UWA gets new marine anti poaching unit at Murchisons Falls NP
UGANDA WILDLIFE AUTHORITY LAUNCHES ANTI POACHING UNIT ON THE NILE The Uganda Wildlife Authority has recently launched the Semanya Marine Ranger Station on the banks of the River Nile, from where regular anti poaching patrols are now operating to monitor in particular the open access across Lake Albert into the Murchisons Falls National Park. The […]
Kenya Airways and Kenya Tourism Board sign partnership deal
KENYA TOURISM BOARD AND KENYA AIRWAYS SIGN PARTNERSHIP DEAL Two leading stakeholders in Kenya’s tourism industry, the Kenya Tourism Board and national airline Kenya Airways, have yesterday put pen to paper to sign a one year partnership agreement, aimed to jointly promote the country’s tourism attractions. While The Pride of Africa will inject 20 million […]
RwandAir plane ‘touches wings’ with Kenya Airways aircraft at JKIA
KENYA AIRWAYS AND RWANDAIR PLANES ‘TOUCH’ AT JKIA Information is starting to emerge from an aviation blog www.Rwandan-Flyer.com that RwandAir’s new B737-700, while taxiing at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, appears to have ‘touched’ wings with a Kenya Airways aircraft, the make of which was not immediately known. While apparently no passengers did come to […]
Hemingways brings a new luxury dimension to Nairobi’s hospitality scene
HEMINGWAYS NAIROBI BRINGS A NEW LUXURY DIMENSION TO NAIROBI ‘The increasingly growing profile of Nairobi as a premier business destination in the region has occasioned an increased demand for quality beds, fine dining and conference facilities. Hemingways Nairobi is keen on tapping into Kenya’s sustained growth in business traveler and tourism arrivals. As optimism in […]
Seychelles and China sign mutual Visa waiver agreement
SEYCHELLES AND CHINA SIGN MUTUAL VISA WAIVER Confirmation was received today by a regular source from Mahe, that the Seychelles – already the only country not to require a Visa from visitors no matter where they come from around the world – and China have signed a mutual Visa waiver agreement, now also allowing Seychellois […]
Miss Rwanda Tourism inaugural event set for countdown to Grand Finale
RWANDA LAUNCHES PREPARATIONS FOR INAUGURAL MISS TOURISM EVENT Rwanda’s first ever Miss Tourism contest will go underway on May 10th, when the 15 finalists, selected from Rwanda’s university and tourism colleges, will be revealed and introduced to the public at the Hotel Mille des Collines in Kigali by the event organizers. The Eureka Group, formed […]
Malindi and Watamu lose electricity as power switch station floods
FLOODED POWER STATION CAUSES MALINDI / WATAMU POWER OUTAGE The entire stretch of coast from Malindi to Watamu and beyond towards Kilifi was plunged into darkness yesterday, when torrential rains caused a power substation in Kilifi to flood, before it had to be taken off the grid to prevent damaging the equipment in the switch […]
Jetlink’s day in court this Friday as airline defends against winding up petition
JETLINK’S CREDITORS TO MEET IN COURT AS DECISION LOOMS Information from Nairobi has confirmed that this Friday, 10th of May, will be a crucial day for Jetlink, once Kenya’s leading private jet airline, as creditors will have their say on a winding up petition filed by the company’s aviation fuel supplier Finnjet. While Jetlink has […]
Addis Ababa named as Qatar Airways’ 20th destination in Africa
QATAR AIRWAYS NAMES ADDIS ABABA AS ITS 20TH AFRICAN DESTINATION With additional East Africa destinations still on hold – the announced flights to Mombasa and Zanzibar are still on ice over suspected traffic right issues – has Qatar Airways now announced that they will commence daily flights to Addis Ababa from 18th September this year. […]
Air Uganda adds third Bombardier CRJ 200 to fleet
AIR UGANDA GETS THIRD BOMBARDIER CRJ 200 Air Uganda yesterday received their third Bombardier CRJ 200 aircraft, leased from American aircraft leasing company GECAS. This brings the total fleet of Air Uganda to presently four, including one remaining MD 87 aircraft, the only one on the fleet with a two class Business and Economy layout. […]
Landslide cuts key road link from Kigali to Musanze
KEY HIGHWAY FROM KIGALI TO MUSANZE / RUHENGERI BLOCKED BY LANDSLIDES One of Rwanda’s most important traffic arteries, the highway from Kigali to Musanze, and from there on to Gisenyi, was yesterday completely blocked when a land slide took out half of the road at Gashenyi / Gakenke District. The road, hugely important for trade, […]
Mwambani evictions denounced by residents and human rights groups
THE ADVANCE OF THE CORRIDOR OF DESTRUCTION DISPLACES MWAMBANI RESIDENTS ‘These evictions are illegal but legalities have never stopped this government from doing something. Land acquisition procedures under the current law, the Land Act of 1999, have been ignored because no ESIA has been conducted. It is also illegal because the value government has put […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, First edition May 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 news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome or join me on www.facebook.com/WolfgangHThome where the articles also ‘cross load’. Read […]
Kenya Airways adds another flight to Maputo
KENYA AIRWAYS ADDS FOURTH FLIGHT TO MAPUTO Kenya Airways has announced the introduction of a fourth weekly flight, operated by KQ, between Nairobi and Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique. In addition does Kenya Airways codeshare two flights with LAM Mozambique, bringing the total connections per week to now 6. Information availed quotes Kenya Airways’ […]
Kenya Airways team up with Safaricom to use Bonga Points for tickets
KENYA AIRWAYS PARTNERS WITH SAFARICOM TO WIDEN BRAND LOYALTIES ‘This relationship of like-minded organisations demonstrates our collective desire to ensure that we give our customers the best experience through our unparalleled offerings. As we speak, there are over 9.5 billion Bonga Points on our system and we believe that our customers will be keen to […]
Kenya makes huge budget provisions for airports and highways
KENYA COMMITS MAJOR BUDGET ALLOCATION TO AIRPORT IMPROVEMENTS The government of President Uhuru Kenyatta has proposed to allocate 125 billion Kenya Shillings to the improvements of airports and road infrastructure as initial figures of the 2013/14 budget have become available. While the nominated cabinet secretaries, formerly known as ministers, are still awaiting confirmation from the […]
Precision Air – target of a smear campaign ?
