Porini Mara Camp attains EcoTourism Kenya’s most coveted Gold Rating
PORINI MARA CAMP JOINS THE ELITE RANKS OF ECOTOURISM KENYA’S GOLD LABELS News just broke from Nairobi that the Porini Mara Camp, located on the Ol Kinyei Conservancy adjoining the Masai Mara Game Reserve, has attained the highest marks possible in the annual eco ratings published by EcoTourism Kenya, when it gained, alongside sister camp […]
Emirates brings the A380 to Mauritius – one time only
EMIRATES TO FLY THE A380 TO MAURITIUS IN MARCH Information has been confirmed by a regular aviation source from the Gulf that Emirates, the award winning national airline of Dubai, will in a one off flight present the giant of the airways, the Airbus A380, to the Mauritius market on the 12th of March this […]
Happy Birthday Kenya Airways and Happy Landings, always
KENYA AIRWAYS TURNS 36 Following the collapse of East African Airways and the progressive breakdown of the then original East African Community, was Kenya Airways formed as a state corporation on the 22nd of January 1977. Starting up with two Fokker 27 Friendship aircraft, a DC 9, and eventually as many as three B707 and […]
Etihad and KLM set to code share flights to SEZ and AMS
KLM TO CODESHARE WITH ETIHAD FOR SEYCHELLES FLIGHTS Etihad, Abu Dhabi’s national airline and 40 percent owner of Air Seychelles, has announced daily flights effective May 15th between Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam as part of an extensive new code share agreement with Dutch national airline KLM. The daily A330-200 service between the two cities will […]
Kenya Airways boosts fleet with another E190
KENYA AIRWAYS TAKES DELIVERY OF ANOTHER E 190 With the delivery of another Embraer E190 has Kenya Airways boosted its fleet over the weekend, affirming it as Africa’s largest operator of this aircraft type. Registered as 5Y-FFF the single aisle regional jet offers 12 business class seats with a 2 x 1 layout and 84 […]
Seychelles and Australia sign new BASA
SEYCHELLES AND AUSTRALIA SIGN NEW ENHANCED BILATERAL AIR SERVICE AGREEMENT The Seychellois Minister for Home Affairs and Transport Joel Morgan and the Australian Minister for Pacific Affairs Richard Marles on Friday signed a new and greatly enhances BASA, aka Bilateral Air Services Agreement, to facilitate improvements in air transport between the two countries and allow […]
More controversy over poaching figures as opposition politician claims real numbers more than twice as high
TANZANIA’S SHADOW TOURISM MINISTER MAKES BLISTERING POACHING ALLEGATIONS The member of parliament for the Iringa constituency Mr. Peter Msigwa, has yesterday made blistering allegations against unnamed top politicians and called for a fresh parliamentary enquiry into the true extent of poaching in Tanzania, when he claimed that over a quarter of all blood ivory now […]
RwandAir looks with confidence to 2013 after a record breaking 2012
RWANDAIR’S LOOK INTO THE FUTURE A source close to RwandAir has given indication that the airline is continuing in2013 where they ended last year, eyes firmly focused on expansion. Two leased B737-500 aircraft, introduced in 2010, will see their contracts come to an end later this year, making way for the introduction of more modern […]
Emirates acts fast to up capacity to Dar by 40 percent after BA withdrawal
EMIRATES REACTS FAST TO BA WITHDRAWAL NEWS While many in Tanzania are still struggling to come to terms with the announced withdrawal of British Airways from the skies over Dar es Salaam – the airline last week confirmed their withdrawal from the end of March – Gulf giant Emirates was swiftest to react and make […]
Jimmy Kibati made Acting Commercial Director as Mohan Chandra exits Kenya Airways
KENYA AIRWAYS PARTS COMPANY WITH MOHAN CHANDRA AS KIBATI TAKES OVER Mr. Jim Kibati was made Acting Commercial Director on Friday as Mohan Chandra, until the 18th of January the Commercial Director of Kenya Airways, left the Pride of Africa after his contract expired and was not renewed. Mohan served with Kenya Airways since August […]
Weekly roundup of news from Easten Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Third edition January 2013
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 […]
Seychelles Tourism Academy – a true Centre of Excellence in Africa
SEYCHELLES TOURISM ACADEMY SIGNS MOU WITH OMAN’S TOURISM COLLEGE As often said here before, the Seychelles Tourism Academy is turning into an Africa Centre of Excellence, supported along this path by a strong commitment from government as well as the private sector across the archipelago. Ongoing reconstruction of classrooms, application facilities, of a restaurant, meeting […]
Garissa hotel attack attributed to Al Shabab remnants
GARISSA HOTEL SCENE OF ANOTHER AL SHABAB ATTACK While there is no indication at present if the indiscriminate shooting the evening before yesterday at the Dunes Hotel in Garissa was related to the just concluded party nominations for political elective offices – a major rally was planned for later the following day by one of […]
Rwanda set to ponder introduction of hospitality training fund
MAKE HOSPITALITY TRAINING A GREATER PRIORITY SAYS RWANDA PRIVATE SECTOR The Tourism Chamber, part of the Private Sector Federation in Rwanda, has recently completed a field study aimed at establishing service levels and competence among staff encountered in off the books, off the record and incognito visits by the consultants’ staff. The Rwanda Development Board, […]
Nairobi Safari Walk doubles fees for pupils, students and children
KWS ANNOUNCES FEE RISE FOR SAFARI WALK Come February will the cost of visiting the Nairobi Safari Walk at the KWS headquarters and entrance to the Nairobi National Park go up for students and children from the present 50 bob to 100 Kenya Shillings, a result of risen cost and the need to generate additional […]
Mauritius Airport announces record passenger movements for 2012
