Kenya set to re-negotiate up to 13 Bilateral Air Service Agreements
KENYA TO RENEGOTIATE KEY BILATERAL AIR SERVICE AGREEMENTS The Seychelles, Mauritius and South Sudan are three of as many as 13 countries Kenya intends to review and revise bilateral air service agreements, in short BASAs, which regulate air traffic between states. Governed under BASAs are amongst other issues the number of frequencies designated airlines from […]
Africa’s equatorial belt forests get added oversight and hopefully greater protection
CONGOS FORESTS GET WIDER OVERSIGHT The often reckless destruction and unsustainable felling of tropical hard wood trees in the sprawling forests of the DR Congo has at last received the attention from the African Union it long deserved under the COMIFAC initiative, the English translation being the Central Africa Forests Commission. Increased deforestation in the […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Fourth edition July 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 […]
Mauritius’ occupancy levels continue to worry resort operators and hotel owners
POOR OCCUPANCIES BY MAURITIUS RESORTS PROMPT RENEWED CALLS FOR CHANGE The recent announcement by the chairman of the Mauritius small hotels association Mr. Bissoon Mungroo, that occupancies amongst member hotels were now at a record low of in average less than 40 percent, constituting a significant drop compared to the previous years performance, sent shockwaves […]
Kampala Aero Club goes carbon neutral in a first for Uganda’s aviation industry
KAMPALA AERO CLUB CERTIFIED AS CARBON NEUTRAL The Kampala Aero Club and Flight Training Centre, in short KAFTC, has recently accomplished another first for Uganda, when the company for formally certified as carbon neutral by the Uganda Carbon Bureau, covering all the companys flight and ground operations. Claims by UCBs press release of a first […]
Magical Kenya Travel Trade Fair 2012 set for September 28 – 30
KENYA TOURIST BOARD SET FOR END SEPTEMBER MAGICAL KENYA FAIR September 28 30 are the dates to mark in the calendar when Kenyas Tourism Board will once again host their Magical Kenya Travel Trade Fair to showcase the countrys attractions to the international market. Following a highly successful inaugural edition last year, the 2012 event […]
Kilimanjaro International attracts new interest after Qatar Airways inaugural flight
ADDITIONAL AIRLINES EYE KILIMANJARO AFTER QATAR AIRWAYS ENTRY Airline sources in Tanzania have indicated fresh interest by airlines in flying to Kilimanjaro International Airport following the successful market entry by Qatar Airways on the 25th of July. We know that Emirates and Turkish have been sniffing around after it was made public that QR will […]
KAA faces contempt of court charges, AGAIN
KAA FACES CONTEMPT OF COURT PROCEEDINGS No stranger to legal controversy, last in the full spotlight of the public when being part of the willful destruction of residences and properties on disputed land, for which the owners of the respective properties claimed to have titles but which KAA insisted was their land, KAA has again […]
President Kibaki appoints Chairs of tourism parastatals
PRESIDENT KIBAKI APPOINTS NEW CHAIRS OF TOURISM PARASTATALS Killian Lugwe, best known in Kampala for heading the team which transformed the former Nile Hotel International into the Kampala Serena Hotel before being posted back to Nairobi at the end of 2010, where after a spell as General Manager of the Nairobi Serena Hotel he now […]
Combined WHO and Ministry of Health team confirm Ebola outbreak in Uganda
EBOLA OUTBREAK CONFIRMED IN UGANDA A joint team of Ministry of Health and World Health Organization officials has yesterday officially confirmed in Kampala that an outbreak of Ebola has in recent days killed 14 people in the western district of Kibaale, some 200 KM from Ugandas capital city. Samples were tested at Ugandas Virus Research […]
Congo fighting prompts Clinton visit to Kampala
CLINTON SET TO ARRIVE IN UGANDA TO DISCUSS CONGO FIGHTING Us Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is due to arrive in Uganda this coming Tuesday for discussions with President Museveni on the renewed crisis in Eastern Congo, where intense fighting has once again displaced tens of thousands of innocent people as sections of the former […]
Annual migration arrives in the Masai Mara, exposing media reports on ‘sabotage’ by Tanzania as utter lies
MIGRATION ARRIVES IN THE MASAI MARA IN FULL NUMBERS Recent reports in sections of the East African media, alleging deliberate attempts by TANAPA and SENAPA to keep the annual migration of wildebeest into the Masai Mara, have not only been denied strenuously by Tanzanian officials but by the look of it lack all merit or […]
Routes Africa 2013 set for Uganda
ROUTES AFRICA 2013 COMES TO THE PEARL OF AFRICA Routes Africa, which just celebrated their most successful meeting ever in terms of African and global participation, will move to Uganda, the Pearl of Africa for next year, dates in July 2013 due to be announced soon. The just concluded 2012 conference was held earlier in […]
Qatar Airways adds Kilimanjaro, seeks to recruit airport personnel for growing African network
QATAR AIRWAYS SPREADS WINGS IN AFRICA WITH DESTINATIONS AND RECRUITMENTS Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania was the 18th African destination Qatar Airways is now flying to and the 118th international destination overall, as the worlds 5 star airline only recently once again so confirmed by Skytrax annual airline award announcements continues to expand into the […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands – Third edition July 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 […]
‘Normal Service will resume next week’
Dear Friends and regular Readers of my blog, for reasons beyond my control I had to take a break from my daily news broadcasts but regular postings should resume by mid or end next week. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Wolfgang
Is Tanzania’s Coelacanth Marine National Park at Mwambani damned for destruction?
