Kigali – Dar row a growing headache for regionalists …

EAC RATTLED BY LATEST TANZANIAN NON TARIFF BARRIER SHENANIGANS (Posted 25th August 2013) In what observers have described as a blatant act of unilateral retaliation for being left out of recent trilateral meetings between Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda has Tanzania slapped a US Dollar 12.50 levy on Kenyan trucks at the border, once again showing […]

Elsia Grandcourt joins UNWTO as Regional Director for Africa

ELSIA GRANDCOURT APPOINTED UNWTO REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR AFRICA (Posted 25th August 2013) Dr. Taleb Rifai this morning announced in Victoria Falls / Zimbabwe that Mrs. Elsia Grandcourt, immediate former CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board, has been appointed as Regional Director for Africa, to be based at the UNWTO headquarters in Madrid. This lifts the […]

President James Alix Michel visits Seychellois’ owned tourism businesses

AFFORDABLE SEYCHELLES GETS PRESIDENTIAL NOD (Posted 25th August 2013) Affordable Seychelles appears a concept which many around the world, even those in the travel industry, often take with a grain of salt, a shake of the head and a frown of disbelief. In fact, one can hardly blame the doubting Thomases, considering that the archipelago […]

First charges being prepared over JKIA fire

FIRST COURT CASES IMMINENT NOW OVER JKIA FIRE (Posted 24th August 2013) Information is coming in from Nairobi that an initial 6 individuals have been singled out for charges to be brought against them in connection with the massive fire which swept two and a half weeks ago through Kenya’s and the region’s most important […]

SKAL’s regional fellowship gets top prizes from KQ and the Rembrandt Hotel & Towers

SKAL REGIONAL WEEKEND ATTRACTS FANTASTIC TOP PRIZE FOR RAFFLE (Posted 24th August 2013) The Skal regional weekend, hosted by the Skal Club of Kenya Coast, will celebrate the 12th anniversary of Kenya’s second club, which emerged from combining at the time Mombasa and Kenya Coast. Skal members from Nairobi and Kampala have been invited to […]

Second Africa Hotel Investment Forum now just a month away

ONE MONTH TO GO TO THE SECOND AFRICA HOTEL INVESTMENT FORUM (Posted 24th August 2013) The Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) will return to Kenya this year for the second edition of this event, taking place between the 23rd to 25th of September at the Hotel InterContinental in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. In the last three […]

Madhvani Foundation selects 152 students for scholarships

MADHVANI FOUNDATION SELECTS 152 FOR SCHOLARSHIPS (Posted 24th August 2013) This is the moment to congratulate the 152 Ugandan students who are the best of the best and exceptionally bright and deserving and have been selected by The Madhvani Foundation, part of the Madhvani Group in Uganda, to get scholarships totalling Ushs 650 million ( […]

Now what about this constant #DownWithUmeme

YES, WHAT ABOUT #DOWNWITHUMEME (Posted 22nd August 2013) You might of course be wondering, or as a Ugandan perhaps not, what my, and many others’ beef is with #DownWithUmeme. This week their fat cats pranced about their corporate headquarters, strutting their stuff and popping the champagne corks celebrating record profits. This at a time when […]

Sheraton Gardens the venue this Saturday for the Vintage and Classic Car Show

SHERATON PLAYS HOST TO ANOTHER VINTAGE AND CLASSIC CAR SHOW THIS WEEKEND (Posted 23rd August 2013) This Saturday will the Sheraton Gardens again be the venue for the annual Vintage and Classic Car Show, a key society event for owners of antique cars, all of which are lovingly maintained and still drive. Allowed to enter […]

Light aircraft crashes into Lake Manyara

LIGHT AIRCRAFT DITCHES IN LAKE MANYARA (Posted 23rd August 2013) A light aircraft enroute from Bukoba / Lake Victoria to Arusha yesterday developed problems and had to ‘ditch’ in the shallow waters of Lake Manyara, but was able to send out a distress call before going down. According to the patch information received up to […]

