Month: May 2012
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Kenya secures 29 billion KShs loan from Japan for Dongo Kundu bypass to the South Coast
KENYA SECURES 29 BILLION LOAN FOR CONSTRUCTION OF SOUTH COAST BYPASS HIGHWAY Coincidentally did the news of the financing of the long overdue South Coast bypass highway break as this correspondent was a the coast, putting smiles on the faces of key stakeholders. Mombasa and Coast Tourist Association Chairman Mohammed Hersi in a long discussion…
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Sarova Whitesands undergoing a 20+ million US Dollars room upgrade programme
SAROVA WHITESANDS UNDERGOS 20+ MILLION US DOLLAR UPGRADE During a meeting with Sarovas Regional General Manager Mohammed Hersi information was confirmed today that the hotel, resort and safari lodge group will be spending in excess of 20 million US Dollars to upgrade their nearly 350 rooms and suites at the Sarova Whitesands Resort and Spa…
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Kenya Airways shares ‘fly high’ on news of Virgin’s exit and anticipation of share rights issue results
KENYA AIRWAYS SHARES JUMP BY 10 PERCENT ON VIRGIN EXIT NEWS There was combined excitement in the Kenyan share market yesterday as on opening of the Nairobi Stock Exchange on Monday morning the weekend news of Virgin exiting the market later in the year gave investors the confidence to drive the airlines share price up…
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Seychelles unity approach ‘snubbed’ by Mauritius’ copy catting?
SEYCHELLES UNITY APPROACH SNUBBED BY COPY CATTING MTPA ? A usually well informed source from Mauritius has leaked a bombshell decision apparently taken by the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority to copy cat the Seychelles success with the Carnival International de Victoria and try do their own rather than joining hands, as has been repeatedly offered…
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Kenya Airways eyes more routes but needs new aircraft first
KENYA AIRWAYS EYES NEW ROUTES Subject to timely delivery of new aircraft, one new Embraer 190 was received in May already and from July onwards a further 9 such birds on order are due to be delivered in monthly intervals, the Pride of Africa is set to open up several more routes this financial year,…
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Weekly roundup of news from the Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Third edition May 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 You can get your daily breaking news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome, join me on www.facebook.com/WolfgangHThome where the articles also cross load or…
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ICCA rankings for 2011 see not one African country or city in the top 20
ICCA RATINGS FOR 2011 SEE NO AFRICAN COUNTRY / CITY IN THE TOP 20 The International Conference and Convention Associations recent publication of the top 20 destinations for MICE business has reaffirmed the old world order, that not one African city or country made it into the top 20 worldwide. In fact the top 6…
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Kenya Government taken to court over cabinet decision to sanction highway routing through the Nairobi National Park
KENYA GOVERNMENT TAKEN TO COURT OVER HIGHWAY ROUTING THROUGH PARK Reaction to last weeks cabinet decision, to apparently ignore the licence terms granted by NEMA in connection with the Southern Bypass now going under construction and sanction a route inside the boundaries of the Nairobi National Park, has brought the almost inevitable reaction from the…
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Rwanda formally launches automated immigration processing for nationals
RWANDA FORMALLY LAUNCHES AUTOMATED IMMIGRATION CONTROL FOR NATIONALS The test phase successfully concluded saw the automated passenger arrival system for Rwandese nationals now formally launched at Kigalis Kanombe International Airport. Four years of developments and a significant investment in technology, and a trial phase reported her a few months ago, have now yielded the wanted…
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Seychelles arrivals reach record high in April as tourism trade delegation heads to Paris
VISITOR NUMBERS UP AS SEYCHELLES HEAD TO FRANCE The month of April ended in a new visitor arrival record for the Seychelles, when 20.049 visitors arrived through the international airport, a figure never reached before. This constitutes a 5 percent increase over April 2011, which too at the time had set a new record, while…
