Kenya Roads Authority targets luxury apartments and villas in Mombasa
TAMARIND VILLAGE OWNERS VOW TO RESIST ROADS AUTHORITY When news emerged earlier in the week that the Kenya Road Authority has floated plans to build another bridge from the island of Mombasa to the northern mainland, and along the route of the old pontoon bridge which at the time allowed only one way traffic until […]
Rwanda embarks on Google Mapping of key attractions, parks and tourist hotspots
RWANDA EMBARKS ON GOOGLE MAPPING OF TOURISM ATTRACTIONS, ANOTHER FIRST Today is a significant day in Rwanda as work will go underway for another First, where Rwanda takes the lead in the region and on the continent, with teams going out into the field, especially the Western part of the country with the national parks […]
Kigali Serena and RwandAir host joint evening to launch loyalty card schemes
KIGALI SERENA AND RWANDAIR HOST CORPORATE CLIENTS The Kigali Serena Hotel and RwandAir last evening hosted a wide range of corporate clients, including leading bankers, to present their respective loyalty schemes Dream Miles and Prestige Club. The two schemes, offering a variety of benefits to members, will undoubtedly be more closely aligned in coming weeks, […]
Kenya aviation news – Gulf Air set to go daily from 01st June onwards
GULF AIR GOES DAILY TO NAIROBI EFFECTIVE 01ST JUNE Information was confirmed from Nairobi and Bahrain that Gulf Air will move from presently 5 flights a week to daily departures between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Kenyas capital city of Nairobi. The increase in frequencies appears prompted by sharply grown demand for seats, mainly connecting […]
UK hostage taken in Kenya freed in Somalia, bringing 6 months drama to an end
AMISOM FORCES PRESSURE PROMPTS RELEASE OF UK HOSTAGE IN SOMALIA Judith Tebbit, abducted by Somali terrorists of the Al Shabab movement in September last year from a beach camp in Kenya, when her husband was in fact shot dead during the night time raid, has been freed and flown to Nairobi yesterday according to sources […]
Arrest turns conservation group and media against KWS CEO
ARREST TURNS MEDIA AND CONSERVATION GROUPS AGAINST KWS CEO News from Nairobi were received with some incredulity when it became known that the General Manager of Eco-Tourism Kenya, a well respected conservation and best practice organization long established in Kenya, was arrested. This apparently followed a complaint by the KWS Executive Director Dr. Julius Kipngetich […]
Uganda tourism news – Nile Safari Lodge makes it into bestselling travel guide
NILE SAFARI LODGE MAKES IT INTO THE 1.000 PLACES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE If it had to be any closer to the River Nile, it would have to be in it I wrote many years ago following a visit to the then Nile Safari Camp, now the Nile Safari Lodge, the first to be […]
Qatar Airways comes to Kigali, at last
QATAR COMES TO KIGALI, AT LAST When I checked in for the inaugural flight to Kigali in Entebbe at noon yesterday, it was clear from the first moment that this was going to be different. At the document pre-checking point a TRULY friendly smile, a professional look at my passports relevant pages and not aimlessly […]
East African aviation news – Qatar Airways announces date for Mombasa flights ahead of Kigali inaugural
QATAR AIRWAYS EAST AFRICA UPDATES As the inaugural flight from Doha to Kigali, via Entebbe, is preparing for departure from the award winning airlines home base, their PR team already on site in Rwanda has released more information about their future route planning for the Eastern African region. It was previously mentioned here that one […]
Uganda tourism news – Country gets respectable third place ranking for Africa at ITB
UGANDA STAND COMES THIRD AT ITB Winners this year for best African stand was to the surprise of many Morocco, which seemingly met the expectations of the judges when the votes were cast and counted, followed as runner up by last years surprise winner Burundi, which in 2011 dethroned Rwanda after a reign of 4 […]
Interpol initiates a series of raids on ivory smugglers and traders in over a dozen African countries
