No 363 Wildlife Trade News 22nd March 2015
The daily dose of bad news about poaching, environmental and wildlife crimes … Sarawak targets 1.5 million hectares of totally protected areas. extract: "People do things because they are certain never to be caught. But if they are certain to be caught, that is the deterrent. That involves enforcement. We have to take a firm […]
Reprieve for tourists as exit duty on wood carvings is lifted
ANOTHER U-TURN SAVES TOURISTS HARRASSEMENT OVER PURCHASE OF CARVINGS (Posted 22nd March 2015) It was reported her two weeks ago that Tanzania had introduced an exit duty on wood carvings, raising an immediate storm of protest by carver cooperatives, safari operators, tourism association executives and tourists themselves, who were suddenly faced with having to cough […]
Flights are back on and JKIA access restored as presidents agree to halt the tit for tat spats
PRESIDENTIAL INTERVENTION SAVES THE DAY AS KENYA AIRWAYS RESUMES FULL SCHEDULE INTO TANZANIA (Posted 22nd March 2015) The devastating impact of sanctions by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority against Kenyan airlines clearly prompted heavy political pressure on Kenya’s top duo and it appears that the lobbying and what essentially amounted to ‘Get this sorted or […]
Qatar Airways announces launch of Zanzibar flights effective 01st of July
ZANZIBAR CELEBRATES ANNOUNCEMENT BY QATAR AIRWAYS TO LAUNCH FLIGHTS TO THE ISLAND (Posted 22nd March 2015) Qatar Airways has today announced the launch of five weekly services from Doha to the Spice Island of Zanzibar, in conjunction with a stop at Kilimanjaro International Airport, combining safaris and beach vacations for travelers flying with them from […]
Bahr el Jebel Safaris is planning another expedition into South Sudan
I do periodically promote a particular ‘product’ or services and when it comes to South Sudan, a country sadly again at war with itself, I do so because I want toshow the upside of that country and what it could be were peace to be restored and tourism allowed to flourish. Bahr el Jebel Safaris, […]
Stuck in mud – Stranded in Hwange National Park
Yesterday, while in a chat with a senior staff at the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, was I pointed to a link of an article which after reading just a few lines captured my imagination. You set out for a game drive, not really equipped to spend the night in the bush should the unexpected happen and […]
Following Hemingway’s footsteps
WATAMU – THE ERSTWHILE STOMPING GROUND OF ERNEST HEMINGWAY AND TODAY A HUB OF MARINE CONSERVATION ACTIVITY (Posted 21st March 2015) Ernest Hemingway’s life and East Africa in general and Kenya in particular are closely linked and some of his award winning novels, later on turned in to equally award winning films, were surely inspired […]
No 362 Wildlife Trade News 21st March 2015
Another dose of bad news about poaching, wildlife and environmental crimes from around the world … in the spotlight (again) today …………………… Zimbabwe Ignores Pleas, Catches Baby Elephants to Send to China http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-20/zimbabwe-to-export-live-elephants-defying-activist-s-opposition SHAME ON CHINA Are China’s Zoos Really ‘Acceptable’ Places for Zimbabwe’s Wild Baby Elephants? (NA comment: We have written and asked the […]
And Rwanda’s Service Oscars go to …
RWANDA’S SERVICE MAGAZINE REWARDS EXEMPLARY SERVICES (Posted 21st March 2015) Rwanda’s premier magazine, The ServiceMag, yesterday night celebrated service excellence and improved customer relations when they held their annual award ceremony at the Kigali Serena Hotel Conference Centre in the heart of the Rwandan capital. A number of award categories were again going to familiar […]
Reunion photo exhibition at the Salon Mondial du Tourisme in Paris
OLYMPIA DUBISHAR SHOWCASES HER REUNION PICTURES AT THE SALON MONDIAL (Posted 21st March 2015) Building on the success over the past two years at the Salon Mondial du Tourisme will the photo exhibition "My World Tour" again be present in 2015. For the duration SMT will space be dedicated to one of the actors of […]
