Low budget carrier Fly540 has partnered with Heritage Management, which owns a group of hotels in Kenya, to promote regional tourism.

The airline will be bringing Ugandan tour operators to sample the Kenyan product for marketing to their countrymen. Heritage is offering Uganda tourists a vacation package at Sh30,000 per person.

The promotion covers two nights at the Voyager Beach Resort, airport transfers in Mombasa and a flight from Entebbe. Heritage Hotel is set to open a property in Lamu - Kipungani Explorer - in July, which had been closed due to high tides.

"Uganda tourists will have access to this hotel, although we are still negotiating on the package with the airline," said Maimuna Mohamed, a sales official with Heritage Management.

Statistics from the Kenya Tourism Board show that the Ugandan market grew by 3.3 per cent, while the Tanzania sector grew by 11 per cent. The regional tourism market accounted for about 13 per cent of visits to Kenya.

The Ugandan market had been depressed by the low frequency of flights on the Kenya -Entebbe route. Until last year, Kenya Airways was the only dominant airline operating on the route.

Air Uganda entered the route in 2007 and was followed by Fly540 in February. Fly540's air fare is $79 (Sh5,000), Air Uganda $95 (Sh6,000) and Kenya Airways $141 (Sh 9,000) excluding airport taxes.

KQ dominates the route with a market share of 45 per cent, followed by Air Uganda with 35 per cent. Fly540 has also announced plans to launch flights to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Tanzania.