Kenya conservation news – Ol Pejeta scoops another global award
OL PEJETA WINS ANOTHER GLOBAL AWARD Information received during the week is all good news about Ol Pejeta, the combined conservancy and cattle ranch on the Laikipia plains outside Nanyuki. The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries handed Ol Pejeta a ‘Standards of Excellence Award’ during a recent meeting in the UK, recognizing the Sweetwaters’ Chimpanzee […]
Uganda / Tanzania news update – New railway line to avoid Serengeti
NEW UGANDA – TANZANIA RAIL CORRIDOR TO AVOID SERENGETI Uganda and Tanzania yesterday signed an agreement to cooperate in the construction of a new standard gauge railway line, with an estimated overall cost of nearly 2 billion US Dollars, connecting the lake side harbour of Port Bell / Kampala via rail-ferry to Mwanza and then […]
Uganda aviation news update – Fly 540 hits market with new fare for Mombasa
FLY 540 HITS MARKET WITH USD 350 FARE TO MOMBASA The adverts this week by Fly 540 Uganda, offering an all inclusive fare of US Dollars 350 between Entebbe and Mombasa, is set to ignite another round of hotly contested competition on the route to the Kenyan coast, especially in view of Air Uganda having […]
Rwanda news update – African business survey puts Rwanda into top ten African investment destinations
RWANDA’S RELENTLESS CLIMB INTO THE TOP 10 AFRICAN INVESTMENT DESTINATIONS The latest information available from sources close to the Rwanda Development Board indicates that the ‘Africa Business Panel’ has ranked Rwanda now at the number 7 most preferred investment destination in Africa, after such illustrious names like South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Angola and Tanzania. […]
Rwanda conservation news update – Kwita Izina 2011, treasured memories
KWITA IZINA 2011 – THE DAY OF NAMING GORILLAS When I told some of my acquaintances in Kampala recently that I was once again going back to Rwanda to attend Kwita Izina 2011, their reaction was almost predictable as they promptly shot back at me: Kwit WHAT EXACTLY? Having had that experience before I patiently […]
Kenya tourism news update – Fort Jesus / Mombasa now a UNESCO World Heritage Site
FORT JESUS MAKES IT INTO THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE BOOKS The latest round of declaring sites of significant importance to the world’s cultural heritage by UNESCO has seen ‘Fort Jesus’ included in the list of now protected and globally acclaimed monuments, landscapes and locations. The fort, originally built over 400 years ago by the Portuguese […]
Tanzania tourism news update – South African Airways offers special fares for ‘Independence Day 50’
SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS TO SUPPORT TANZANIA’S ‘GOLDEN JUBILEE’ South African Airways, a member of the world’s leading airline grouping ‘Star Alliance’, has announced the introduction of very special fares between Tanzania and the United States, for travel in both directions over the period between September and December, when East Africa’s largest country will celebrate its […]
Uganda news update – Rainstorm drowns city
BIBLICAL RAINSTORM DROWNS CITY A downpour lasting not more than an hour yesterday, admittedly as heavy as not seen in a long time, managed to drown sections of Kampala once again, bringing traffic to a standstill at the crucial bottleneck entry to the Central Business District at ‘Clock Tower’ and in many other parts of […]
Uganda tourism news update – Finance Minister speaks out on tourism potential
FINANCE MINISTER PLEDGES HELP TO TOURISM – PUT THE MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS The opening of a tourism exhibition yesterday, organized by the Kingdom of Buganda, brought the Minister of Finance from the Uganda government into play, when she visited the fair and officially recognized the role tourism can play in the development of […]
Kenya conservation news update – A birthday gift for Shaba
A BIRTHDAY GIFT FOR SHABA FANS, COURTESY OF STEFANO CHELI As Cheli & Peacock prepare to celebrate their 25th plus 1 anniversary this year in October, the company’s founder Stefano Cheli, who will celebrate his own birthday almost on the say day as he started his company nearly 26 years ago published a very special […]
Seychelles news update – Celebrating 35 years of Independence
