World Travel Awards reaffirm support to Kenya Tourism
World Travel Awards, ‘Oscars of the Travel Industry’ support Kenya Tourism The World Travel Awards have confirmed the Africa Gala Ceremony will take place as scheduled in Nairobi Kenya on 16th October. The Kenya Tourism Board extended the invitation to World Travel Awards to hold the event in Nairobi in March of this year as […]
Seychelles Tourism Board appoints Rose Marie Hoareau as new Director of Marketing
SEYCHELLES TOURISM BOARD APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR FOR MARKETING (Posted 04th October 2013) BREAKING NEWS The Seychelles Tourism Board has just announced the appointment of Mrs. Rose Marie Hoareau as Director of Marketing, meeting a key request made by the archipelago’s private sector and following recommendations by the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association. The position was […]
South Sudan Hotel in Juba burns down
SOUTH SUDAN HOTEL IN JUBA BURNS DOWN (Posted 04th October 2013) Another devastating fire swept through the South Sudan Hotel in Juba, South Sudan’s capital city, this time destroying over 30 rooms and parts of other hotel facilities like the dining room. According to a lamenting owner he had left the building for some outside […]
Rwanda tourism gets World Bank recognition
WORLD BANK GIVES RWANDA TOURISM THE THUMBS UP (Posted 04th October 2013) The latest World Bank report on tourism in Africa, released the day before yesterday titled: ‘Tourism in Africa: Harnessing Tourism for Growth and Improved Livelihoods’ has positively heaped praise on Rwanda for their way of doing business, facilitating business and promoting their tourism […]
TASOTA and Amadeus partner in customer service seminar
TASOTA ORGANIZES TRAINING FOR MEMBERS (Posted 04th October 2013) The Tanzania Society of Travel Agents, in conjunction with Amadeus East Africa, has informed their membership across Tanzania of an imminent training seminar in customer services strategy under the theme: ‘Achieving Excellence through Customer Service’. Taking place on the 26th of October at The Hyatt – […]
KQ – three weeks and counting to the next B777 delivery
KENYA AIRWAYS EXPECTS DELIVERY OF BRAND NEW B777-300ER ON OCTOBER 25TH (Posted 04th October 2013) Kenya Airways is expecting to take delivery of their latest aircraft, a Boeing B777-300ER, in exactly three weeks from today, as their march towards fleet modernization and expansion continues unabated. Inspite of poor financial results for the last financial year […]
News from Nkuringo tell of new facilities
NKURINGO GORILLA CAMP COMMISSIONS NEW BATHROOMS (Posted 04th October 2013) The Nkuringo Gorilla Camp has confirmed that the new block of washrooms, set adjoining to the Virunga Terrace rooms, is now fully functional, the electric hot water boilers included. Rob Brierley, one of the proprietors, has over the past few weeks been setting up the […]
Lake Chahafi camp ready to receive guests
LAKE CHAHAFI RESORT SET FOR WEEKEND OPENING (Posted 04th October 2013) A new back packers and adventure traveller’s rest stop at Lake Chahafi, near Kisoro in South Western Uganda, will open this weekend with an African Night celebrating the event. The Kisoro area of Uganda is located in the border triangle of Uganda, Rwanda – […]
Sun Africa Hotels advancing coast property plans
SUN AFRICA HOTELS EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE IN COAST MARKET WITH NEW PROPERTY (Posted 04th October 2013) Sun Africa Hotels has confirmed that work is progressing well to finally establish a property at the Kenya coast, north of Mombasa. The beachside resort will offer guests 20 suites when completed, in a set up similar to Sun Africa’s […]
KTB Statement on recent conferences in Nairobi
Kempinski Seychelles Resort reopens in new shine
KEMPINSKI RESORT TO REOPEN WITH NEW SHINE (Posted 01st October 2013) The Kempinski Seychelles Resort reopened on the 01st of October with a new shine after major works on several areas of the resort were completed. Closed since early September, this ‘down time’ has permitted to carry out essential major maintenance and where needed repairs […]
Victoria in high gear for Seychelles – India weekend
PORT VICTORIA WELCOMES 4 INDIAN NAVY SHIPS AHEAD OF SEYCHELLES – INDIA DAY (Posted 03rd October 2013) As Victoria, the Seychelles’ capital city, is gearing up to their first ever Seychelles – India Day, in fact more of a weekend festival than just a day, have four Indian navy ships including a three master, arrived […]
Kampala City Festival organizers hope for sunshine on Sunday
KAMPALA COUNTS DOWN TO THIS WEEKEND’S CITY FESTIVAL (Posted 03rd October 2013) Following some heavy rains in recent days will all Kampaleans, led by the Kampala City Council Authority’s CEO Jennifer Musisi, pray for sunshine come this Sunday, when the second edition of the Kampala City Festival will go underway. Spread across the city centre, […]
WTM Africa launches ‘Hosted Buyer’ programme
WTM AFRICA TARGETS 300 GLOBAL INDUSTRY BUYERS FOR INAUGURAL EVENT (Posted 03rd October 2013) According to information received will World Travel Market Africa, which is set to be the leading global event for the African travel industry, invite 300 senior buyers from across the globe to apply to be part of its Hosted Buyer Programme. […]
Kenya’s domestic flights by KQ return to Terminal 3
KQ MOVE DOMESTIC BACK TO TERMINAL 3 AS REGIONAL FLIGHTS RETURN TO TERMINAL 2 (Posted 03rd October 2013) Kenya Airways has confirmed that they have moved their domestic operations from the temporary terminal set up at the Cargo Terminal – done after the fire at JKIA on the 08th of August – back to Terminal […]
SKAL 2015 Congress heading to Mombasa
