To pay or not to pay – that is now the question for Mombasa hoteliers
KNIVES ARE OUT BETWEEN COAST HOTELIERS AND MOMBASA COUNTY GOVERNMENT (Posted 27th January 2014) Emotions are running high, and rightly so, between coast hoteliers with properties falling under the Mombasa county government and that very same devolved government, many now wish to hell and beyond. The dispute arose when the county assembly passed a new […]
Shockwaves spread as Africa’s membership numbers on UNWTO Affiliate platform become known
EAST AFRICA’S PRESENCE ON UNWTO AFFILIATE CATEGORY DESCRIBED AS ‘ABYSMAL’ (Posted 27th January 2014) Information has come to light that out of the over 400 UNWTO affiliate members only three are presently from East Africa while the continent overall only has 17 members. All three East African members are notably from Kenya, namely the Kenya […]
Groundbreaking for new Nile bridge announced for Tuesday
TUESDAY IS D-DAY FOR NEW NILE BRIDGE GROUNDBREAKING (Posted 27th January 2014) According to information received will President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni perform the ground breaking ceremony for the new bride over the River Nile in Jinja, in the presence of the Japanese Ambassador and the head of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, in short known […]
South Coast bypass – finally some good news
NEW BYPASS ROAD FROM NAIROBI HIGHWAY TO SOUTH COAST SET FOR START IN LATE 2014 (Posted 26th January 2014) Approximate new time frames were given yesterday by the Kenyan government for the long overdue bypass road to the South Coast, which is due to connect the international airport in Mombasa as well as the Nairobi […]
Conde Nast Gold List 2014 includes the Sarova Mara Game Camp
SAROVA MARA MAKES IT ON TO THE CONDE NAST GOLD LIST (Posted 26th January 2014) It is this time of year when hospitality businesses are keenly checking their mail inboxes to find out, some as expected and others perhaps a little more surprised, if they got news from TripAdvisor or Conde Nast about their rating […]
Now Logo New Game for Uganda Tourism
UGANDA TOURISM SEEKS NEW LOGO FOR ‘THE PEARL OF AFRICA’ (Posted 26th January 2014) In a renewed effort to rebrand Uganda, known around the globe as ‘The Pearl of Africa’, after quietly discarding an earlier slogan coined in the middle of the last decade ‘Uganda – Gifted by Nature’, is the Ministry of Tourism in […]
Tropical rainstorm lashes La Digue
SEYCHELLES ISLAND OF LA DIGUE HIT BY TORRENTIAL RAINS (Posted 25th January 2014) The Seychelles’ third largest island, La Digue, was yesterday at the centre of an epic rainstorm, which brought down 220 millimetres of rain in the space of just 7 hours in the deep of the night, lashing the island like hardly any […]
Ngorongoro Marathon – Running against Malaria
NGORONGORO MARATHON SET FOR 19TH APRIL (Posted 25th January 2014) This now annual race, first organized in 2008, will take to the road on 19th of April this year with an expected record attendance as the Ngorongoro Marathon has gained stature and recognition and become a hugely popular sporting event. Organized by the Rift Valley […]
Bag snatching crime hits foreign diplomat in Dar es Salaam
CRIME GETTING OUT OF CONTROL IN DAR ES SALAAM SUGGESTS DIPLOMAT’S RANT (Posted 25th January 2014) A rant taken from Facebook about yet another bag snatching incident on a busy street of Dar es Salaam brought back recollections of a number of similar reports last year, including one where a tourists was killed as she […]
Lucy Mbugua confirmed as KAA Chief Executive
LUCY MBUGUA CONFIRMED AS NEW KENYA AIRPORT AUTHORITY CEO (Posted 25th January 2014) (Picture via LinkedIn) Grapevine talk was finally confirmed yesterday when the Transport cabinet secretary Eng. Michael Kamau gave the green light for the KAA board chairman to formally announce the appointment of Ms. Lucy Mbugua as the new KAA Chief Executive Officer. […]
The ‘Chui’ and the Aberdare Country Club among the 2014 TripAdvisor winners