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UNESCO decision on Uranium mining in the Selous Game Reserve due next month
UNESCO DECISOIN ON SELOUS MINING DUE NEXT MONTH A periodic source close to UNESCO in Paris has confirmed that the Tanzanian government was undertaking a last minute goodwill initiative to lobby UNESCO ahead of the expected decision over the application to permit Uranium mining in the Selous Game Reserve, which is a UNESCO World Heritage…
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Air Tanzania resumes operations on Dar – Kilimanjaro – Mwanza route
AIR TANZANIA RESUMES FLIGHTS WITH LOWEST FARES IN THE MARKET Air Tanzania yesterday resumed flights on the route between Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, via Kilimanjaro, now operating twice a day on a morning and evening service between the commercial capital, the countrys safari capital Arusha and the lake side city of Mwanza. From reliable…
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Torrential rains make Masai Mara road impassable
RAINS MESS UP SAFARIS TO THE MASAI MARA A number of accounts were received overnight from Kenya that torrential rains had led to the closure of the Mai Mahiu Narok road, a crucial throughfare enroute to the world renowned game reserve, forcing safari busses and 4x4s to turn back with clients unable to reach their…
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Mwanza, Tanzania’s almost undiscovered city on Lake Victoria
MWANZA THE (ALMOST) UNDISCOVERED CITY ON LAKE VICTORIA (Mwanza, Tanzanias Lake Victoria lake side city / source: ExoticExpeditionsTanzania.com) Even for East Africans, Mwanza has an exotic ring to its name and more often than not, geography classes at school notwithstanding, some would place Tanzanias lake side city somewhere else, on Lake Tanganyika perhaps or not…
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Seychelles chosen as ICTP launch venue
SEYCHELLES CHOSEN AS ICTP LAUNCH VENUE The International Council of Tourism Partners will be formally launched, with now nearly 180 members from over 40 countries, at the tropical island paradise of the Seychelles on July 07th. The formation announcement was made at last years World Tourism Market when the Seychelles were a founder member alongside…
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ETS comes under renewed fire as EU commissioner threatens Chinese airlines with ‘consequences’ for non compliance, come June
ETS COMES UNDER MORE PRESSURE While some countries appear to have been quietly threatening the EU to block any agreements in upcoming climate talks to show their active disagreement to EU negotiators, should Brussels not refer their hugely controversial emission trading scheme to ICAO for moderation and to reach a globally acceptable solution ICAO and…
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Entebbe welcomes Nasair inaugural flight
NASAIR MAKES MAIDEN FLIGHT TO ENTEBBE Eritreas official airline Nasair Eritrea, which last year merged with Eritrean Airlines to form a stronger and financially more viable national airline, has now commenced flights to Entebbe Uganda from Asmara, offering the first direct flight between the two countries instead of having to travel via Nairobi. While the…
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Emirates adds Vietnam as destination 124 in their growing network
EMIRATES ADDS VIETNAM East African travelers will soon be able to say themselves the famous phrase spoken by Robin Williams, starring as the cantankerous, authority defying armed forces network DJ: Goooooood Mooooooorning Vietnaaaaaaam when travelling with Dubais award winning carrier Emirates, even though the daily flight will actually arrive at 19.20 hrs local time in…
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Air Seychelles fleet development update as airline set to receive 2 A330-200 over next 8 months
AIR SEYCHELLES SET TO GET 2 A330-200 AND AT LEAST 1 A320 A regular source from Victoria has confirmed that the Seychelles national airline will between mid and end of June receive their first A330-200 aircraft, painted in Air Seychelles livery. Crews are already training for type conversion from their old licenses for the B767…
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Seychelles resorts and restaurants reeling from rocketing cost for cooking gas as government scraps subsidies
SEYCHELLES RESORTS AND RESTAURANTS UP IN ARMS OVER ROCKETING GAS PRICE A number of Seychelles based hoteliers and owners of restaurants in regular contact with this correspondent have expressed their dismay, if not outright anger, over the sharp rise of the price for liquefied gas to now nearly Seychelles Rupees per litre. It was learned…
