Which country bucks the trend in East Africa and shows constant tourism growth?
WHAT IS RWANDA’S SECRET TO THE COUNTRY’S TOURISM SUCCESS (Posted 20th May 2015) When I recently asked the Seychelles’ Minister of Tourism what the secret of success was to drive the archipelago’s tourism industry to ever greater heights, year after year, did Alain St. Ange, tongue in cheek, answer ‘If I told you that it […]
African saints are becoming more popular year after year
THE LONG MARCHES TO NAMUGONGO HAVE STARTED AGAIN (Posted 20th May 2015) One of, if not the highest profile event on the Ugandan’ calendar of cultural and religious festivals, the annual Uganda Martyrs Day celebrated on 03rd of June, is rapidly rising on the horizon again. Pilgrims have commenced their long walks from Uganda’s four […]
Another Dreamliner – another two African routes!
ETHIOPIAN ANNOUNCES NEW ROUTES JUST DAYS BEFORE DREAMLINER #13 ARRIVES (Posted 20th May 2015) Ethiopian Airlines has confirmed that effective 30th of June two more destinations in Southern Africa will be added to their African network. Gabarone / Botswana and Cape Town / South Africa will become the airline’s 50th and 51st continental destinations and […]
Major East African airport carries out ICAO mandated drill
DO NOT PANIC – THIS IS A DRILL (Posted 20th May 2015) Several regular sources yesterday early morning were swift to pass information that ‘Something is going on at JKIA’ but upon further investigation and when getting in touch with the Kenya Airport Authority it soon became clear that Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was undergoing […]
Enough is enough as this African airline answers back
KENYA AIRWAYS CLEARS THE AIR (Posted 20th May 2015) Sections of the Kenyan social media have made it their favourite pastime to tear into Kenya Airways at every given opportunity in recent months. Often met with stoic silence has the airline now however decided to respond, long overdue in the view of many of their […]
Major blood ivory bust reported from Singapore
SINGAPORE AUTHORITIES SEIZE 3.7 TONS OF BLOOD IVORY (Posted 20th May 2015) (Picture courtesy of KenyaBuzz) Nearly 1.800 tusks were confiscated yesterday by authorities in Singapore, making it one of the largest busts ever against global syndicates trading in blood ivory. The consignment, found in a container shipped from the Kenyan port of Mombasa, reportedly […]
Rhino News
Save the Rhino needs you… View this email in your browser I want to be a Rhino Legend Once upon a time rhinos lived a peaceful life without threat of poaching or extinction…that’s how the story should read. Unfortunately it doesn’t. What’s more, if we don’t re-write the narrative now, we face losing this magnificent […]
A red carpet for visitors – well a red glow from an active volcano at least
CORSAIR OFFERS ‘VOLCANO SPECIALS’ TO MAKE ISLAND VISITS MORE AFFORDABLE (Posted 19th May 2015) In view of the current outbreak of the Piton de la Fournaise, Reunion’s active volcano, has Corsair yesterday launched special fares to the island for just Euros 696, return and all taxes included, a deal made possible in cooperation with IRT, […]
Which major Gulf airline finally launches their Android ‘App’
EMIRATES LAUNCHES ANDROID ‘APP’ TO GIVE THE OTHER HALF OF THEIR PASSENGERS EQUAL MOBILE FREEDOM (Posted 19th May 2015) Emirates, flying daily to Entebbe and double daily to Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, has now launched their long awaited Android App for travelers flying with them who do not use Apple phones or tablets or […]
African LCC orders a fourth Airbus A319
FASTJET SET FOR FLEET INCREASE (Posted 19th May 2015) The 50 million UK Pounds capital raised a few months ago, reported here at the time, is apparently being put to good use already as Fastjet has commenced their long awaited fleet expansion exercise yesterday. Fastjet PLC, a company quoted at the London Stock Exchange, made […]
RIP Dr. Samuel Andanje – The conservation fraternity will miss you