KENYAS LODGES AND RESORTS SCOOP TRIPADVISOR ‘TRAVELERS CHOICE 2014’ AWARD (Posted 25th January 2014) Two old ‘friends’ are among the 10 TripAdvisor winners already announced for 2014, which scooped the coveted ‘Travelers Choice Award’ for the current year, affirming again the quality these properties consistently deliver to their faithful clientele. The Leopard Beach Resort and […]
Hong Kong to destroy 28 tonnes of seized ivory after advisers endorse plan
Good news was received from one of the best sources available, Melissa Groo of ElephantNews, who regularly shares her global ‘media finds’ with me and many other conservation minded individuals and organizations around the world. This is an opportunity at last to recognize Melissa’s tireless efforts and work at ElephantNews.org from where she highlights on […]
Lake Victoria island for sale
EVER WANTED TO OWN AN ISLAND ON LAKE VICTORIA? (Posted 25th January 2014) Many of the visitors I met over the years who came to Uganda to find investment opportunities, or simply to live or retire in the Pearl of Africa, expressed their desire to own an island on Lake Victoria, but for most that […]
Africa must sort out Visa requirements and air connections says Dr. Taleb Rifai
UNWTO NAMES VISA AND AIR CONNECTIVITY AS KEY ISSUES TO GROW AFRICAN TOURISM (Posted 25th January 2014) UNWTO Secretary General Dr. Taleb Rifai has on the occasion of FITUR and INVESTOUR in Madrid taken the opportunity to once again speak to the assembled tourism ministers from the African continent who had come to lead their […]
Atta News Roundup 14th – 24th January
And hot on the heels of the Volcanoes news comes the news update from Atta in London, giving a broad overview of events and developments in Africa, covering aviation, hospitality, travel and conservation news – Enjoy! Atta News Roundup 14th – 24th January Atta News Atta’s Photography Competition – List of entries available:We are, […]
New VSPT Projects – Soap and Tea Time!
As part of sharing sectoral news, this news flash reached me yesterday from Volcanoes Safaris and is worth sharing with my readers. Enjoy! UG Tel: +256 (0) 414 346 464/5 Mail: vsptstaff AboutVirungaKyamburaBwindiGahingaSupportContact Happy New Year from the VSPT! 2013 was full of success stories for us, mostly centred on the Batwa community in Mount […]
Kenya government finally wakes up to tourism sector problems
KENYA GOVERNMENT REACTS TO TOURISM STAKEHOLDER CONCERNS (Posted 25th January 2014) Earlier in the week news broke that President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto will be carrying out a performance review for each of their cabinet secretaries – formerly known as ministers – in a few months after the first full year in […]
FastJet expands GDS presence to the key 7 systems
FASTJET EXPANDS GDS PRESENCE TO 7 KEY SYSTEMS (Posted 24th January 2014) If declared intent is to be followed by purpose and harbinger of things to come, the announcement by FastJet that they are now ‘live’ on the 7 most important global reservation and flight information systems surely must be one of those eye openers. […]
Two more poachers shot dead in Kenya
TWO MORE POACHERS GUNNED DOWN AS WAR ON POACHING GAINS MOMENTUM (Posted 24th January 2014) Two suspected poachers were shot dead in an exchange of fire with game rangers at Kenya’s Meru National Park, it was learned overnight. With the new wildlife law now in effect after formally publishing it in the government owned Kenya […]
JKIA’s temporary terminal to be put up by specialised German company
KENYA AIRPORT AUTHORITY SIGNS CONTRACT FOR ‘TEMPORARY TERMINAL’ (Posted 24th January 2014) News broke yesterday that the Kenya Airport Authority has finally awarded the tender for the temporary terminal at JKIA when it signed a contract with German company Roeder HTS. The new temporary terminal, long talked about but finally pursued with some added vigour […]
It is ‘Bon Appetite’ in Nairobi as the ‘Restaurant Week’ is about to kick off
