Qatar Airways adds third daily Paris flight as peak summer season approaches
QATAR AIRWAYS ADDS THIRD DAILY FLIGHT TO PARIS (Posted 08th June 2013) Qatar Airways, presently flying double daily to Dar es Salaam and Nairobi and daily to Kilimanjaro, Entebbe and Kigali, has just revved up their daily frequencies between Doha and Paris, ahead of the upcoming summer travel season. The city of the Eiffel Tower […]
Africa Travel Association welcomes Brussels Airlines to their membership
AFRICA TRAVEL ASSOCIATION WELCOMES BRUSSELS AIRLINES AS CORPORATE MEMBER (Posted 08th June 2013) Just days from launching their commercial flights to Washington DC, initially served five times a week from Brussels with an Airbus A330-200, has Brussels Airlines joined the Africa Travel Association as a corporate member. Washington is after New York SN’s second directly […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Second edition June 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 […]
Precision Air announces review of 5 year strategic plan
PRECISION AIR ANNOUNCES REVIEW AND FINETUNING OF STRATEGIC 5 YEAR PLAN (Posted 07th June 2013) Precision Air today announced a review of their 5 year strategic plan as part of their intended expansion into new markets. After three months on the job, did Ms. Sauda Rajab, CEO of Precision Air, make details available earlier in […]
MCTA’s statement on the outcome of their elections at the AGM 2013
Mohammed Hersi Re-elected Unopposed to Head a New Look MCTA Team Mohammed Hersi was elected as the Chairman of MCTA unopposed yesterday, albeit in absentia. Mr. Hersi is also the Regional General Manager of Sarova Hotels Coast Region. To those who know him, and those who meet him, he comes across as a hard worker […]
Seychelles tourism private sector to benefit from AFD funding
SEYCHELLES TOURISM PRIVATE SECTOR GAINS ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE FINANCE (Posted 07th June 2013) Development loans for the Seychelles’ hospitality and tourism sector will become substantially more affordable for stakeholders wishing to renovate, upgrade or expand their properties, after the government and the French Development Agency AFD, short for ‘Agence Francaise de Developpment’ has made a […]
RDB’s Rica Rwigamba speaks out on Kwita Izina, the Festival of the Gorillas
Rwanda celebrates Mountain Gorillas through naming ceremony Kigali – Rwanda will celebrate the birth of baby gorillas through “Kwita Izina”, the annual naming ceremony in Kinigi, Musanze on the 22 June 2013 This was announced today by Rica Rwigamba, head of Tourism and Conservation at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). This year’s theme is “Celebrating […]
Kenya Airways moving towards next aircraft order for B737NG models
KENYA AIRWAYS MOVING TOWARDS NEXT NEWAIRCRAFT ORDER (Posted 07th June 2013) A usually well informed source close to Kenya Airways has given the clearest indication yet that The Pride of Africa is set to soon place an order for more B 737-700/800NG aircraft, as their older B737-300 models are progressively leaving the passenger fleet to […]
MCTA re-elects Mohammed Hersi as Chairman for a second term of office
MOMBASA AND COAST TOURIST ASSOCIATION RE-ELECTS MOHAMMED HERSI UNOPPOSED (Posted 07th June 2013) News just in from Mombasa confirm that Mohammed Hersi, Regional General Manager Coast for Sarova Hotels in charge of the Whitesands Resort and Spa and the Taita Hills and Salt Lick lodges, was last evening re-elected unopposed as Chairman of the Mombasa […]
Smile Communications brings 4G LTE to Uganda
4G LTE ARRIVES IN UGANDA (Posted 07th June 2013) Smile Communications yesterday evening launched Uganda’s fastest broadband network, offering a state of the art 4G LTE connection in and around Kampala. According to company sources, a rollout into key towns across the country is expected just as soon as a strong foothold has been established […]
Protea Hotels announce late 2013 opening of their first property in Rwanda
PROTEA SIGNS FIRST PROPERTY IN RWANDA (Posted 06th June 2013) Protea Hotels have announced that they will later this year open a 25 bedroom hotel in a suburb of Kigali, their first ever in Rwanda, the Land of a Thousand Hills. Included in the rooms will be up to 8 two bedroom units with the […]
Emirates names Zurich as future A380 destination as they launch their ‘Summer Sales’
EMIRATES LAUNCHES SUMMER FARES AND NAMES ZURICH AS NEXT A380 DESTINATION (Posted 06th June 2013) Emirates, Dubai’s award winning airline, has just named Zurich as their next Airbus A380 destination, making the prospect of travelling to Switzerland’s banking city even more attractive. The service will start in January 2014, still a while away, even though […]
World Environment Day in Uganda overshadowed by Mabira saga