SKAL GIVES VOTE OF CONFIDENCE TO KENYA AS 2015 CONGRESS GOES TO MOMBASA (Posted 02nd October 2013) Breaking news from America, where the annual Skal International Congress is now underway, tell the story of solidarity and support for Kenya following the harrowing events of a week and a half ago. The Kenyan delegation at the […]
Lake Baringo’s waters drown camps and lodges
AS LAKE BARINGO CONTINUES TO RISE THE WATERS DROWN LODGES AND CAMPS (Posted 02nd October 2013) (Under water – a picture of a lake side lodge now half submerged by the seemingly relentless march of the Lake Baringo waters) A monumental calamity has befallen several of the lake shore camps and safari lodges on Lake […]
News from Ngamba Island, Uganda’s one and only chimp refuge
This is a re-post of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Trust monthly newsletter for the benefit of my readers who are not subscribed to this publication: Chimpanzee Sanctuary & Wildlife Conservation Trust September 2013 News Bulletin Maintenance works at Ngamba Island Chimpanzee sanctuary The new chimpanzee electric fence was rewired to make it more efficient. […]
Etihad adds Vietnam to growing global network
ETIHAD LAUNCHES HO CHI MINH CITY FLIGHTS (Posted 02nd October 2013) Etihad, Abu Dhabi’s national airline, has announced the launch of flights from Abu Dhabi to Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. Daily flights on Airbus A320 aircraft connect Nairobi with Abu Dhabi, in addition of which Kenya Airways, flying in code share with Etihad, also […]
Cyanika border between Rwanda and Uganda to get facelift
NEW STRUCTURES PLANNED FOR CYANIKA / UGANDA BORDER TO EASE TRADE AND TRAVEL (Posted 01st October 2013) The Cyanika border crossing between Uganda and Rwanda has been popular with tourists and safari operators, as two key tourism regions connect at that point, Uganda’s Bwindi and Mgahinga national parks and Rwanda’s Parc de Volcanoes. Many visitors […]
British Airways offers Christmas specials in a ‘Santa Comes Early’ move
BRITISH AIRWAYS HITS MARKET WITH DEEP DISCOUNT FARES FOR FESTIVE SEASON (Posted 01st October 2013) Due to a flurry of inexplicable changes and corrections after publication, for both fares and dates, this post has been taken down.
FastJet publishes half year results in London
FASTJET PUBLISHES HALF YEAR RESULTS (Posted 01st October 2013) FastJet PLC, the UK based ‘holding’ company for the airline’s African operations, has yesterday announced their half year results, which for their Tanzanian operations show an accumulated loss of 13.3 million US Dollars. The full statement, as published under the UK’s reporting requirements for publicly quoted […]
Qatar Airways ups baggage allowances
QATAR AIRWAYS RAISES BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE AS AIRLINES FIGHT FOR PASSENGERS (Posted 01st October 2013) Passengers out of Qatar Airways’ East African destinations Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa will be happy to hear that the airline has raised their baggage allowances by between 7 and 10 kilograms, depending on the class […]
Good news from Porini is good news for Kenya too
Here is one of my periodic reposts, again featuring the Porini Camps / Gamewatcher Safaris news updates. What better way to start the lastquarter of the year than giving Kenya some positive publicity and showcasing what is going on ‘across the lake’ from where I live. These are challenging days for Kenya Tourism but the […]
Diani’s Indian Ocean Beach Resort is closing down today
IT IS TEARS AMONG STAFF AS THE INDIAN OCEAN BEACH RESORT CLOSES (Posted 30th September 2013) Inspite of upbeat noises by tourism marketers is reality today hitting home, as another South Coast resort, the Indian Ocean Beach Resort, closes its doors for lack of business. Announced already a while ago by the proprietors, who also […]
Magical Kenya Travel Expo 2013 – more than just an exhibition
MICE SEMINAR ANNOUNCED FOR 17TH OCTOBER AT THE STANLEY HOTEL IN NAIROBI (Posted 30th September 2013) The Kenya Tourism Board is supporting a MICE Seminar organized by Reed Exhibitions in conjunction with EIBTM and SITE as part of their additional activities planned for their annual Magical Kenya Travel Expo 2013. The seminar will take place […]
Power cut hits Mombasa’s international airport
MOI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT THROWN INTO DARKNESS (Posted 29th September 2013) Only weeks after a devastating fire at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi do the woes for the Kenya Airport Authority continue, as this evening their second most important airport, Moi International Mombasa, descended into utter darkness just before 8 p.m. local time. Standby […]
Information about major hotel project in Juba comes to light
ROTANA MAY HEAD TO SOUTH SUDAN (Posted 29th September 2013) Information from a usually reliable source in South Sudan’s capital city of Juba has indicated that Rotana, a Middle Eastern hotel group with a sizeable and growing portfolio of hotels and resorts in several countries, may be heading to Juba in a joint venture undertaking. […]
Uganda selected to host Rotary Youth Conference
KAMPALA SET TO HOST ROTARY INTERNATIONAL’S AFRICAN YOUTH CONFERENCE (Posted 29th September 2013) (District Governor Katongole making the announcement) Rotary International – a global humanitarian organization, has planned five forums during the year 2013/14 for young professionals, youth, scholars, community activists and Rotary members. The aim of these continental conferences is to find ways of […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean region, Fifth edition September 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 […]