INTERPOL JOINS LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT IN BIGGEST RAIDS EVER Now that the raids have taken place it is time to reveal how Interpol worked hand in hand with more than a dozen African countries and their wildlife management and law enforcement agencies to carry out a series of raids, including across Eastern Africa, to arrest […]
Tanzania’s aviation sector set to meet in Dar es Salaam this week to discuss new policies and strategies
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT FORUM SET FOR DAR ES SALAAM MEETING Tanzanias aviation sector is set to convene in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday and Thursday this week to discuss opportunities and constraints for the airline industry, bringing an estimated 200 experts from Tanzania and the wider region together. Also expected are representatives from ICAO, IATA […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and from the Indian Ocean islands, Third edition March 2012
AVIATION, TOURISM AND CONSERVATION NEWS from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. A weekly roundup of breaking news, reports, travel stories and opinions by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome Get daily breaking news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome, join me on Facebook where the articles also cross load or read the daily […]
Rwanda’s Presidential Advisory Council put tourism and conservation high on the agenda
PRESIDENTIAL ADVISORY COUNCIL FOCUSES ON TOURISM On the eve of linking Rwanda with 5star flights to the rest of the world through Qatar Airways award winning service QR is the first of the major Gulf giants to fly daily to Kigali effective 21st of March did news emerge that the Presidential Advisory Council met with […]
Tanzania tourism news – Singita Grumeti adds new ‘safari residence’ to their circuit
SINGITA GRUMETI GAME RESERVE ADDS NEW SERENGETI HOUSE Information was received overnight that Singita Grumeti Game Reserves have embarked to convert a former managers house into an upmarket residence for tourist visitors. Up to 8 visitors at a time can stay in the house when ready, and a total of 4 self contained suites, offering […]
Congo’s Virunga gorilla national park under threat by oil companies
VIRUNGA PARK OIL EXPLORATION DEAL TRAMPLES ON UNESCO WHS STATUS The government of the Congo DR has reaffirmed its dubious pedigree of being at best lukewarm towards conservation and at worst opposed to it for the motive of profit, when news broke that a preliminary oil exploration license was given to SOCO International for initial […]
RwandAir signs firm order for two CRJ 900 with two added options
RWANDAIR SIGNS FOR TWO NEW BOMBARDIER CRJ 900 Rwanda’s national airline has, following protracted negotiations with several manufacturers of regional jet 70 – 110 seat aircraft, this morning signed a purchase deal with Canadian manufacturer Bombardier for the delivery of two CRJ 900 planes, due to be delivered already in October this year. It is […]
Tanzania conservation news – New visitor centre inaugurated at WMA bordering the Serengeti
NEW VISITOR CENTRE OUTSIDE SERENGETI TO BOOST TOURISM ACTIVITIES Information was received over the weekend that the Ikona Wildlife Management Area, of which the Singita Grumeti Reserve is part, has now formally commissioned a new visitor centre, from which the entire area of some 26.000 hectars of land dedicated to wildlife conservation is to benefit. […]
EAC Summit leads to Tanzania’s commitment to remove unilateral non tariff barriers
TANZANIA SCRAPS VEHICLE ENTRY FEE AT BORDERS WITH KENYA Faced with massive pressure by the four other East African Community member states during a recent ministerial meeting in Mombasa and the prospect of a diplomatic fallout at the head of state summit last weekend has Tanzania rushed to reassure in particular Kenya that they would […]
La Reunion voted ‘Global Best’ for tourism’s I-Pad application by Travel D’Or
REUNION TOURISM VOTED TOP FOR BEST I-PAD APPLICATION The island of La Reunion, recently in the media spotlight following the hugely successful co-hosting of the Carnival International de Victoria in the Seychelles, has just been voted via Travel DOr as the worlds best application for viewing on the I-Pad. This accolade is bound to bring […]
Seychelles aviation breaking news – President Michel appoints new Air Seychelles Board of Directors