Masai Mara Hot Air Balloon festival to support anti poaching

HOT AIR BALLON FESTIVAL TO SUPPORT KENYA’S ANTI POACHING CAMPAIGN (Posted 23rd August 2013) (Source www.prestige-promotions.co.uk) An international line up of hot air balloons will congregate in Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve between 06th and 08th of December this year, to throw their support behind the growing momentum of Kenya’s anti poaching campaign. Organized by […]

Chameleon Hill Lodge – Uganda’s latest architectural fashion statement

CHAMELEON HILL – A LODGE OR AN ARCHITECTURAL FASHION STATEMENT (Posted 23rd August 2013) When rounding the last corner and getting my first glimpse of the Chameleon Hill Lodge, I must have made a sight to behold, mouth wide open, staring in disbelief, training the binoculars on the lodge, or was it a fantasy castle, […]

Sheraton Kampala to host ‘Chimpanzee Gala Fundraiser’

SHERATON SUPPORTS NGAMBA ISLAND FUNDRAISER (Posted 23rd August 2013) When on the evening of the 31st of August Uganda’s corporate and society who is who will congregate at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel for a fundraiser in favour of Ngamba Island, Uganda’s sole chimpanzee sanctuary island on Lake Victoria, one organization will already have put their […]

Narok County step up to reign in bad driving habits in Masai Mara Game Reserve

NAROK COUNTY REACTS TO MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT BAD DRIVING IN THE MASAI MARA (Posted 22nd August 2013) The present migration season in the Masai Mara, which has seen a daily influx of hundreds of vehicles into the Game Reserve, has also brought an increasing number of complaints about rough manners by drivers, attempting to push […]

Kenya Airways shifts international flights back to Unit 2

KENYA AIRWAYS MOVES INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS BACK TO UNIT 2 (Posted 22nd August 2013) Kenya Airways has just confirmed that they have started to move their international departures back to Unit 2, which has been made operational again following a devastating fire two weeks ago. The airline has issued a statement also informing passengers of slight […]

12 percent of Tanzania’s FastJet staff face loss of their jobs in cost cutting measure

FASTJET’S BOARDROOM AND SHAREHOLDER WOES NOW HIT TANZANIA STAFF (Posted 22nd August 2013) A range of woes, as previously reported here, and incidentally backed up by other media like Air Transport World in their own investigative articles, in the boardroom and among shareholders now seems to have reached the airlines’ Tanzanian employees. Several, according to […]

Serengeti Highway case resumed before the EACJ in Arusha

TANAPA AND SENAPA STAFF CALLED ‘PARROTS’ BY HIGHWAY OPPONENTS (Posted 22nd August 2013) When the East African Court of Justice resumed its hearings earlier this week, one of the first cases to be heard was the suit against the Tanzanian government by environmentalists and conservationists to permanently halt the construction of a highway through the […]

Watamu’s Medina Palms add more appeal to the coastal region

MEDINA PALMS OPENS IN WATAMU AS MORE POSH CONDO COMPLEXES ARE PLANNED (Posted 22nd August 2013) From Mombasa’s English Point to Briatore’s Billionaire’s Resort in Malindi, posh condominium, villa and residence complexes are now springing up along the coast, and Watamu’s Medina Palms is only the latest in a string of such developments. The newly […]

Lake Kivu ‘Barge Party’ to take place this weekend at Primus Port in Kibuye

KIBUYE’S PRIMUS PORT SET TO HOST LAKE KIVU’S FIRST BARGE PARTY (Posted 22nd August 2013) ‘We are doing such festivals and location specific activities to promote domestic tourism to the less visited sites in Rwanda and taking this boat party to Kibuye will encourage others to come up with their own ideas’ said a regular […]