KENYA’S CONSERVATION FRATERNITY MOURNS THE PASSING OF DR. ANDANJE (Posted 19th May 2015) Last weekend saw the funeral take place of Dr. Samuel Ambindi Andanje at his rural home in Ingotse, Kakamega County, attended by many of his colleagues and members of the conservation fraternity. Dr. Andanje was the Kenya Wildlife Service’ Head of Ecological […]
Tourism to Northern Kenya gets massive boost through rhino relocation
RHINO RELOCATION SET TO ENRICH CONSERVANCY EXPERIENCE IN NORTHERN KENYA (Posted 19th May 2015) A long planned Eastern Black Rhino relocation went underway over the weekend to restock the Sera Conservancy with twenty of these prized animals, last seen in that part of the country over twenty five years ago. Two of the animals were […]
No 413 Wildlife Trade News: 19th May
The new week starts as the old one ended … with a daily dose of bad news from around the world about poaching, wildlife and environmental crimes in the spotlight today …………………… Sarawak chief minister’s environmental reputation on the line –- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/sarawak-chief-ministers-environmental-reputation-on-the-line-sean-whyte#sthash.qAtnzb1i.dpuf No 413 Wildlife Trade News: 19th May Kenya: Vietnamese Man […]
Seychelles’ Tourism Minister confirms first eight nonstop Beijing – Mahe flights
SEYCHELLES TOURISM OFFERS SUPPORT FOR CAISSA TOURISTIC’ BEIJING – MAHE NON-STOP FLIGHTS (Posted 18th May 2015) ‘Seychelles Tourism Board will work with the Caissa Touristic team to give marketing support if its flights from China to Seychelles are non-stop’. This statement was made by Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture in […]
All it takes is a trip to this Indian Ocean Vanilla Island to watch a volcano erupt
PITON DE LA FOURNAISE ERUPTS AGAIN (Posted 18th May 2015) Reunion’s regional government on the 29th of April issued a notice that the island’s active volcano, the Piton de la Fournaise, was likely to erupt again, suspending all hikes to the rim of the crater and also direct overflights by helicopters, a very popular activity […]
Another airline falls by the wayside in Kenya
KENYA’S SOUTHEAST THROWS IN THE TOWEL – BLAMES COMPETITION FOR EXIT (Posted 18th May 2015) News are filtering in from Nairobi that Kenya’s Southeast Airlines – The Spirit of Liberty has finally faced up to reality and halted operations. The airline, which used a leased African Express Bombardier CRJ100 aircraft and which according to the […]
No 411 Wildlife Trade News: 17th May
If you thought that poachers or environmental criminals take a break on Sunday, read on and think again … in the spotlight today …………………… Jardine Matheson subsidiary accused of threatening at-risk species by cutting down swathes of rainforest for palm oil plantations . SUMATRA http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/jardine-matheson-subsidiary-accused-of-threatening-atrisk-species-by-cutting-down-swathes-of-rainforest-for-palm-oil-plantations-10255729.html Southwest Aceh District Chief Detained in Palm Oil Corruption Case. […]
TANAPA stirs more trouble for Tanzania’s tourism industry
ARBITRARY CONCESSION FEE INCREASES RAISE NEW FIRESTORM AMONG TANZANIAN TOURISM CIRCLES (Posted 17th May 2015) ‘These increases are arbitrary. These increases are not transparent. These increases will be opposed even if TANAPA once more holds vehicles and tourists hostage at the gates. They will see us’ let a regular commentator from Arusha off steam when […]
EAC protocols trump national laws as member states agree to amend tourism legislations
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY MEMBER STATES SET TO ALIGN TOURISM LAWS (Posted 17th May 2015) Spats between Tanzania and Kenya earlier this year – incidentally still to be comprehensively resolved as the envisaged meeting at the end of April by delegations of the two countries was inexplicably postponed ‘sine die’- have exposed the soft legislative underbelly […]
Seychelles and Mauritius, two leading tourism powers in the Indian Ocean