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Virgin announces end of flights to Kenya by September 24th
VIRGIN ANNOUNCES END TO KENYA FLIGHTS A shock announcement was dropped on Kenya yesterday by the management of Virgin, presently operating daily flights between London Heathrow and Nairobis Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, that they will discontinue flights effective 24th September this year. A senior airline executives statement was quoted to this correspondent by an aviation…
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The Swahili Fashion Week 2012 is coming to a place near you in East Africa
SWAHILI FASHION WEEK IS COMING TO A PLACE NEAR YOU IN EAST AFRICA border=0 v:shapes="_x0000_i1025"> The fifth edition of the Swahili Fashion Week will go underway in Kenyas capital Nairobi with the first of overall four events, when the Nairobi Showcase takes place on the 30th August this year. This will be followed by the…
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Gulf Air’s future hangs in the balance after Bahrain’s lower house of parliament rejects bail out package
GULF AIRS FUTURE HANGS IN BALANCE Sources from Bahrain have overnight confirmed that the Kingdoms lower house of parliament has yesterday rejected a proposed bailout plan presented by the airline, worth some US Dollars 1.75 billion and referred the matter to the upper house of parliament for moderation and mediation. The Kingdoms government has committed…
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Uganda Wildlife Authority launches new state of the art website
UGANDA WILDLIFE AUTHORITY LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE Virtual access to Ugandas ten national parks was just made easier for anyone wishing to visit the Pearl of Africa during the countrys 50th anniversary year of Independence from Britain, after the Uganda Wildlife Authority and their partners launched the latest state of the art website version. Supported by…
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Seychelles at the tip of your finger for iPhone and iPad users
SEYCHELLES FOR I PHONE YES YOU CAN Tourists intending to visit the Creole Island Paradise of the Seychelles, for real or through a virtual visit will now be able to download a dedicated Seychelles application to their iPhone or iPad, also available for Android smart phones. Seychelles Connect has recently launched their novel way of…
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RwandAir appoints Bert van der Stege as new General Manager / Commercial
RWANDAIR APPOINTS NEW GENERAL MANAGER COMMERCIAL Breaking news just in from a regular source in Kigali tells the story of a management reshuffle with the appointment of Mr. Bert van der Stege, who joined the company as General Manager Commercial, elsewhere known as Commercial Director or Chief Commercial Officer earlier in the month. Bert can…
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South Sudan opens one stop investment centre in Juba
INVESTMENT CENTRE OPENS IN JUBA AS FIRST HIGHRISE BUILDING PLANS REVEALED The government in Juba has opened their first dedicated investment one stop centre last weekend it was learned from a regular source in South Sudans capital. Potential investors, often taken aback by the bureaucracy involved to open shop in South Sudan, have greeted the…
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Turkish Airlines makes Kigali their 20th African destination
TURKISH MAKES KIGALI THEIR 20TH AFRICAN DESTINATION The arrival in Kigali of Turkish Airlines makes it three new connections this year which Rwanda has established with the rest of the world over the past few months. Turkish, a Star Alliance member, joins alliance partners Brussels Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways in Kigali, adding…
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RwandAir set to announce Mwanza flights
RWANDAIR ADDS MWANZA AS NEXT DESTINATION A regular source in Kigali has confirmed that RwandAir will be adding Mwanza, Tanzanias main Lake Victoria township, to their growing list of destinations as the airline continues to expand. The flights are due to commence in June, just weeks from now, and preparations are in high gear to…
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Mombasa’s Bella Vista Night Club hit by attempted attack
MOMBASA NIGHTSPOT HIT BY ALLEGED TERRORISTS The Moi Avenue based Bella Vista Night Club and Restaurant in Mombasa was hit last evening by what has been described as both gunfire and an explosion. While details remain sketchy at this stage, information has been trickling in since 10 pm last evening that at least one person,…