair begins.
- **Visitors** are more self-explanatory: they show up to see how things go. No meetings, just happiness, and rarely any business.
The hosted buyer's evening
The night of the 4th of June was pure fanfare. Dubbed the **Hosted Buyer's Evening**, the venue was the Gran Melia Hotel in Arusha. The buyers collected their tags and tickets and enjoyed an awesome evening of food and drinks. The night ended early — the next day was for business.
Dust, design and the first day of business
Kili Fair was held at **Magereza Grounds** in Olasiti, about 10 km west of the city centre — relevant because the city centre is where we lodged during our time in Arusha. A tuk-tuk ran 10,000 TSh to and from Kaloleni, and that became our reliable means of transport, comfortable enough for two.
A thousand kilometres — two border points, four cities, three lakes and an entire rift valley. Arusha does not come easy.
On reaching the grounds we were immediately struck by two things. First, the extensive designs of the exhibitor spaces — especially the lodges, which had taken great care to build exact replicas of their properties. Second, the dust. The volcanic soils of the country turn to powder the moment they go a fortnight without moisture. Feet and shoes turned brown; handkerchiefs and wipes worked overtime, and so did we, making full use of every scheduled meeting until the sun went down.
Day one closed with an evening party at Fun Retreat Resort in Njiro, on the south side of Arusha, where a live band serenaded us with Lingala and local music.
Uganda Day
Day two arrived, and with it more meetings — but it was also **Uganda Day** at the fair. So we came through dripping in tradition. There were traditional dances, and a booth serving cocktails, rolex and matooke, all organised by the Uganda–Arusha Consulate. The success was so immense that it spilled into a Uganda exhibitors' dinner that evening, again hosted by the Consulate at the Gran Melia Hotel.
A Sunday in Olasiti
Day three, a Sunday, arrived. Church was observed — we sang *Utukuzwe ewe Baba Mungu, Utukuzwe* in our hearts, even as the body was again in Olasiti, wrapping up business on the last day before heading back to Uganda.
But the Lord is great, for yours truly was handed an invitation to a fully complimentary fam trip north of Arusha, at a lodge named **Osigili-Lai**. The lodge offers a true, original Maasai experience, one I immersed myself in for three entire days. Ann, on the other hand, went to **Tarangire National Park** for a hot-air balloon experience.
The road home
All in all, our stay had run well overdue by the time I showed up at Busia at three o'clock in the morning on the 11th of June. It is truly my conviction that we were close to deportation — but I guess we'll never know.
Karibu Kili Fair. Tanzania, unforgettable.
Planning a Tanzania safari of your own?
From Arusha and Tarangire to the Serengeti and Zanzibar, Everbased Tours & Travel builds tailored multi-country East African itineraries. Get in touch for a quote.
Scenes from the Kili Fair exhibition floor
Meetings under the Arusha sun
Networking across the East African tourism trade
Wrapping up business before the road back to Uganda
Written by
Everbased Tours Department
Expert travel writer and safari guide with decades of experience exploring East African wildlife and cultures.
Get in touch
