Derek Houston announces Spotlight Roadshows for early 2016

Derek Houston, very well known in Eastern Africa for his workshops promoting travel to and from the region, has just announced the first Spotlight Roadshow dates for next year: Now that the 2015 series of exhibitions and roadshows are completed I am sure you are planning your March 2016 ITB and beyond sales activity If […]

Ndege News – December 2015 to February 2016

Aviation news from Air Kenya … HOME GM’S MESSAGE FEATURES NEWS UPDATES FEATURES Meeting the gods at Angama Mara Set on the slopes where the film, Out of Africa was shot 30 years ago is Angama Mara, the newest property taking the world renowned Masai Mara by storm.. Rupi Gill recently visited the property and […]

Safari Trails Newsletter – December 2015

More tourism industry news from Kenya and beyond … THE SPOTLIGHT IS ON LAMU! Rich in history and culture and blessed with exquisite natural beauty, the Lamu archipelago, located on the Indian Ocean along the northern coast of Kenya is a magical place of long white sandy beaches, rolling sand dunes dotted with palms and […]

Seychelles’ Tourism Minister appeals for calm among opposition supporters

Seychelles must not loose its safety label says the island Minister of Tourism Seychelles must not lose its safety label and every citizen must remain conscious that a period of instability will cause the tourism industry to suffer. ‘We need to remain united in safeguarding the image of Seychelles as a safe destination, and we […]

Seychelles tourism future depends on moving beyond the election frenzy

TREAD SOFTLY BECAUSE YOU MIGHT TREAD ON YOUR LIFELINE CALLED TOURISM (Posted 21st December 2015) Election observers and media representatives who had come to the formal announcement of the results of the Seychelles Presidential Elections last Friday night, held their combined breath when the runner up, one Wavel Ramkalawan, took to the stage. They were […]

Majestic Burundi Drummers to perform at Carnival Calabar

News updates from West Africa – enjoy Ikechi Uko’s ATQ News sent from Lagos / Nigeria ATQnews.com a member of Travel Media Group. This is the online platform for African Travel Quarterly (ATQ), the first Travel magazine in West Africa which solely focuses on travel and tourism issues. It started publishing offline about 10 years […]

Calabar Carnival – Africa’s largest street party … only in Nigeria

11TH CALABAR CARNIVAL ATTRACTS 11 PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES (Posted 20th December 2015) Mr. Ikechi Uko, who can in broad terms be described as doing in West Africa, based in Lagos, what this correspondent does in East Africa, has just passed on information about the upcoming final week of the annual Carnival Calabar. This is Africa’s biggest […]

Air France flight AF463 from Mauritius to Paris diverts to Mombasa

‘TEMPORARY’ MOMBASA AIRPORT CLOSURE TODAY IMPACTS ON KENYA AIRWAYS FLIGHTS (Posted 20th December 2015) In breaking news had Kenya Airways in the early hours of the morning announced that their flights KQ600, KQ601, KQ602, KQ603, KQ604, KQ605 and KQ 625 will be affected by what they called a ‘temporary airport closure’ of Moi International Airport […]

France, hit hard by terror, finally lifts anti travel advice against Kenya

FRANCE JOINS THE UK AND THE US TO LIFT ANTI TRAVEL ADVISORIES (Posted 20th December 2015) France has at last followed suit in lifting anti travel advisories published last year, warning her citizens not to visit Malindi and the rest of the Kenya coast. Following the lifting of similar negative publications by the US and […]

Fly Africa Namibia hung out to dry by erstwhile partner Nomad Aviation

FROM BAD TO WORSE FOR FLY AFRICA NAMIBIA AS ERSTWHILE PARTNER TAKES OUT LARGE COMMERCIAL WASHING HIS HANDS OF THE MESS (Posted 19th December 2015) The Revolution has eaten its child as the latest development involving FlyAfrica in Namibia, not just Zimbabwe, amply demonstrates. It is clear that there is now very bad blood between […]

A weekend of elections and referenda comes to an end

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN AS 98 PERCENT OF THE VOTERS ENDORSE CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE IN RWANDA (Posted 19th December 2015) It was a busy Saturday yesterday as several breaking news hotspots needed to be monitored late into the night. Uganda’s national electricity provider UMEME tried their hardest to keep this correspondent off the air by inflicting […]

ATW Congratulates Tony Tyler, Director General IATA for Leadership Excellence

ATW Airline Awards … and the winners are … If you have trouble viewing this email, read the online version. Congratulations Tony Tyler, Director General IATA Winner of the 2016 ATW Leadership Excellence Award Complete winners list will be announced through early January! Established in 1974 to recognize excellence in the air transport industry, an […]

