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, […]
Sailing the Seychelles archipelago is the latest ‘in thing’
SAILING THE SEYCHELLES GAINS FRESH POPULARITY The Seychelles archipelago remains one of the most prestigious and sought after holiday destinations in the world with unparalleled natural splendor, daily accessibility by air from around the globe and an exclusive vacation experience for any discerning travelers fortunate enough to find themselves in this paradise. Lush tropical forests […]
Kenya Airways bags first international cargo award
KENYA AIRWAYS GAINS CARGO AWARD Last weekend saw Kenya Airways receive the Air Cargo News Global Service Award after being voted by the readers of Air Cargo News, a leading publication devoted to all matters pertaining to cargo shipments by air. Kenya Airways topped the Africa region and received this award for the first time […]
More discontent over World Travel Award campaign in Mauritius
MAURITIUS AWAIT OUTCOME OF ‘VOTE FOR KARL CAMPAIGN’ Following the closure of the voting for nominated participants are members of Mauritius’ tourism fraternity now waiting with bated breath how successful the pleas of MTPA chief Karl Mootoosamy were to make it into the price winning categories of the annual World Travel Awards which this year […]
Sudan gets Qatari cash for archaeological digs and restoration work
SUDAN’S NATIONAL MUSEUM AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES GET QATARI CASH INJECTION Information became available over the weekend that Qatar has offered a grant to The Republic of the Sudan worth 135 million US Dollars for a joint project, aimed to rehabilitate the Sudan National Museum and carry out infrastructure work on up to 100 archeological sites […]
Bad press for FastJet after major technical fault prompts long delays
IS THE MEDIA HONEYMOON OVER FOR FASTJET The honeymoon with the local media appears to be over for FastJet, as Tanzania’s leading newspaper Daily News yesterday broke a story of how airline executives were dealing, or rather not dealing with a major delay, which hit the flights of the airline on Saturday until mid day […]
Seychelles get security boost with arrival of new Dornier 228 surveillance aircraft
SEYCHELLES’ GET SECURITY BOOST WITH ARRIVAL OF BRAND NEW DORNIER 228 The Seychelles Air Force has taken delivery of a brand new Dornier 228 surveillance aircraft, which was donated to the country by India at the height of the fight against ocean terrorism, spread by Somalia’s religious extremists. The aircraft, equipped with the latest monitoring […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Fifth edition April 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 […]
Ethiopian Airlines first in putting the B787 back into the sky
ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES FIRST TO PUT THE B787 DREAMLINER BACK INTO THE SKIES Ethiopian Airlines yesterday was the first carrier to put the B787 Dreamliner back into the air after the FAA had lifted their grounding order and mandated a so called fix for the aircraft’s troubled Lithium Ion battery systems through an Airworthiness Directive. As […]
Kenya Airways confident of getting their first B787 in March 2014
FIRST KENYA AIRWAYS DREAMLINER ON COURSE FOR MARCH 2014 DELIVERY 11 months and counting was the sentiment at Kenya Airways’ Embakasi headquarters, when Boeing yesterday reaffirmed that deliveries scheduled for the B787 Dreamliner will not be affected by the recent grounding of this revolutionary new aircraft. The delivery of the KQ order was repeatedly delayed […]
Air Uganda ups Juba flights to 15 per week
AIR UGANDA UPS JUBA FLIGHTS FROM MAY 08TH Effective 08th of May will Air Uganda, the Pearl of Africa’s quasi national airline, increase the number of flights between Entebbe and Juba, the capital of South Sudan, from the present 12 to 15 flights a week. Weekends, i.e. Saturday and Sunday, will get a second daily […]
Kenya Airways granted 5th freedom rights between Lilongwe and Lusaka
KENYA AIRWAYS SET TO COMMENCE NAIROBI – BLANTYRE FLIGHTS ON JUNE 03 In breaking news was it just confirmed to this correspondent that Kenya Airways has been granted fresh approval by the Malawi government to commence flights between Nairobi and Blantyre, effective 03rd of June this year. At the same time was Kenya Airways also […]
KWS and TANAPA set to conduct joint cross border game count again