SEYCHELLES CELEBRATES 35 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE FROM BRITAIN June 29th marks the 35th anniversary of the day when the Seychellois national flag was raised across the entire archipelago for the first time in 1976. The Seychelles islands were ‘disputed’ between the French and British for a considerable period of time but finally became a British […]
Mauritius tourism news update – Will ‘tax and duty free shopping’ bring more tourists
MAURITIUS CONSIDERING ‘TAX AND DUTY FREE’ STATUS FOR TOURISTS In an effort to regain momentum in the global tourism markets are thoughts being floated amongst Mauritius’ tourism and trading community to turn the entire island into one giant ‘tax and duty free shop’ where tourists can enjoy shopping for electronics, cosmetics, shoes, accessories and clothes […]
Rwanda aviation breaking news – ‘WB’ to add more flights to NBO and JNB
RWANDAIR ADDS MORE FREQUENCIES TO NAIROBI AND JOHANNESBURG RwandAir’s Commercial Director Alice Katiti has confirmed that effective July 01st the national airline of Rwanda will add a third daily flight between Kigali and Nairobi, operating at either 11 a.m. or 20.45 hrs p.m., depending on traffic days. The daily 07.00 a.m. and 16.00 hrs p.m. […]
Rwanda news update – A visit to the National Genocide Memorial
A VISIT TO KIGALI’S GENOCIDE MEMORIAL Many capital cities have ‘must visit’ places, firmly entrenched on the itineraries of city tours and excursions, in DC the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, Moscow’s Red Square, the Atomium in Brussels, the Eiffel Tower in Paris or Buckingham Palace in London, but Kigali / Rwanda has one […]
Uganda news update – Prof. Dr. Maggie Kigozi leaves UIA after 11 years at the helm
KWAHERI YA KUONANA MAGGIE, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH Serving for over 11 years as Executive Director of the Uganda Investment Authority is a long time, by any standards and especially here in Eastern Africa, where often the turnover in senior public sector positions is fast and furious. Not for Prof. Dr. Maggie Kigozi though, […]
South Sudan aviation news update – Ethiopian commences Malakal flights
ETHIOPIAN NOW CONNECTS MALAKAL WITH THE WORLD It was learned over the weekend that Ethiopian Airlines has commenced flights to the Southern Sudanese city of Malakal, bringing reliable international air connections to this part of the soon to be independent South Sudan for the first time, although domestic operations from Malakal to Juba have been […]
Uganda news update – Shilling falls to record lows, again
DEVALUATION – WHILE TOURISTS SMILE THE LOCALS CRY When the Uganda Shilling hit a record low of 2.500 versus one US Dollar over the weekend, foreign visitors had reason to smile for getting a lot more out of their hard currency transactions, allowing them to spend more freely and spread more shillings into the local […]
Uganda conservation news update – ‘UWA, and the destruction continues’
UWA – AND THE DESTRUCTION CONTINUES Recent articles here described the increasing shortfalls in the institutional setup of environmental protection and conservation across the country. A description of the woes of Lutembe Bay exposed in particular the failings of NEMA to take decisive steps to rescue what is now left of the once extensive wetland […]
Uganda news update – UCC ‘eats own directive’ in shame
UGANDA COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ‘EATS OWN DIRECTIVE’ Following a public outcry over ‘theft’ following an ill conceived and clearly partisan ‘decision’ by the UCC, to impose minimum tariffs of at least 2 Uganda Shillings per second, seen to be largely in favour of still market leader MTN, the commission was forced to quickly withdraw their notice […]
Rwanda aviation news update – Turkish Airlines selects Kigali as next African destination
TURKISH AIRLINES SET FOR KIGALI Information was received overnight from Kigali that Turkish Airlines appears set to commence direct flights between Istanbul and Kigali / Rwanda, although the exact routing could not be confirmed immediately. The new connection will add yet more seats to the country, which has been busy promoting its tourism and investment […]
Seychelles tourism news update – ‘Taking aim at the Chinese market’
