Hybrid Solar Eclipse expected to bring lots of more visitors to Uganda
UGANDA IN THE CENTRE OF THE NEXT FULL SOLAR ECLIPSE (Posted 29th August 2013) (Picture source: Wikipedia) The November 03 total eclipse of the sun, a rare ‘hybrid eclipse’ will be best viewed from Uganda’s north east and tour operators are now gearing up, with less than 10 weeks to go, to make final arrangements […]
Swahili Beach gets TUI environmental recognition as ‘Champion of the Environment’
SWAHILI BEACH GETS TUI AWARD FOR USE OF GREEN TECHNOLOGY (Posted 29th August 2013) The Diani Beach based Swahili Beach Hotel (www.swahilibeach.com) which last year received the accolade as Kenya’s Leading Beach Resort from the World Travel Awards, has just been recognized by the world’s largest tour operating conglomerate TUI as ‘Champion of the Environment’. […]
UNWTO General Assembly re-elects Dr. Taleb Rifai as Secretary General
DR. TALEB RIFAI RE-ELECTED AS UNWTO SECRETARY GENERAL (Posted 29th August 2013) The 20th UN World Tourism Organization’s General Assembly, which is ending today after being co-hosted by Victoria Falls and Livingstone, the twin towns across the Zambezi rivers, has yesterday re-elected Dr. Taleb Rifai for a second term of office for a further four […]
Second Infrastructure Summit in Mombasa exposes growing rift in EAC
MOMBASA INFRASTRUCTURE SUMMIT EXPOSES GROWING RIFT IN EAC (Posted 28th August 2013) A growing coalition of the willing is emerging in Eastern Africa, following a first Head of State Infrastructure Summit a few weeks ago in Uganda, where President Yoweri Museveni hosted his counterparts from Kenya and Rwanda. During this summit key decisions were taken, […]
Meet Wild Dogs, aka Hunting or Painted Dogs, at Porini Rhino Camp, Ol Pejeta Conservancy
An article by Porini I just had to share and re-post: A chance meeting with wild dogs by Porini Camps on August 21, 2013 in Game Drives I made a mental note of what I wanted to see more than anything: wild dogs. We arrived at Porini Rhino Camp in Ol Pejeta, Kenya, and straight […]
Why attend World Routes in Las Vegas – if anyone needs a reminder
Routes is preparing for their annual event, this year taking place in Las Vegas, and just sent out this mailing which I thought might be worth sharing with my readers: This year World Routes, the 19th World Route Development Forum, takes place in Las Vegas, USA from 5 to 8 October. It will be the […]
Seychelles Tourism Minister addresses his ministerial colleagues at UNWTO assembly
MINISTER ST. ANGE ADDRESSES MINISTERIAL ROUND TABLE AT UNWTO MEETING (Posted 27th August 2013) Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture has last weekend addressed the Ministerial Roundtable meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). Dr. Taleb Rifai, the Secretary General of the UNWTO chaired this Ministerial Roundtable meeting of […]
Ngamba Island’s Silver Birungi bags Disney’s Conservation Hero Award 2013
And here a re-post of information received from Ngamba Island, which this weekend will hold a fund raising dinner at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel. CSWCT’S SILVER BIRUNGI NAMED DISNEY CONSERVATION HERO 2013 The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF) has announced Silver James Birungi as a Disney Conservation Hero. He has been recognized for his passion […]
Global travel grows by 5 percent in first half of 2013
UNWTO MEETS IN ZAM / ZIM AS GLOBAL TRAVEL DATA POINT UPWARDS (Posted 27th August 2013) As the 20th General Assembly today moves from the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe to the twin town of Livingstone in Zambia, separated by the mighty Victoria Falls of the Zambezi River, news have emerged that global travel, […]
Career Institute graduates more than 300
CAREER INSTITUTE GRADUATES MORE THAN 300 (Posted 27th August 2013) The British Airways Uganda Country Manager Ms. Faith Chaitezvi was guest of honour last weekend when the Career Institute, one of Uganda’s leading private sector aviation and tourism training institutions, graduated over 300 students, awarding them a range of certificates and diplomas, including the coveted […]
