No 351 Wildlife Trade News 9th March 2015

Your daily dose of bad news … about poaching, wildlife and environmental crimes from around the world … in the spotlight today …………………… ‘Zim to continue with elephant exports’ extract: Environment, Water and Climate minister Saviour Kasukuwere has said Zimbabwe will continue to export its elephants to China http://www.thestandard.co.zw/2015/03/09/zim-continue-elephant-exports/ (SHAME ON CHINA AND ZIMBABWE) From […]

Fastjet reports a year on year rise in passenger numbers of 68 percent

FASTJET RELEASES LAST MONTHS OPERATIONAL DATA (Posted 10th March 2015) A 50 percent rise in passenger numbers in February 2015 over the same month a year ago and a 68 percent rise in passenger numbers on a year on year basis are solid increases by any standard and Fastjet did accomplish this almost with east. […]

Destination Kenya – Golf, Game and so much more

VI-WHERE? VIPINGO … V I P I N G O (Posted 09th March 2015 from the Vipingo Ridge) Readers may be forgiven if they never heard about Vipingo Ridge, which was until now primarily a golfing resort built for local fans of the game and ready to own a residential property on the estate to […]

Is the end of the tit for tat spat in sight?

TANZANIAN AND KENYAN TOP TOURISM BUREAUCRATS SET FOR CRUCIAL MEETING (Posted 09th March 2015) Information has now been confirmed that come 18th of March will the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, East African Affairs and Tourism meet to discuss solutions over […]

Increased competition seems to boost Swissport’s business, not dent it

SWISSPORT PROFITS RISE BY NEARLY 80 PERCENT (Posted 09th March 2015) Swissport Tanzania last week announced a rise in profits of some 78 percent, driven by an uprise in business and a combination of cost control and improved productivity. The company is Tanzania’s leading ground handling company with predominant bases in Dar es Salaam and […]

Step up Gender Equality demands UNWTO of the global tourism industry

The UNWTO/UN Women Global Report on Women in Tourism shows that tourism can offer significant opportunities to narrow the gender gap in employment and entrepreneurship as women are nearly twice as likely to be employers in tourism as compared to other sectors. The Report also shows that women are well represented in service and clerical […]

More travel insights from Lillian Gaitho on International Women’s Day

Lillian Gaitho has become a regular guest writer on this blog and today, on International Women’s Day, she is sharing some thoughts on Road Trips in Africa. Enjoy! Road Trips in Africa: Six Guidelines to Organizing the Trip of a Lifetime. Perhaps Walt Whitman’s was referring to African road trips when he quipped; “Not I […]

No 350 Wildlife Trade News 7th March 2015

And more about poaching, wildlife and environmental crimes from around the world … in the spotlight today …………………… Exposed: The brutal world of Tanzania’s illegal ivory poaching industry http://www.itv.com/news/2015-03-04/exposed-brutal-world-of-tanzanias-illegal-ivory-poaching-industry/ No 350 Wildlife Trade News 7th March 2015 China’s ivory ban branded ‘a flimsy measure that won’t work’ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/chinas-ivory-ban-branded-a-flimsy-measure-that-wont-work-10092137.html Poaching adversely affecting Wildlife Watching Tourism in […]

No 349 Wildlife Trade News 6th March 2015

Your daily dose of bad news about poaching, wildlife and environmental crimes … in the spotlight today …………………… Prince William on poaching: No fashion is worth ‘extinction of an entire species’ http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/prince-william-on-poaching-no-fashion-is-worth-extinction-of-an-entire-species-1.2262966 Prince William urges China to enact permanent ban on ivory trade Market for elephant tusks fuels poachers’ greed, Prince William says wrapping up […]

C&P and Elewana up the ante with a merger

ELEWANA MERGES WITH C&P TO CREATE A NEW POWERHOUSE ON THE SAFARI CIRCUIT (Posted 07th March 2015) Some of East Africa’s finest and most scenic safari properties, as repeatedly mentioned here in the past, are owned and operated by Cheli & Peacock and Elewana in both Tanzania and Kenya. Small is beautiful for long held […]

Kenya – a destination for game and golf

DATES FOR NEXT ‘KENYA GOLF TROPHY’ ANNOUNCED (Posted 06th March 2015 and reporting from the Vipingo Ridge) Hot on the heels of the Kenya Tourism Board hosting 10 of the most influential golf publications from around the world on a familiarization trip across the country’s best golf courses – and safari parks – did Tob […]

Uganda Hotel Owners Association gets new Executive Director

UHOA APPOINTS MS. JEAN BYAMUGISHA AS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (Posted 06th March 2015) Effective Monday this week did Ms. Jean Byamugisha take over the position as Executive Director of the Uganda Hotel Owners Association. She spent the last two years working for the UN’s IOM as a hospitality sectoral expert. Prior to her joining IOM, […]