Seychelles’ delegation heads to UNWTO Assembly in Livingstone / Victoria Falls

SEYCHELLES DELEGATION LEAVES FOR UNWTO ASSEMBLY (Posted 22nd August 2013) The Seychelles’ Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St. Ange, is leading his delegation to the upcoming General Assembly of the UN World Tourism Organization, where he will deliver a key note address, besides standing for election to the UNWTO Executive Committee. St. Ange is […]

Rift Valley Railways set for major rebranding exercise

RIFT VALLEY RAILWAYS SET FOR MAJOR REBRANDING (Posted 22nd August 2013) Rift Valley Railways, for long an embattled corporate entity, largely as a result of shareholder wrangles which went from the boardroom into the media arena courtesy of South African shareholder Sheltam – since then thankfully long gone back to obscurity – is set to […]

Lake Mutanda comes of age

LAKE MUTANDA FINALLY COMES OF AGE (Posted 22nd August 2013) (A view of Lake Mutanda, its islands and the distant Virunga volcanoes from the Chameleon Hill Lodge) Lake Mutanda, and the nearby Lake Mulehe, have for long captured the imagination of locals and visitors alike, but have never quite made it to the top of […]

Seychelles Tourism set to launch new magazine

SEYCHELLES’ AFICIONADOS LOOK FORWARD TO SESEL SA! (Posted 21st August 2013) A new tourism magazine, Sesel Sa! – the Voice of Seychelles Tourism, will soon be launched it was learned from regular sources on the main island of Mahe. The new promotional magazine will be produced by Paradise Promotions which is also behind the popular […]

Adamson anniversary again draws crowds to Meru and Kora

KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE EARMARKS THREE DAYS FOR ADAMSON COMMEMORATION (Posted 21st August 2013) Yesterday marked the 24th anniversary of the death of George Adamson, whose work with lions – alongside his wife Joy Adamson – made the couple ‘immortal’ in the world of conservation. For several years now have friends of George, and friends of […]

Dar es Salaam’s loss of historical buildings decried

DAR ES SALAAM RESIDENTS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER LOSS OF HISTORICAL BUILDINGS (Posted 20th August 2013) A regular source from Tanzania’s commercial capital of Dar es Salaam has just forwarded an article in yesterday’s The Citizen newspaper, which decries the loss of historical buildings at a rate, which, if not halted, could destroy this Indian Ocean […]

La Digue Feast of Assumption draws record crowds

LA DIGUE FESTIVAL BROUGHT THOUSANDS TO THE ISLAND (Posted 20th August 2013) The Seychelles’ most important religious festival, the La Digue Island Feast of Assumption once again presented itself as a crowd puller last week, when thousands of Seychellois but notably also foreign tourists flocked to the archipelago’s third largest island to witness and participate […]

Zanzibar records almost 10 percent drop in service receipts for the last financial year

ZANZIBAR TOURISM STAKEHOLDERS BEMOAN DROP IN REVENUES (Posted 20th August 2013) News of a significant drop in revenues from tourism, reportedly now standing at some 150 billion Tanzania Shillings versus 165 billion Tanzania Shillings for the previous year, have raised added concerns among tourism stakeholders on the spice island. The figures were just released by […]

Qatar Airways ups Nairobi flights

QATAR AIRWAYS UPS NAIROBI FLIGHTS (Posted 20th August 2013) Information was confirmed by Qatar Airways that effective immediately, the airline will increase their double daily flights to now 18 per week, following a sharp rise in demand. The added flights will operate on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday, leaving out only Monday, Wednesday and Thursday […]

Narok County now demands bank drafts for payment of Mara gate fees

NAROK TURNS TO KATO AFTER MARA TICKET SALES LOGISTICS CONTINUE TO DOG THEM (Posted 20th August 2013) The termination a few weeks ago of the revenue collection deal between Narok County and Equity Bank, still a matter of a bitter legal dispute between the two parties, exposed the soft underbelly of administering the Masai Mara […]