Swissport Tanzania sees revenue growth of over 20 percent
SWISSPORT REVENUES RISE BY OVER 20 PERCENT IN FIRST HALF OF 2013 (Posted 27th August 2013) Aviation sources from Dar es Salaam confirmed a rise in pre-tax profits for Swissport for the first half of the calendar year 2013 by 17 percent with revenues in fact reporting a 22 percent rise compared to the same […]
Countdown is ticking towards October 06th for Kampala Fete
6 WEEKS AND COUNTING TO KAMPALA’S BIG CITY FETE (Posted 27th August 2013) Kampaleans are counting down the weeks now, with just 5 ½ weeks to go until the second Kampala City Festival will take place. Launched first a year ago in the run up to the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Independence from Britain in […]
Uganda’s tourism sector to celebrate World Tourism Day in Fort Portal
WORLD TOURISM DAY 2013 IS HEADING TO FORT PORTAL FOR NATIONAL CELEBRATION (Posted 26th August 2013) Uganda will this year hold the annual World Tourism Day celebrations on the 27th of September in the upcountry town of Fort Portal, itself a tourism destination. Seat of the Toro Kingdom, Fort Portal is located on the foot […]
Seychelles’ St. Ange gets elected to UNWTO Executive Committee
SEYCHELLES MAKE IT TO UNWTO EXECUTIVE AS ST. ANGE ELECTED AS FULL MEMBER (Posted 26th August 2013) Information was just confirmed that the Seychelles’ Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St. Ange, was elected at the 20th General Assembly of the UN World Tourism Organization to a seat on the body’s Executive Council. The African […]
Tanzania safari and beach packages face higher cost through levy
HOTELIERS UP IN ARMS OVER YET MORE ADDED COST THROUGH TOURISM LEVY (Posted 26th August 2013) Tourism seems to become an easy punch bag in the region, apart from Rwanda that is, with governments heaping VAT on upcountry accommodation in Uganda, raising safari package cost by 18 percent for room and board in lodges, with […]
UWA’s public face Lillian Nsubuga RIP
IN MEMORIAM OF UWA’S LILLIAN NSUBUGA (Posted 26th August 2013) Uganda’s conservation, PR and journalist fraternity received shock news yesterday that Lillian Nsubuga, Public Relations Manager and official spokesperson at the Uganda Wildlife Authority, died on Sunday morning at Mulago Hospital after a short illness. I met Lillian for the first time in what must […]
Gulf Air appoints new Ethiopia country manager
GULF AIR APPOINTS NEW ETHIOPIA COUNTRY MANAGER (Posted 26th August 2013) Mr. Salah Al Sawosh was appointed last week as Gulf Air’s new country manager for Ethiopia, coming from his previous posting in Mumbai where he was airport manager for the past few years. Gulf Air started flights to Addis Ababa in January 2011 and […]
Laikipia Wildlife Forum director killed in raid on home
CONSERVATIONIST MURDER IN LAIKIPIA TRIGGERS MAN HUNT (Posted 26th August 2013) The Director of the Laikipia Wildlife Forum, Eastern Unit, Mr. David Parkinson OBE, was in the early hours of Sunday night killed under unclear circumstances in his farm home after an attack by at least 5 armed robbers. His wife managed to escape after […]
Kigali – Dar row a growing headache for regionalists …
EAC RATTLED BY LATEST TANZANIAN NON TARIFF BARRIER SHENANIGANS (Posted 25th August 2013) In what observers have described as a blatant act of unilateral retaliation for being left out of recent trilateral meetings between Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda has Tanzania slapped a US Dollar 12.50 levy on Kenyan trucks at the border, once again showing […]
Elsia Grandcourt joins UNWTO as Regional Director for Africa