Better ferry connections open up the Ssese Islands for tourism and trade
SECOND FERRY COMMISSIONED TO IMPROVE TRANSPORT TO BUGALA ISLAND (Posted 21st March 2015) Kalangala Infrastructure Services, a company contracted by the Government of Uganda to assist in the provision of lifeline services to Bugala Island, has just commissioned the second passenger and vehicle ferry as required under the terms of the agreement they signed. MV […]
It is the passengers who suffer when the regulators fight
KENYA AIRWAYS RELEASES STATEMENT ABOUT REDUCTION OF FLIGHTS TO TANZANIA (Posted 21st March 2015) Kenya Airways, together with other private airlines operating scheduled flights from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and Mwanza, were on Tuesday taken by surprise when the Tanzania CAA cut flights between the two countries by a staggering 60 percent […]
Lamu’s little lister? Try Wasini island as the closest ‘relative’
Guest posts are becoming increasingly popular here and in particularhas Lillian Gaitho opened the door for posts with a different theme and offering insights into topics. Today is it Amina Sabel’s turn to write about her adopted home, Wasini Island and I hope readers will appreciate her unique take on it. Did you know Lamu […]
No 361 Wildlife Trade News 20th March 2015
Another dose of bad news about poaching, wildlife and environmental crimes … in the spotlight today …………………… Three countries receive CITES trade bans for failing elephants (NA Comment: Keep in mind the reports the secretariat have received from Thailand etc, are all kept secret: WHY? Elephants don’t belong to CITES do they? CHINA – CITES […]
Tit for Tat Spats escalate into full scale confrontation between Tanzania and Kenya
WILL IT BE DOOM FOR EAST AFRICAN RELATIONS AS TOURISM TALKS BETWEEN KENYA AND TANZANIA BREAK DOWN? (Posted 20th March 2015) The more sober tourism stakeholders on both sides of the border earlier today expressed their exasperation, disappointment and often outright anger over the fact that the long overdue tourism talks between the two countries […]
News from Kenya’s leading safari airlines
SAFARILINK SHARE FUTURE PLANS AS AIR KENYA ALSO PROVIDES UPDATES ON CHANGES (Posted 20TH March 2015) Safarilink, one of Kenya’s premier ‘safari’ airlines with an equal part of ‘regular’ flights across their network, has today announced the launch of their own frequent flyer programme. Passengers, in particular on their routes regularly used by local travelers […]
Is Ethiopian eyeing Boeing’s mothballed early B787 models?
ETHIOPIAN LOOKING AT FURTHER B787 PURCHASES (Posted 20th March 2015) News are emerging from Addis Ababa that Ethiopian Airlines is apparently in talks with Boeing over the purchase of up to 6 more B787 Dreamliner aircraft. Still saddled with an ageing fleet of B767-300ER’s, some in fact fitted with blended winglets to reduce fuel burn, […]
Two more B777-300ER’s lined up for Air Austral
AIR AUSTRAL PLANS FLEET EXPANSION WITH TWO MORE B777-300ER’S (Posted 20th March 2015) Reunion’s home airline Air Austral will in late 2016 take delivery of two more Boeing B777-300ER aircraft, acquired through a lease agreement with the Air Lease Corporation ALC. The announcement was made yesterday by ALC and is yet to be confirmed by […]
Kreol Magazine Issue 12
News from around the Creole world … Welcome to issue 12 of Kreol Magazine. View this email in your browser Welcome to the first edition of 2015. On 8th March every year many countries would have celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD), also called International Working Women’s Day. The focus of the celebrations varies from general […]
Reunion embraces a holistic view on tourism developments and excellence
EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE DELIVERY IS A KEY TO SUCCESS AS IRT MEET LOCAL MEDIA (Posted 20th March 2015) IRT, aka Ile de la Reunion Tourisme, yesterday met the local media at their offices in St. Paul to brief them on a range of activities and measures taken to further improve tourism services for visitors to […]