NAIROBI RESTAURANT WEEK LAUNCHES JANUARY 30TH (Posted 24th January 2014) Following hot on the heels of the French Food Festival at the Nairobi Serena Hotel will aficionados of good food have more reason to go out and indulge as the Nairobi Restaurant week will kick off on the 30th of January, then giving 8 days […]
IBTM launches online registration to select 50 lucky hosted buyers for Cape Town event
AFRICA WEEK’S HOSTED BUYER REGISTRATION FOR IBTM OPENS ON WEB (Posted 24th January 2014) The much awaited inaugural Incentives | Business | Travel & Meetings Expo which will take place in Cape Town as part of the Africa Travel Week between 28th and 30th of April, has now launched the online registration of hosted buyers […]
Two Ugandan entries compete for top prize in Atta’s inaugural photo competition
ATTA LAUNCHES FIRST EVER AFRICA PHOTO COMPETITION (Posted 24th January 2014) The London based Africa Travel and Tourism Association – membership is considered quintessential for Africa’s leading hospitality and safari businesses – has announced the launch of their first ever photographic competition, featuring eye candy highlights from across the African continent. Launched earlier this week, […]
Rwanda’s secret of success – vision, discipline and resilience
RWANDA’S PRESENCE AT WEST AFRICAN BUSINESS FAIRS ‘VITAL TO GROW TRADE AND TOURISM’ (Posted 23rd January 2014) When the Rwandan business community participate in the upcoming regional trade fair in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, it will be one of several they will attend across the year in West Africa. Aided by regular flights from national […]
Seychelles a model for African economies
SEYCHELLES GETS WORLD BANK NOD OF APPROVAL (Posted 23rd January 2014) Five years, and a bit, after the Bretton Woods institutions left the Seychelles government with little choice but to implement major structural reforms of how the archipelago’s economy was run, are the results now not only felt across the islands, where economic opportunities have […]
Valentine’s Day turns into big business even in East Africa
VALENTINE’S DAY BECOMING A MAJOR FACTOR FOR EAST AFRICA’S TRAVEL INDUSTRY (Posted 23rd January 2014) Hotels, resorts, safari lodges, restaurants and now airlines too are trying to cash in on Valentine’s Day celebrations this year, more so as the big day falls on a Friday, making it a perfect mini getaway weekend for lovers. Kenya […]
Rwanda promotes her tourism attractions in Holland
RWANDA EXCELS AT UTRECHT TOURISM FAIR (Posted 22nd January 2014) Several companies from The Land of a Thousand Hills were participating in the Utrecht tourism trade show where they were able to showcase Rwanda’s tourism attractions to some 140.000 show visitors, many of whom flocked to the Rwandan stand to learn more about the country, […]
Planned Papal visit thought to spur interest in Uganda’s pilgrimage tourism
UGANDA EXPECTS POPE FRANCIS FOR 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF MARTYRS’ CANONIZATION (Posted 22nd January 2014) Details are emerging that Pope Francis will indeed visit Uganda, as several of his predecessors have done over the past decades, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the canonization of the Ugandan martyrs in October this year. Pope Paul VI on […]
KAA set to demolish burned out arrivals building
JKIA ARRIVALS BUILDING TO BE DEMOLISHED (Posted 22nd January 2014) Details are emerging of plans by the Kenya Airport Authority to demolish the burned out arrivals building at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, which suffered irreparable damage during a major fire in August last year. KAA invited tenders earlier this week, seeking to contract a suitably […]
Kenya Ports Authority taking a fresh look at plans for a cruise ship terminal
PLANS FOR DEDICATED CRUISE SHIP TERMINAL BACK ON FOR MOMBASA PORT (Posted 22nd January 2014) The Kenya Ports Authority has revived plans for a dedicated cruise ship terminal in Mombasa, aimed at tapping into the revival of cruise ship tourism in the Indian Ocean area off the African coast, following the defeat – by and […]