President James Alix Michel wins runoff election for a third and final term

PRESIDENT JAMES ALIX MICHEL SECURES RE-ELECTION AS RUNOFF RESULTS ARE IN (Posted 18th December 2015) Results of the Seychelles runoff election for President have just been confirmed by the Electoral Commission in Victoria, Seychelles’ capital city, with President James Alix Michel being declared the winner with a margin of 50.15 percent of the votes cast. […]

Seychelles votes for President today

Seychelles votes today in its Presidential RunOff Election – President James Alix Michel v/s Wavel Ramkalawan (Posted 18th December 2015) The first round of the Seychelles Presidential elections that was held on the 5th December saw James Michel from the Parti Lepep (PL) with red as their campaign colour and Wavel Ramkalawan from the Seychelles […]

Four more A380 destinations announced for first five months of 2016

EMIRATES ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF AIRBUS A380 NETWORK TO FOUR MORE DESTINATIONS IN EARLY 2016 (Posted 18th December 2015) Travelers from Emirates’ East Africa destinations Entebbe, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam can in 2016 look forward to four more current destinations out of Dubai being upgraded to Airbus A380 flights. The airline has now confirmed that […]

RN2D members tour Reunion on fact finding mission

REUNION TOURISM HOSTS RN2D MEMBERS ON FAMILIARISATION TOUR (Posted 18th December 2015) Last week were heads of works councils and associations of members of the National Network of Departmental Group Club Destination (Rn2D) on the island of Reunion as part of a journey of discovery. For five days they were able to discover the tourist […]

It is constitutional referendum day in Rwanda

RWANDA VOTES ON NEW CONSTITUTIONAL CLAUSES (Posted 18th December 2015) Rwandans are, come daylight, heading to a referendum over proposals made by the country’s lawmaking bodies, Parliament and Senate, to change several clauses of the current constitution. This proposal was arrived at following wide consultations among the population and intense interaction between members of parliament […]

PRESS RELEASE: WYSE Travel Confederation restructure – positive voting results

WYSE Travel Confederation View this email in your browser Amsterdam, 17 December 2015 WYSE TRAVEL CONFEDERATION SECURES MEMBER SUPPORT FOR ORGANISATIONAL RESTRUCTURE Voting for the restructure of the WYSE Travel Confederation has closed today with overwhelming support from members for the change. A majority of the membership took part in the online vote with 89% […]

Register now for SMART Airports & Regions 2016 Conference & Exhibition

Smart Airports Conference 2016 … mark your diary … Register now for SMART Airports & Regions 2016 Conference & Exhibition ::: View in your web browser ::: EMAIL UPDATE NUMBER 4 SMART AIRPORTS & REGIONS RICHMOND, BC METRO VANCOUVER: JUNE 13-15, 2016 A TWO-DAY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION HOST REGION HOST AIRPORT Registration now open! Book […]

The Mara Needs You

The Mara Needs You (c) Sanjay Gupta Dear Friends, This is the second round of my appeal to you all. You have, I’m sure, all heard the sad news last week about the poisoning of the famous Marsh Lions of the BBC Big Cat Diary series, following their attack and killing of 4 cows that […]

Happy Holidays!

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. A message of responsible eco-management to East Africa The spotlight was on East Africa in the last days of November, when Pope Francis made his first trip to Africa starting in Kenya and moving on to Uganda. Pope Francis called […]

Kampala Cocktail week ends at Kampala Serena in Grand Finale

COCKTAILS GALORE AS THE KAMPALA COCKTAIL WEEK ENDS (Posted 17th December 2015) Kampala Cocktail Week, the biggest drinks festival in the region so far, came to grand close on the14th of December with an awards gala held at the Kampala Serena Hotel, to celebrate the success of the inaugural edition which was proudly sponsored by […]

LIGHT UP A LIFE THIS CHRISTMAS… ONCE AGAIN!

This extraordinary initiative by Serena Hotels needs a special mention … Light up a life this Christmas View this email in your browser LIGHT UP A LIFE THIS CHRISTMAS… ONCE AGAIN! Serena Hotels within its portfolio of 24 hotels, safari lodges, camps and resorts across East Africa and Mozambique was once famous for its elaborate […]

Eyes on Uganda at Climate Change Summit in Paris

CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL (Posted 17th December 2015) The effects of climate change in Uganda have been a key point of reference at the just-ended United Nations Climate Change Summit in Paris, France, dubbed COP21. The summit, which started on November 30 and ended on December 11, had moments of shifting attention to live images […]