KENYA AND TANZANIA CONDUCTING JOINT TRANSBOUNDARY GAME COUNT A regular conservation source from Arusha has sent details about a planned joint transboundary game count, going underway shortly to cover areas along the common border, like Amboseli / Kilimanjaro national parks and further into the Rift Valley along the Lake Magadi / Lake Natron areas. The […]
Kenya Airways to open two state of the art lounges in Terminal Four at JKIA
NEW JKIA TERMINAL TO FEATURE TWO KENYA AIRWAYS LOUNGES Information has become available that Kenya Airways will be opening two state of the art lounges in Terminal Four, when the new facility will eventually open its doors to passengers next year. Presently does KQ offer two lounges at the existing terminal, however distant from the […]
Rwanda government puts planned sale of Umubano Hotel on halt
RWANDA GOVERNMENT HALTS SALE OF UMUBANO HOTEL As ties with the new Libyan government continue to improve, did news break that the Rwandan government, initially intent to sell off the Umubano Hotel – which under Gadaffi Libya had become part of his African hotel empire – when Laico Hotels failed to live up to their […]
Air Seychelles signs landmark code share deal with South African Airways
AIR SEYCHELLES SIGNS GROUND BREAKING CODE SHARE WITH SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS Air Seychelles today announced the signing of a ground breaking codeshare agreement with South African Airways, now covering the routes from Johannesburg to Mahe’s International Airport but also beyond, to the archipelago’s second island of Praslin where the airline operates multiple daily flights. In […]
Ziwa’s rhino ladies in the family way again …
MORE RHINOS ‘ON THE WAY’ AT ZIWA RHINO SANCTUARY The distance of just over 100 miles from Uganda’s capital city makes the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary the closest game area to Kampala and an excellent tarmac road, presently being upgraded further, allows easily for a full day outing and the guarantee to see the country’s only […]
Dr. Paula Kahumbu’s take on the latest case of bloody ivory smuggling in Kenya
Environmentalist PAULA KAHUMBU narrates her experiences when she attended the hearing of two ivory cases in Makadara court, Nairobi, on April 19 I’m sitting in Court 6, Makadara court, waiting to hear the case of a Vietnamese traveller arrested in transit at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Nairobi on April 7 with 488 pieces of […]
Kenya Airways releases Q4 operational data after FY2012/13 ended on March 31st
KENYA AIRWAYS POSTS Q4 OPERATING RESULTS Kenya Airways, aka The Pride of Africa, yesterday afternoon published their operating results of their fourth quarter of their financial year, which came to an end on 31st March. Full financial results will be announced, as has been the case in the past, during a press conference in a […]
Fly 540 and FastJet set to end court cases for a negotiated settlement of claims
FLY540 AND FASTJET SET TO DROP LEGAL CASES THROUGH NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT Information has reached from Nairobi, that the two combatants Fly 540 and FastJet seem to have dropped their mutual court action, which reflected widely different understandings and perceptions on the state of their erstwhile agreements of cooperation and sale of shares. Sources close to […]
Attempt to take close up picture of young born hippo results in tourist’s death
HIPPO KILLS CHINESE TOURIST ATTEMPTING TO PHOTOGRAPH YOUNG ONE Sad news are coming out of Kenya that a Chinese tourist has died in a local hospital, where she was taken last night after being attacked by a hippo while attempting to take a close up photograph of a young born. The tragic accident happened in […]
Uganda’s tourism minister gives Serena’s training initiative the nod of approval
SERENA’S SKILL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT GETS MINISTERIAL NOD OF APPROVAL (Seen in the picture are the Ugandan Minister for Tourism, the Hon. Maria Mutagamba [on the right] and the AKDN Representative for Uganda Mr. Mahmoud Ahmed [on the left] Serena Hotels yesterday afternoon launched their Skill Development Project at the Kampala Serena Hotel in the presence […]
RwandAir places firm order for Bombardier Q400 NextGen
RWANDAIR SIGNS DEAL FOR NEW AIRCRAFT WITH BOMBARDIER RwandAir, the national airline of Rwanda, has just signed a firm purchase order for one Bombardier Q400 NextGen, the type presented last year by the Canadian manufacturer’s sales team which showcased the aircraft across Africa. Valued at approximately 33 million US Dollars the aircraft will join two […]