SEYCHELLES TOURISM TAKE AIM AT CHINA As Gulf based airlines are gearing up towards 25 weekly flights between the Gulf and the Seychelles by late 2011, Emirates will by going double daily later in the year, Qatar Airways going daily and Etihad joining the throng with initially 4 flights a week, many people have been […]
Seychelles aviation news update – ‘HM’ appoints more Seychellois to senior positions
AIR SEYCHELLES APPOINTS ‘LOCAL’ AS HEAD OF CABIN OPERATIONS The ongoing re-organization drive by Air Seychelles has yielded another promotion of a Seychellois citizen, when late last week Ms. Francisca Moonsammy was appointed as Head of Cabin Operations, now solely responsible for inflight cabin safety as well as inflight service. Before returning ‘home’ she worked […]
Seychelles tourism news update – ‘Getting ready for the 2011 World Travel Awards’
SEYCHELLES AIMS FOR MORE ‘WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS’ HONOURS When the Seychelles scooped 5 of the World Travel Awards in 2010 for the African and Indian Ocean region, many observers were surprised, as the archipelago has seemingly come out of left field, leaving many of their more ‘established’ competitors trailing as runner up’s, yet close observers […]
Kenya tourism breaking news – First edition of the Kenya Tourism Awards honours Porini / Cheli & Peacock
KENYA TOURISM AWARDS HONOUR PORINI / GAMEWATCHERS The first ever Kenya Tourism Awards, held yesterday at the Simba Saloon, Carnivore Restaurant in Nairobi in the presence of the UNWTO Secretary General Dr. Taleb Rifai and Kenya’s Minister for Tourism, the Hon. Najib Balala, saw the former Kenya Tourism Federation Chairman and Immediate Past Chairman of […]
Tanzania aviation news update – ATCL, not another ‘revival’
ANOTHER REVIVAL FOR ATCL ‘NOT AGAIN’ was the tenor of aviation observers in Tanzania, when news emerged from the parliamentary session in Dodoma, that government was once more pumping money into the airline to pay for the maintenance of one of ATC’s two planes, currently in South Africa for a complete overhaul. The erstwhile national […]
Mauritius aviation news – Government to allow greater air access?
MAURITIUS TO LOOSEN STRINGS FOR NEW FLIGHTS Clearly stung by the success of the Seychelles, where conscientious policy decisions have in recent years led to global success in making the holiday destination ‘visible’ through reorganizing its tourist board, rebranding the entire destination into ‘Brand Seychelles’ and working hand in hand with global airline giants, has […]
Uganda aviation news update – CAA responds to airline complaints, but did they really?
CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY RESPONDS TO AIRLINE COMPLAINTS Complaints voiced during the week by international and local air operators, coming together under the platform of the ‘air operators committee’, about standards and services rendered by the Civil Aviation Authority in regard of the running of Entebbe International Airport have brought about a swift reaction by the […]
Kenya aviation breaking news – Ouagadougou ‘Here we come’
OUAGADOUGOU HERE WE COME The expansion drive across the African continent by Kenya Airways, aka ‘The Pride of Africa’ continues unabated, as Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso has just been announced as the 55th destination, due to join the network by mid July. The initially twice weekly flights will route from the airline’s Nairobi hub via Cotonou, […]
Kenya aviation breaking news – KQ confirms B787 compensation by Boeing
KENYA AIRWAYS CONFIRMS BOEING COMPENSATION OVER B787 DELAYS Kenya Airways has now finally confirmed what must have been one of the worst kept secrets in their corporate history, that they did receive compensation ‘in cash and kind’ from Boeing over the near intolerable delays in the delivery of the so called ‘Dreamliner’, which a more […]
Seychelles aviation news update – ‘HM’ reorganisation introduces second Deputy CEO position
AIR SEYCHELLS REORGANISATION CONTINUES Information was received overnight from sources in Victoria that Air Seychelles ongoing reorganization has now created a second Deputy CEO’s position for Corporate Affairs, which is most likely to be filled through an internal promotion rather than recruitment from outside, and will be held by a Seychellois citizen rather than an […]