And the Travel Oscars go to …

WORLD TRAVEL AWARD NOMINATIONS FOR 2015 ARE OUT AS VOTING GATHERS PACE (Posted 06th March 2015) Hotels and resorts across Kenya and in fact the Eastern African region have now received their notifications from the World Travel Awards, aka the Oscars of the Travel industry, that they have been nominated and in which category they […]

Congrats to the Kenya Airports Authority for bagging global recognition by ACI

Two Louis Berger aviation projects in Kenya and Mauritius honored at 2014 Airport Service Quality Awards The Airports Council International (ACI) recently recognized two of Louis Berger’s aviation projects (http://www.louisberger.com) with several Airport Service Quality (ASQ) awards. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport were distinguished as best-in-class facilities, according to ACI’s […]

Palm Oil Wiping out Africa’s Great Ape Rain Forests

More news from the Conservation Action Trust Palm Oil Wiping out Africa’s Great Ape Rain Forests Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Palm oil wiping out Africa’s great ape rainforests The Ecologist | February 24, 2015 | Staff Writer | The rainforest habitat of chimpanzees and other great apes is […]

Reunion’s tourism industry – marketing the island’s attractions

REUNION HERE, REUNION THERE, REUNION ALMOST EVERYWHERE (Posted 06th March 2015) Reunion Tourism will exhibit at the Lyon ‘Salon de Randonneur’ which takes place at the city’s International Congress Centre from the 19th to the 21st of March. The show is dedicated to the great outdoors and a key platform for adventure seekers, hikers and […]

Countries hope for boost in regional visitor numbers as travel requirements are eased

FACILITATING AND EASING TRAVEL IS EXPECTED TO ADD NUMBERS ACROSS THE REGION (Posted 06th March 2016) Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have broken new ground when the long expected Visa free travel for expatriates living in any of the three countries came into effect last month. The easing of the travel bureaucracy manifests itself in several […]

Countries hope for boost in regional visitor numbers as travel requirements are eased

FACILITATING AND EASING TRAVEL IS EXPECTED TO ADD NUMBERS ACROSS THE REGION (Posted 06th March 2016) Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have broken new ground when the long expected Visa free travel for expatriates living in any of the three countries came into effect last month. The easing of the travel bureaucracy manifests itself in several […]

Kigali hosts CoW aviation meeting

AVIATION RULES UNDER FRESH SCRUTINY AS COW COUNTRIES’ EXPERTS MEET IN KIGALI (Posted 06th March 2015) Staff of the three Civil Aviation regulatory bodies of host Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya were joined by their colleagues from South Sudan in Kigali earlier this week to discuss the way forward in fully opening up the airspaces and […]

Seychelles, where the environment is at the core of decision making

SEYCHELLES – ANOTHER WORLD … NOT JUST AN EMPTY SLOGAN (Posted 05th March 2015) The Seychelles archipelago, comprising 115 islands scattered over an area of nearly 1.4 million square kilometres of the Indian Ocean, has made waves in recent years on the international scene, not just in tourism terms but for many other reasons. President […]

If it is a first it almost certainly is about Qatar Airways

QATAR AIRWAYS – FIRST OUT OF THE BLOCKS AT ITB2015 (Posted 05th March 2015) Qatar Airways yesterday upstaged all other airlines at ITB2015 when the airline was first out of the blocks in holding a press conference before a packed audience of German and international travel trade and aviation journalists. The event had a dual […]

Conservation in Uganda, close up and personal

UGANDA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION – ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO BE PROUD OF (Posted 05th March 2015) The Uganda Conservation Foundation, one of Uganda’s leading conservation NGO’s works closely with the Uganda Wildlife Authority and has a particular affiliation with the national conservation body at Murchisons’ Falls National Park. Michael Keigwin, who is closely affiliated with UCF, yesterday shared […]

Lillian Gaitho’s thoughts about the upcoming International Women’s Day

Lillian Gaitho, Jovago.com’s PR Manager, normally writes about destinations, travel or hotels … read on how she manages to combine today’s headline with those topics … and how she ‘Makes it Happen‘ Celebrating the International Women’s Day: Five African Cities and Destinations Named after Women Primarily set to celebrate women’s achievement in social, political and […]

No 348 Wildlife Trade News 4th March 2015

Your daily dose of bad news … Poaching! Wildlife Crimes! Environmental Crimes! The never ending story … in the spotlight today …………………… Chinese ivory traders find haven online extract: China‘s booming e-commerce websites have carried thousands of advertisements for illegal wildlife products including ivory, rhino horn and tiger bone, a wildlife trade monitoring network said […]

Burundi’s tourism future hangs by a thread

BURUNDI’S TOURISM FUTURE HANGS IN THE BALANCE (Posted 04th March 2015) As ITB 2015 kicks off today in Berlin, will regular visitors to the Africa halls notice that Burundi, the smallest economy in East Africa and the least developed tourism country in the region, will be absent. Efforts to have individuals go on record about […]