Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Fourth edition October 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 […]
Tanzania’s Mafia Island’ waters turn into a regular whale shark highway
MAFIA ISLAND TOURISTS ENJOY INCREASED SIGHTINGS OF WHALE SHARKS (Posted 27th October 2013) Information from Dar es Salaam speaks of a windfall of marine experiences for tourists visiting Mafia Island, as increased sightings of the whale sharks have been reported in recent months. Marine experts are in fact at a loss to explain why against […]
New way forward for Air Mauritius ?
AIR MAURITIUS SEEKS COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIPS (Posted 27th October 2013) Information received from Mauritius indicates that the airline may have dropped its search for a strategic investor and shifted attention to the level of commercial agreements. The airline’s top management was reportedly in Dubai last week seeking to reach an agreement with Emirates, which flies twice […]
Deputy CEO appointment at Seychelles Tourism completes the top team
SEYCHELLES TOURISM BOARD LINE UP COMPLETE WITH APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY CEO (Posted 26th October 2013) The line up at the top of the Seychelles Tourism Board is now complete with the appointment by President James Alix Michel of Ms. Nathalie Didon as Deputy Chief Executive last Friday. The various changes became necessary when former CEO […]
Mihin Lanka announces flights between Colombo and Mahe
MIHIN LANKA DUE TO LAUNCH COLOMBO – MAHE FLIGHTS ON 16TH NOVEMBER (Posted 25th October 2013) Following a state visit by Sri Lanka’s president to the Seychelles a few months ago did it not take long for the promised airlinks between the two island countries to be announced. While in the Seychelles this week it […]
28th Festival Kreol bursts into life with a performance of Creole stars
FESTIVAL KREOL NUMBER 28 LAUNCHES IN VICTORIA (Posted 25th October 2013) (It is Festival Kreol time on the Seychelles, bringing the Creole World to Victoria, Kapital Lemonn Kreol) Victoria has truly become the Capital of the Creole World, as Creole people from around the globe have come to the Seychelles to celebrate, what has all […]
Elewana’s Sand River Camp now fully operational
SAND RIVER MASAI MARA OPENS FOR GUESTS (Posted 24th October 2013) Soft opened in July this year has the Sand River Masai Mara tented camp almost quietly entered the luxury safari market in Kenya, expanding the ‘elewana’ collection’s reach from their traditional base in Tanzania across the border into Kenya too. Built on elevated platforms […]
Kenya Airways’ first B777-300ER homebound for Nairobi
KENYA AIRWAYS’ PREPARES FOR FERRY FLIGHT OF NUMBER 45 (Posted 24th October 2013) Tomorrow, Friday 25th will Kenya Airways’ latest and biggest bird ever take to the air from the Boeing manufacturing plant in Seattle to start the ferry flight home to the airline’s base in Nairobi. The 400 seat aircraft, offering 28 seats in […]
New Jinja highway construction aims for 2015 start
WORK ON MULTI LANE HIGHWAY TO JINJA TO START IN 2015 (Posted 23rd October 2013) (Picture courtesy of Uganda National Roads Authority) Whether by coincidence or by design has the Uganda National Road Authority, in short UNRA, in recent days taken to the public and the media with their plans to build a state of […]
Kenya’s culinary delights – mostly anyway
CULINARY DELIGHTS – KENYA STYLE (Posted 23rd October 2013) A pictorial of what this travelling scribe found so far on his plates while on safari to Kenya … and a big compliment to the chefs encountered along the way, except that is for the soup and main course at the WTA Ceremony, where THAT […]
UCAA launches strategic plan review
UGANDA CAA LAUNCHES 20 YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN REVIEW (Posted 23rd October 2013) A regular source close to the UCAA has confirmed that a full scale review and update of the Civil Aviation Authority’s 20 year strategic plan has been launched by the Uganda Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala. With […]
Sauti Sa Busara 2014 line up begins to emerge
SAUTI ZA BUSARA LINEUP NAMED FOR 2014 EDITION OF AFRICAS ‘BIGGEST MUSIC FESTIVAL’ (Posted 23rd October 2013) Music, art and culture enthusiasts are well advised to make early arrangements to attend Zanzibar’s Sauti Za Busara Festival between February 13th and 16th next year after the organizers Busara Promotions (www.busaramusic.org) have released their lineup of both […]
New dates for KHTF2014 and HOSEA2014 shift events from July to May
KENYA HOSPITALITY TRADE FAIR AND HOTEL SUMMIT EAST AFRICA NAME 2014 DATES (Posted 23rd October 2013) With less than 7 months to go to the 2014 edition of the Kenya Hospitality Trade Fair and the Hotel Summit East Africa, more than half of the available exhibition space has already been sold and pending enquiries can […]
Bespoke, nothing else could describe SkySafaris by elewana
LUXURY SKY SAFARIS CONFIRM NEW TRENDS (Posted 22nd October 2013) Travel exhibitions often showcase new products and businesses, which, while they have been around for some time, have almost by stealth made their way into the big league of quality operations, and finally decided to tell the world about themselves. So has the Elewana Collection […]
MKTE termed ‘great success for Kenya Tourism’
MAGICAL KENYA SHOW A ‘GREAT SUCCESS’ (Posted 22nd October 2013) The just concluded 3rd edition of the Magical Kenya Travel Expo at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre has dwarfed previous attendance records by a wide margin, For the first time did international exhibitors attend Kenya’s premier tourism show as the tourism boards of the Seychelles, […]