ELSIA GRANDCOURT APPOINTED UNWTO REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR AFRICA (Posted 25th August 2013) Dr. Taleb Rifai this morning announced in Victoria Falls / Zimbabwe that Mrs. Elsia Grandcourt, immediate former CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board, has been appointed as Regional Director for Africa, to be based at the UNWTO headquarters in Madrid. This lifts the […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, Fourth Edition August 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 […]
President James Alix Michel visits Seychellois’ owned tourism businesses
AFFORDABLE SEYCHELLES GETS PRESIDENTIAL NOD (Posted 25th August 2013) Affordable Seychelles appears a concept which many around the world, even those in the travel industry, often take with a grain of salt, a shake of the head and a frown of disbelief. In fact, one can hardly blame the doubting Thomases, considering that the archipelago […]
First charges being prepared over JKIA fire
FIRST COURT CASES IMMINENT NOW OVER JKIA FIRE (Posted 24th August 2013) Information is coming in from Nairobi that an initial 6 individuals have been singled out for charges to be brought against them in connection with the massive fire which swept two and a half weeks ago through Kenya’s and the region’s most important […]
SKAL’s regional fellowship gets top prizes from KQ and the Rembrandt Hotel & Towers
SKAL REGIONAL WEEKEND ATTRACTS FANTASTIC TOP PRIZE FOR RAFFLE (Posted 24th August 2013) The Skal regional weekend, hosted by the Skal Club of Kenya Coast, will celebrate the 12th anniversary of Kenya’s second club, which emerged from combining at the time Mombasa and Kenya Coast. Skal members from Nairobi and Kampala have been invited to […]
Second Africa Hotel Investment Forum now just a month away
ONE MONTH TO GO TO THE SECOND AFRICA HOTEL INVESTMENT FORUM (Posted 24th August 2013) The Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) will return to Kenya this year for the second edition of this event, taking place between the 23rd to 25th of September at the Hotel InterContinental in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. In the last three […]
Madhvani Foundation selects 152 students for scholarships
MADHVANI FOUNDATION SELECTS 152 FOR SCHOLARSHIPS (Posted 24th August 2013) This is the moment to congratulate the 152 Ugandan students who are the best of the best and exceptionally bright and deserving and have been selected by The Madhvani Foundation, part of the Madhvani Group in Uganda, to get scholarships totalling Ushs 650 million ( […]
Now what about this constant #DownWithUmeme
YES, WHAT ABOUT #DOWNWITHUMEME (Posted 22nd August 2013) You might of course be wondering, or as a Ugandan perhaps not, what my, and many others’ beef is with #DownWithUmeme. This week their fat cats pranced about their corporate headquarters, strutting their stuff and popping the champagne corks celebrating record profits. This at a time when […]
Sheraton Gardens the venue this Saturday for the Vintage and Classic Car Show
SHERATON PLAYS HOST TO ANOTHER VINTAGE AND CLASSIC CAR SHOW THIS WEEKEND (Posted 23rd August 2013) This Saturday will the Sheraton Gardens again be the venue for the annual Vintage and Classic Car Show, a key society event for owners of antique cars, all of which are lovingly maintained and still drive. Allowed to enter […]
Light aircraft crashes into Lake Manyara
LIGHT AIRCRAFT DITCHES IN LAKE MANYARA (Posted 23rd August 2013) A light aircraft enroute from Bukoba / Lake Victoria to Arusha yesterday developed problems and had to ‘ditch’ in the shallow waters of Lake Manyara, but was able to send out a distress call before going down. According to the patch information received up to […]
Masai Mara Hot Air Balloon festival to support anti poaching
HOT AIR BALLON FESTIVAL TO SUPPORT KENYA’S ANTI POACHING CAMPAIGN (Posted 23rd August 2013) (Source www.prestige-promotions.co.uk) An international line up of hot air balloons will congregate in Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve between 06th and 08th of December this year, to throw their support behind the growing momentum of Kenya’s anti poaching campaign. Organized by […]