PRESIDENT JAMES MICHEL APPOINTS NEW AIR SEYCHELLES BOARD OF DIRECTORS President James Michel has last weekend formally appointed a new Board of Directors, ahead of the first meeting of the newly constituted board on Friday, made necessary by the acquisition of 40 percent of the company shares by Etihad, the national airline of Abu Dhabi. […]
Etihad / Air Seychelles partnership takes shape
AIR SEYCHELLES SHRUGS OF OPPOSITION CLAIMS, FOCUSES ON FUTURE A press conference last Friday in Victoria saw the Minister for Home Affairs and Transport, the Hon. Joel Morgan, make a joint appearance with Etihads CEO and President James Hogan and Air Seychelles CEO Cramer Bell, outlining the future of the airline. Earlier in the week […]
Rwanda aviation news – Emergency drills at Kanombe International Airport trigger major incident response
KANOMBE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CONDUCTS EMERGENCY DRILLS The Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority yesterday carried out a live fire exercise at the international airport in Kigali, for which all emergency services were put on full alert to test the state of readiness and response time should ever a real emergency arise. The simulation involved the imagined emergency […]
Kenya aviation news – Delhi set to become Kenya Airways’ second Indian destination
DELHI WILL BECOME KENYA AIRWAYS SECOND INDIAN DESTINATION The Pride of Africa is set to launch flights to Delhi, Indias capital city, from the 15th of May onwards, extending their operations to a second destination on the subcontinent after having flown for many years to Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay. The airline will fly from […]
Kenya conservation news – Now the Aberdare National Park too threatened by wildfires
NEW FIRES NOW THREATEN THE ABERDARE NATIONAL PARK TOO Prolonged drought conditions and insufficient rain have been blamed for the outbreak of fires now also reported form the Aberdare Mountains, where KWS is hand in hand with fire fighters and volunteers now also trying to extinguish raging fires, as recently reported about from Mt. Kenya […]
Kenya tourism news – Novel way to promote Kenya through theatre performances planned
KENYA TOURIST BOARD SEEKS NOVEL WAYS TO MARKET THE COUNTRY A source close to the Kenya Tourist Board has confirmed that arrangements are being finalized to produce a theatre play named Out of Africa The Magic of Kenya due to be launched in some of Kenyas key European markets later this year. Shows are due […]
After UTODA’s strangle hold on public transport was broken it is Karibu to the new city busses
COMMUTER BUSSES IN KAMPALA, A NOVEL WAY TO EXPLORE THE CITY The recent, yet politically highly charged introduction of a fleet of brand new commuter busses into the city has opened up new options for visitors to Kampala, finally being able to cut through the maze of routes and pick up points of the commonly […]
Tanzania aviation news – Swissport makes record profits on the back of a near monopoly
NEAR MONOPOLY EARNS SWISSPORT RECORD PROFITS While officially at least the monopoly of Swissport as the sole handling agent at key Tanzanian airports has been lifted, when a few more licenses were granted last year, the reality is that it remains a quasi monopoly, which is bringing huge profits and benefits to the shareholders, all […]
Seychelles Carnival, Number two is gone, number three is one the way
CARNIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE VICTORIA A REVIEW AND A PREVIEW True to the words of the Seychelles Tourism Board was the 2012 Second Edition of the Carnaval de Carnivals, the mother of all carnivals in Victoria / Seychelles, bigger, better, more colourful and under an unprecedented media spotlight, bringing the Seychelles once again to the global […]
Tanzania conservation breaking news – EACJ rules against Tanzania government, Serengeti Highway case to go ahead to full hearing
ANTI SERENGETI HIGHWAY COALITION CELEBRATES LEGAL VICTORY The appellate division of the East African Court of Justice has dismissed an attempt by the Government of Tanzania to question the jurisdiction of the East African Court of Justice, to which environmentalists and the conservation fraternity had taken their case, trying to block it from building a […]