Qatar Airways set to add Miami come June 2014
QATAR AIRWAYS ANNOUNCES MIAMI AS 6TH US DESTINATION (Posted 22nd October 2013) Regular travellers from East Africa using Qatar Airways will be pleased to learn that come June 2014 they will be able to fly with them via Doha to Miami / Florida. This latest addition to the growing list of destinations will be a […]
TAZARA set for major overhaul
TANZANIA WANTS CHINA TO REFURBISH TAZARA RAILWAY (Posted 21st October 2013) The railway link between Dar es Salaam and Lusaka, which was established in the early to mid 1970’s, then financed and built by the Chinese government, has for long been ailing as a result of poor maintenance and management problems. The line which is […]
Kenya got what it takes …
ONLY IN KENYA – DINNER A LA CHEF IN A ROYAL SUITE (Posted 21st October 2013) (The Limuru based Sovereign Suites) There are a few places where, when travelling, I dare to leave the choice of menu to the chef without getting my stomach into a nervous twist. The MAIA in the Seychelles is one, […]
No luck in court for former KQ staff
KENYA AIRWAYS WINS TEMPORARY REPRIEVE IN COURT (Posted 21st October 2013) The Kenya Court of Appeals has on Friday last week sided with Kenya Airways’ argument that they should not have to re-instate the employees made redundant last year. 447 of an overall 578 had taken the matter to court, seeking not only reinstatement but […]
Lady Lori changes hands
LADY LORI HELICOPTERS BUYOUT COMPLETE (Posted 21st October 2013) According to information received while in Kenya have the original owners of Lady Lori sold their stake to key members of their staff, including company CEO Ian Mimamo, maintenance manager Peter Njagi and one Adi Vinner. The company was formed by an American couple, Jim and […]
Rafting companies express concern over Isimba plans
LACK OF CONSULTATIONS OVER ISIMBA THREATENS SURVIVAL OF RAFTING ON THE NILE (Posted 21st October 2013) Key stakeholders in Uganda’s adventure tourism sector have joined hands with local authorities and the Busoga Kingdom in voicing their growing concern over the lack of consultations about the planned Isimba hydro electric power plant and dam. From information […]
Kigali set for dozens of new buses to boost public transport capacity
DEMAND FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN KIGALI TRIGGERS ADDITIONAL BUS ORDERS (Posted 20th October 2013) The recent introduction of a new public transport system in Rwanda’s capital city of Kigali has triggered a rush of demand on the busses put on the road by the three licensed transport companies, leaving many users frustrated over long waits […]
Precision Air bailout back on the table ?
DAR GOVERNMENT CHANGES TUNE AS CHANCES FOR PRECISION BAILOUT RISE AGAIN (Posted 20th October 2013) Information received from a source close to Precision Air has confirmed that a bailout deal by the Tanzanian government is now back on the table following a fresh look at all the negative implications of letting the airline ‘hang’. It […]
Round up of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Third edition October 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 […]
FastJet entry on JNB route almost halves average cost of return flights.
FASTJET FINALLY LANDS IN JOHANNESBURG (Posted 19th October 2013) Flight FN0201, the inaugural flight of FastJet’s first international route, arrived yesterday morning at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport from Dar es Salaam’s Julius Nyerere International Airport at 11.45 hrs. This flight, delayed for some weeks as a result of competitor pressure brought to bear on […]
Groundbreaking in the offing for rail and airport projects
TWO MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS EYE GROUNDBREAKING TOWARDS END OF YEAR (Posted 19th October 2013) Information received while in Nairobi has suggested that two of Kenya’s future looking infrastructure projects may still break ground before the end of the year. One will be for the work on the extension of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where Project […]
More cases of ‘rotten apples’ emerge
THE ROTTEN APPLES OF KENYA’S IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT (Posted 19th October 2013) No sooner was my own experience with a rotten immigration apple published earlier this week, did a number of my readers send in more material, suggesting that my stark experience at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was far from an isolated case, contrary to what […]
Of MICE and more …
SYMPOSIUM GIVES MKTE PARTICIPANTS A CHANCE TO DISCUSS MICE AND MORE (Posted 19th October 2013) Hot on the heels of the MICE Seminar held at the Sarova Stanley on the day prior of the Magical Kenya Travel Expo opening its doors, did the Kenya Tourism Board on this third edition of the exhibition introduce a […]
It was party time for Magical Kenya Expo participants
MAGICAL KENYA EXPO GUESTS ARE TREATED TO PARTY TIME AT THE WINDSOR (Posted 19th October 2013) The Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club provided the scenic setting for the party the Kenya Tourism Board hosted last night for invited guests, sponsors, the media, exhibitors and of course for the over 150 buyers who had flown […]
Single Visa for Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda ‘almost ready’
TRIPARTITE MEETING ON THE MKTE SIDELINES MAKES SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS (Posted 19th October 2013) The ‘coalition of the willing’ used the occasion of Kenya’s Magical Kenya Travel Expo to have their official delegations meet at Nairobi’s Utalii Hotel to drive the process of a single tourist Visa forward, which according to reliable information will indeed now […]