General Electric delivers four more locomotives to Rift Valley Railways
RIFT VALLEY RAILWAYS ADDS FOUR MORE GENERAL ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES TO FLEET (Posted 20th March 2015) The delivery yesterday at the port of Mombasa of four more brand new locomotives, part of an order for 20, has boosted capacity of Rift Valley Railways to operate more trains and carry larger loads along the Mombasa – Nairobi […]
Serena bags second Gold Status from Ecotourism Kenya
ECOTOURISM KENYA AWARDS ‘ELEMENTAITA SERENA’ GOLD STATUS (Posted 20th March 2015) Ecotourism Kenya has, following an extensive audit, awarded the Lake Elementaita Serena Camp the coveted Gold Standard, the second such honour for Serena Hotels after their Sweetwaters Safari Camp on Ol Pejeta was certified some time ago. There are only 18 Gold Standard properties […]
Serena Hotels Enewsletter: March Issue
The latest news from Serena Hotels … Having any problems seeing this newsletter? View it in your browser March News Zanzibar Serena Hotel Enjoy Early Easter Offers with Serena Hotels How are you planning on celebrating your Easter break? Easter symbolized the beginning of the harvest season. For modern day children, it means lots and […]
Lillian Gaitho takes a look at Kenya’s travel demographics
Lillian Gaitho, PR Manager for Jovago.com, has becomea regular feature writer on this blog and her choice of topics has made her a reader’s favourite. Today she is taking look at visitor streams, both inside Kenya and from abroad, and perhaps to the surprise of many are Nigerians now leading continental arrivals by some margin. […]
Codeshare deal between RwandAir and Zambia’s Proflight opens new destinations for both airlines
ZAMBIA’S PROFLIGHT AND RWANDAIR SIGN EXTENSIVE CODE SHARE DEAL (Posted 19th March 2015) It was confirmed a short while ago that RwandAir and Zambia’s Proflight will codeshare on the route between Lusaka and Johannesburg when the three times a week flights from Kigali commence on the 27th of March. It is understood that Proflight will […]
No 360 Wildlife Trade News 19th March 2015
Your daily dose of bad news about poaching, wildlife and environmental crimes … in the spotlight today ……………………more evidence of China’s open complicity in the illegal wildlife trade. Also, a call for trade suspensions – see below. Will any CITES members have the personal integrity to apply sanctions? Or, will they continue to turn a […]
Australia bans importation of Lion trophies
The latest news updates from the Conservation Action Trust Australia bans importation of Lion trophies Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Australia bans importation of Lion trophies Daily Maverick | March 16, 2015 | Peter Borchert | Australia’s Minister for the Environment has banned the importation of lion parts and […]
RwandAir’s second Q400 will be leased rather than owned
RWANDAIR’S NEW BOMBARDIER Q400NEXTGEN ‘GAINING SHAPE’ (Posted 19th March 2015) RwandAir has announced the acquisition, via a long term lease, of a second Bombardier Q400NextGen aircraft, after signing an agreement with lessor Palma Holdings. This state of the art turboprop aircraft has all the hallmarks of a small jet but operates much more cost efficiently […]
More choices to travel to Washington for East Africans
BRUSSELS AIRLINES ANNOUNCES RETURN TO WASHINGTON DC (Posted 19th March 2015) Brussels Airlines has commenced a determined marketing and sales drive to support their return to Washington DC, which will, come 29th March, again be served five times a week. The airline’s four East African destinations Entebbe, Kigali, Bujumbura and Nairobi will all see special […]
Egypt comes to Uganda – well at least food, song and dance do.
SHERATON KAMPALA AND EGYPT AIR JOIN HANDS TO ‘BRING EGYPT TO UGANDA’ (Posted 19th March 2015) Egyptian culture, song, dance and food will make a flying visit to Kampala / Uganda courtesy of Egypt Air, which has teamed up with the Sheraton Kampala Hotel to promote inter African exchanges. The airline flies several times a […]