AIRPORT MAURITIUS ANNOUNCES PROFITS FOR LAST FINANCIAL YEAR With nearly 2.7 million passengers arriving, departing and transiting through the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport in 2012, the parastatal company announced a dividend to be paid to the Mauritius government of 460 million Rupees from a combined operational pre-tax profit of nearly 1.4 billion Rupees. The […]
Precision launches Mbeya flights
PRECISION LAUNCHES MBEYA FLIGHTS AMID DEMANDS TO HAVE FUEL AT SONGWE Precision Air on Wednesday launched the long awaited scheduled flights to Songwe Airport, which serves Mbeya and the wider region of the Southern Tanzanian highlands. The inaugural flight carried among others the Founder and current Chairman of Precision Air Mr. Michael Shirima, and the […]
Ethiopia opens new highway section to The Sudan
HIGHWAY LINK BETWEEN SUDAN AND ETHIOPIA COMMISSIONED A Chinese built and financed highway link between Ethiopia and The Sudan was declared open and operational during the week, when officials in Addis Ababa made the announcement. The new highway, over 100 kilometres in length, connects the Ethiopian town of Asossa with the Sudanese town of Kumruk, […]
Dusit International set to join Nairobi’s hospitality scene
NOW DUSIT JOINS THE HOSPITALITY THRONG IN NAIROBI Usually reliable information from Nairobi speaks of the arrival in Kenya of yet another internationally top rated hospitality group, Thai based Dusit International Hotels, which is due to take over the management of a new 5 star boutique styled property before the end of the year under […]
Routes meeting details for 2013 released
ROUTES PUBLISHES 2013 MEETING PROGRAMME BRINGING ROUTES AFRICA TO UGANDA Routes has just published the calendar of regional and global events taking place in 2013 across the word, bringing together the who is who of the aviation industry. Airlines, airports, tourism boards, regulatory agencies and authorities meet under the Routes banner to discuss opening new […]
Double celebrations at The Ark
THE ARK EARNS TOP TRIPADVISOR RATING AS WEBCAM TAKES GAMEVIEWING GLOBAL The Ark, Kenya’s own version of Noah’s original refuge for wildlife, which from its large terraces and lounges offers superb game viewing across a forest glade and large waterhole in the middle of the Aberdare National Park’s forest, has double reason to celebrate this […]
BA set to leave Dar es Salaam by March this year
BRITISH AIRWAYS SET TO PULL OUT OF DAR ES SALAAM Information was just confirmed from a regular aviation source in Dar es Salaam, that British Airways appears set to leave Tanzania’s commercial capital come March this year. The respective booking systems do not show any flight availability beyond March either, adding a further confirmation to […]
Akagera fencing work to finish by April
AKAGERA FENCE COMPLETION NOW EXPECTED BY APRIL The fencing work to separate the park from the farms of neighbouring communities bordering, which has been carried out by African Parks, the joint venture partner of RDB Tourism and Conservation managing the national park, is now expected to be complete by the end of March or early […]
The never ending Likoni ferry saga adds another chapter
LIKONI FERRY SUFFERS ANOTHER BAD DAY A regular source from Mombasa related the latest mishap which struck the Likoni ferry yesterday, when one of the newly purchased ferries, MV Likoni, reportedly came in too fast for landing and then got stuck on the ramp way above the water level. The Kenya Ferry Services were last […]
Kenya Airways sticks to the Dreamliner
KENYA AIRWAYS STICKS TO DREAMLINER – FOR NOW Kenya Airways, aka The Pride of Africa, has downplayed the current hullabaloo about Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner, of which the airline has 9 such aircraft on firm order, plus an additional 4 on purchase options. A statement from the airline, while expressing concern over the current spate of […]
Blame Ministry, mean Minister
RENEWED CRITICISM TOWARDS TOURISM MINISTRY HEAPS MORE BLAME ON MWAZO Senior stakeholders in Kenya’s tourism sector are increasingly outspoken now about the performance of the Ministry of Tourism in recent months, but are still stopping short of publicly repeating what is being whispered behind closed doors, that they hold the minister personally responsible for the […]
More blood ivory seized at Mombasa port by vigilant officials
KENYA CUSTOMS SEIZE TWO TONS OF BLOOD IVORY AT MOMBASA PORT Customs, security and KWS officials have yesterday seized two tons of blood ivory, containing some 600 tusks and pieces of ivory, said to be worth over 1 million US Dollars on the open market. Information from Mombasa indicates that the container was labeled as […]
Seychelles Ministry of Tourism and Culture gets new Principal Secretary
SHERIN RENAUD APPOINTED NEW PRINCIPAL SECRETARY FOR TOURISM Mrs. Sherin Renaud, for long the successful CEO of the Seychelles Investment Board, was yesterday appointed as the new Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. The move is seen to further strengthen this Ministry’s ability to spearhead the island nation’s most important economic sector, […]
Kempinski in Kenya
KEMPINSKI TAKES OVER THE OLARE MARA CAMP The day has finally dawned on Kempinski’s entering Kenya’s hospitality industry proper, when the formal handover by the owners Simba Colt of the Olare Mara Camp took place earlier today to global hospitality giants Kempinski. Now known at the Olara Mara Kempinski | Masai Mara, the 11 Deluxe […]
The Carnival is not over until the ‘Fat Lady has sung’
IS MAURITIUS TRYING TO RAIN ON SEYCHELLES’ CARNIVAL PARADE? Preparations for the 3rd edition of the fabulous Carnaval de Carnivals, aka Carnival International de Victoria in the Seychelles, are in high gear it was learned from a source on Mahe. Rehearsals have taken place, the floats, kept in secret locations, are being build up and […]