PRECISION AIR TARGETED BY SMEAR CAMPAIGN? There are growing indications that the breaking news story yesterday morning in Tanzania’s Daily News about the alleged ban of Precision Air by Zanzibari authorities is both a fluke as well as very likely a targeted attempt, to turn public opinion against Tanzania’s only DSE listed airline. The airline […]
Kenya Airways joins Born Free Foundation at key fundraiser in Cape Town
KENYA AIRWAYS JOINS ANTI POACHING ALLIANCE In an effort to curb the rising tide of wildlife poaching in across the wildlife range countries of Africa has Kenya Airways recently formed a new partnership with the Born Free Foundation. The two organizations are teaming up to raise funds for a number of initiatives which contribute towards […]
Rwanda’s new concession policy expected to boost investments in tourism
NEW CONCESSION POLICY OPENS DOOR FOR MORE PARK INVESTMENTS A recently passed policy on the award of concessions for Rwanda’s national parks, in particular for Nyungwe Forest and Akagera, has now opened new opportunities for joint ventures or individual investments in tourism facilities for Rwanda’s private sector. Ms. Rica Rwigamba, who is head of department […]
Emirates rocks Kenyan market with rebates of up to 28 percent
EMIRATES OFFERS UP TO 28 PERCENT REBATES FOR TICKETS OUT OF NAIROBI Starting this morning and ending on the 04th of May will Emirates offer Kenyan travelers up to 28 percent rebates for tickets purchases to a number of destinations, Dubai itself included but most of course beyond into the airline’s global network. A source […]
The Pearl Guide launches Uganda’s first tourism application for iPhone
UGANDA LAUNCHES FIRST MOBILE GUIDE APP Following a flurry of app launches across the border in Kenya has Uganda now pulled level, when The Pearl Guide launched their own Uganda Guide App earlier this week. The comprehensive guide application can be downloaded on to iPhones from the ‘App Store’ and avails a wide range of […]
Hunter becomes hunted as former UWA commission of enquiry now under financial scrutiny
UWA COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY NOW SUBJECT TO SCRUTINY In a twist of events is information emerging from the Ministry of Tourism that the Commission of Enquiry into the Uganda Wildlife Authority, which dominated headlines for a while in 2010/11, is now itself coming under scrutiny for the apparent failure to account for funds given to […]
Emirates set to increase Bangkok and Hong Kong capacities
EMIRATES SET TO UP FAR EAST FREQUENCIES Emirates, Dubai’s award winning airline, has announced that come October travelers from the airline’s East Africa destinations Entebbe, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam will have more choices when flying via Dubai to Bangkok and Hong Kong. The airline already serves Bangkok 5 times a day now, including one […]
MCTA gives provisional green light to hotel levy by Mombasa County Government
MCTA GIVES CONDITIONAL OK TO PROPOSED HOTEL LEVY BY MOMBASA COUNTY The Chairman of MCTA, renowned hotelier Mohammed Hersi, has given a conditional agreement to the proposals floated by recently elected Governor Mombasa County Ali Hassan Joho, that a levy be introduced on hotel rates to finance better waste collection and provision of water and […]
Branson blames travel advisories for Kenya’s tourism downturn and Virgin’s departure
BRANSON BLAMES US AND UK FOREIGN OFFICES FOR KENYA’S TOURISM DOWNTURN In a hard hitting commentary has Sir Richard Branson heaped blame on the US State Department and the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office for branding Kenya as a dangerous destination and using language in their anti travel advisories which immediately invalidated any travel insurance, […]
Chef’s Delight Gala Dinner awards Kenya’s best culinary minds
CHEF’S DELIGHT AWARDS HONOUR KENYA’S BEST CULINARY MINDS The Chef’s Delight Award Dinner last weekend at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in the heart of Nairobi showcased Kenya’s culinary best and rewarded those who consistently turn freshly sourced ingredients from Kenya’s farms and ranches, lakes and sea into dishes rocking the palates of culinary gurus, […]