CHINA READY TO FINANCE NEW MWAMBANI PORT INSIDE COELACANTH MARINE PARK Emerging information that China has reportedly stepped up to finance the construction of a new port at Mwambani, instead of rehabilitating and enlarging the existing and grossly underutilized Tanga port, have shaken Tanzanias conservation fraternity afresh. This has happened only days after learning that […]
Seychelles elected to chair Vanilla Island cooperation
SEYCHELLES ELECTED TO CHAIR VANILLA ISLAND COOPERATION Seychelles tourism minister Alain St. Anges tireless efforts in past years, and more so over the past few months when at least one member of the Indian Ocean island cooperation, misguided by one individual it should be stressed, wanted to ditch the partnership and break away, were rewarded […]
US slaps Kenya with fresh travel prohibition orders
US PLAYS MORE POWER GAMES WITH FRESH ANTI TRAVEL DIRECTIVES AGAINST KENYA After sustained pressure to lift the travel ban for US Embassy and associated organizations staff to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa last week, which had caused outrage within Kenyan government circles over both content and the devious manner in which the prohibition […]
Rwanda passes migratory birds protection bill
RWANDAS PARLIAMENT PASSES BIRD PROTECTION BILL The often mentioned fact here that Rwanda indeed has conversation engrained in its political fabric was once again confirmed when it became known that late last week did parliament pass a special bill, authorizing governments ratifying the relevant global agreement to protect migratory bird species. In fact it was […]
South Sudan – One year old today but enthusiasm has given way to the stark realities of independent life
ONE YEAR AND COUNTING FROM EUPHORIA TO SURVIVAL MODE A year ago the friends and supporters of South Sudan from around the world gathered in Juba to celebrate the South Sudanese flag being hoisted for the first time, when the ambitions for statehood by the Southern people finally became reality and a new country was […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Second edition July 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 […]
Bahr el Jebel Safaris open up South Sudan’s amazing wildlife to the world
BAHR EL JEBEL SAFARIS PUTS SOUTH SUDAN MIGRATION UP TO THE 2 MILLION MARK Already featured in National Geographics series The Great Migrations as one of the greatest wildlife spectacles remaining on the globe, the migration of the White Eared Kobs, the Tiang Antelopes and the Mongalla Gazelles remains a mystery to most, as even […]
Likoni Ferry suffers another incident prompting regular users to demand road bypass to be sped up
NEW FERRY MISHAP AT LIKONI LEADS TO RENEWED DEMANDS FOR ROAD BYPASS The Thursday evening incident at the Likoni ferry crossing, when one of the new ferries imported from Germany a while ago ran aground after missing the ramp, caused renewed pressure on the Kenya government to commence construction of the road bypass to the […]
Rwanda’s forest policies cited as best example for Africa to copy
WORLD FUTURE COUNCIL HAILS RWANDAS VISIONARY FOREST POLICIES After handing Rwanda their global Gold Award 2011 last year for the countrys groundbreaking forest policies, the World Future Council has just concluded a three day high powered meeting in Kigali to discuss how Africa can learn from Rwanda and copy successful methods and applications to restore […]
US Embassy in Nairobi lifts Mombasa travel ban for their staff
US EMBASSY LIFTS STAFF TRAVEL BAN TO MOMBASA Information was confirmed yesterday that the US Embassy in Nairobi has lifted the travel ban imposed on all their staff though that clearly did not affect the allegedly dozens of operatives of shadowy security organizations working the field in the war against terror at the Kenyan coast […]
Precision finally gets clearances for Lubumbashi
PRECISION AIR FINALLY GETS LUBUMBASHI CLEARANCES Reportsfrom Dar es Salaam have confirmed that Precision Air has yesterday finally made their maiden landing in Lubumbashi, after allegedly corrupt aviation officials were literally forced by their political masters in Kinshasa to sign off on giving the Tanzanian airline block clearance for their scheduled flights three times a […]
Emirates’ destination roll out continues unabated
EMIRATES SETS EYES ON YET MORE GLOBAL DESTINATIONS Dubais national airline Emirates is continuing its aggressive rollout of new destinations and has according to a regular source from the airlines Kampala office just announced three more new destinations, over and above the dozen already on the drawing board for 2012. Australia, or Down Under in […]
Serena Hotels get crowned by Africa Business Awards as the continent’s hospitality champions
AFRICA BUSINESS AWARDS CROWN SERENA HOTELS AFRICAS HOSPITALITY CHAMPIONS Now in its fifth year, the African Business Awards is the key annual event for the African Business World and is the most sought after award by Africa’s leading companies and entrepreneurs. Organized by the African Business Magazine (ABM) and the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), the […]
Seychelles breaks half year arrival record
100.000 AND COUNTING The tropical Creole island paradise of the Seychelles has yesterday welcomed the 100.000th visitor in 2012, the earliest ever to reach this landmark figure and now well on course to beat the 200.000 arrival mark estimated for the current year. Received by the archipelagos Minister for Tourism Alain St. Ange and the […]