The Seychelles in particular and after the regime change in Mauritius, where a new tourism minister is now injecting a fresh breath of air into that island’s tourism industry, have always projected images of the Indian Ocean’s best destinations in travelers minds and the 2015 Travel and Tourism Report only confirms what was an open […]
Reunion, always finding novel ways to whip up a storm of attention
GETTING YOUR HAIR DONE WHILE LEARNING ABOUT A DESTINATION – ONLY REUNION CAN COME UP WITH SUCH NOVELTIES (Posted 16th May 2015) Reunion Island Tourism (IRT) in partnership with Rainbow, a Belgian tour operator, the Lux * hotel group and home airline Air Austral, participated in two day workshop on the theme of wellness holidays. […]
No 410 Wildlife Trade News: 16th May
Weekend or not, the bad news just keep coming in …. in the spotlight today …………………… CYPRUS: ‘Deceived by the government’ on bird hunting. EXTRACT: According to BirdLife Cyprus, 2014 was the worst year for bird trapping since a record 900,000 songbirds were killed by poachers in the British base area of Dhekelia alone last […]
Dangerous Goods Rwanda – Registration now open IATA course Nov’15
For aviation personnel this training workshop is a unique opportunity to learn about IATA’s Dangerous Goods Regulations and on completion of the course, and a successful exam, gets certification! Do Not Miss! IATA Dangerous Goods training – cat. 6 23-27 November 2015, Kigali, Rwanda Registration is now open to book your place for this unique […]
No 409 Wildlife Trade News: 15th May
Gorillas behind bars to show them off instead of more Chinese coming to Uganda or Rwanda to track them? Bad news just continued to roll in … in the spotlight today …………………… Welcome to Shanghai Zoo’s indoor gorilla ‘exhibit’. If this looks bad to you (and if it doesn’t, we suggest you check your pulse), […]
ATA sticks to Kenya, UNWTO stand by Kenya but Skal, tail between their legs, sneaks away
May 2015 Welcome to ATA’s May Newsletter! ATA Passport to Africa, our monthly newsletter, features the latest member and Africa travel industry news. If you are an ATA member and would like to share your stories, please email us and find submission guidelines here. We look forward to hearing from you! Experience Magical KenyaDuring ATA’s […]
Runway light failure leads to flight cancellations
SAFETY FIRST – NO NIGHT FLIGHTS TO AND FROM KISUMU AS RUNWAY LIGHTS FAIL (Posted 16th May 2015) An inexplicable failure of the runway lights at Kisumu’s airport yesterday evening led to the cancellation of all flights in and out of Kenya’s lakeside city. Aviation source in Nairobi expressed their consternation that the lights failed […]
The charade about ‘Doing Business with Friends’
SKAL DECISION LEAVES KENYA’S TOURISM INDUSTRY REELING (Posted 16th May 2015) Skal, or so I thought, prides itself to ‘Doing Business among friends’ but when the news came through yesterday that the organizations big wigs voted to pull the Skal Congress from Mombasa’s beaches this coming October, it became utterly clear that they were not […]
Seychelles – WEF’s number two tourism destination in Africa
There is always more one can learn about destinations, especially African destinations and more specifically those way out in the Indian Ocean. Here certainly is another eye opener from the Seychelles, which may be small butfor sure is Oh La La … WEF GLOBAL TRAVEL & TOURISM REPORT 2015 PLACES SEYCHELLES IN 2nd. POSITION IN […]
Waterfalls? Yes, that is what Lillian Gaitho has in stock for you this weekend
With Lillian, a regular guest writer here on this blog, you can always expect to betaken places, unexpected places, and inspite of the wet weather, or maybe because of it, she is taking a look a waterfalls this weekend. YES, WATERFALLS … read on … Six Must Visit Breath taking Falls in East Africa Beside […]
Swaziland – shaking off the slumber and going places
News out of Indaba 2015 – The Kingdom of Swaziland set to build iconic convention centre and 5 star hotel, boosting economic growth Swaziland Tourism Authority (STA) recently visited Durban for South Africa’s leading inbound tourism trade show, Indaba, which took place at the Durban ICC between 9 and 11 May. Together with 15 industry […]