MABIRA CONTROVERSY OVERSHADOWS WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY IN UGANDA (Posted 06th June 2013) Uganda’s Member of Parliament for the Environment, as he is often referred to, Hon. Ken Lukyamuzi, held a press briefing yesterday announcing that he will not attend the World Environment Day celebrations in Kampala to manifest his opposition against the ongoing uncertainty of […]
FastJet fires back at auditors after KPMG rang the alarm bells following poor results
FASTJET TAKES AIM AT AUDITORS KPMG It took just a few hours until FastJet’s mouthpieces took aim at their own auditors, global market giant KPMG, which in their report for the period of 18 months ending 31st December 2012 painted a bleak pictures about the financial status of the UK based company. As published in […]
Rwanda’s museums and monuments – a glimpse into long gone days
RWANDA’S MUSEUMS – INSIGHTS FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL (Making a point with a passion – INMR Director General Alphonese B. Umuliisa) ‘Discover your museums, Cherish your heritage’ are the opening words on the INMR’s website, written by the Director General of the Institute of the National Museums of Rwanda Alphonese Umuliisa. He goes on to […]
Chumbe Island Coral Park continues to be ranked number 1
CHUMBE ISLAND CORAL PARK ONCE MORE GETS TRIPADVISOR’S TOP RATING Like in previous years has the Chumbe Island Coral Park once more been awarded by TripAdvisor with their coveted ‘Certificate of Excellence’ for consistently scoring the highest marks from visitors to this unique tourism attraction. For long ranked as undisputed number one attraction, out of […]
FastJet reportedly posts 56 million US Dollar loss
FASTJET IN REPORTED 56 MILLION US DOLLAR LOSS Disquieting news are making the rounds in East Africa’s aviation observer circles, that FastJet has reportedly suffered a massive 56 million US Dollar loss for their financial year, wiping out much of the share and venture capital sunk into the ‘fly cheap dream turned nightmare’ for the […]
Air Seychelles inks code share deal with Czech Airlines to Prague
MORE CODESHARE DEALS BY AIR SEYCHELLES OPEN UP EASTERN EUROPE The announcement, only days after formally signing a deal with partner airline Etihad to open the Australian market through code shared flights to Melbourne and Sydney, that Air Seychelles has now inked a strategic partnership with Czech Airlines, allowing for initially three flights a week […]
Seychelles bid for UNWTO Executive Committee membership gets boost
SEYCHELLES BID FOR UNWTO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP GETS BOOST (Posted 04th June 2013) Seychelles’ efforts to get elected to the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s Executive Committee last weekend got another boost, when Madagascar threw their support behind the Seychelles bid to represent Africa. Madagascar’s Minister responsible for Tourism, Mr. Jean-Max Rakotomamonjy publicly announced that […]
Air Tanzania launches scheduled flights to Tabora
AIR TANZANIA ADDS TABORA TO NETWORK (Posted 04th June 2013 Last Saturday saw the return of Air Tanzania to Tabora, using the airline’s Bombardier Q300 aircraft on the route. ATCL will serve the destination initially three times a week, twice nonstop from Dar es Salaam on Monday’s and Saturdays’ while the Thursday flight will route […]
KTF’s Agatha Juma elected to Board of EABC
KTF’S AGATHA JUMA GETS ELECTED TO THE EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS COUNCIL BOARD (Posted 04th June 2013) The Chief Executive of the Kenya Tourism Federation, Mrs. Agatha Juma, was over the weekend elected to the Board of the East African Business Council in Arusha, the main private sector representative body at the level of the East […]
Ethiopian close to new deal with Boeing for up to 6 more B787’s
ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES CLOSE TO SIGNING NEW DEAL WITH BOEING FOR MORE B787’S? According to a regular source from Addis Ababa there is growing speculation that Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s leading airline, is pondering additional orders for Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner, inspite of another battery incident reported in the media two days ago when a sensor in the […]
Kwita Izina – Africa’s number one Festival of the Gorillas
KWITA IZINA ANTE PORTAS (Most recent visit to the Sabinyo group of which Umutungo, whom I named last year, is a member) All over Rwanda did the large posters go up last weekend, reminding the country that the annual Festival of the Gorillas, aka Kwita Izina, is now just weeks away. This year, in its […]
Air Seychelles gets access to Australia’s market through Etihad code share agreement
AIR SEYCHELLES’ PARTNERSHIP WITH ETIHAD OPENS AUSTRALIA ROUTES Air Seychelles has confirmed that they have just signed a code share deal with partner airline Etihad, Abu Dhabi’s national airline, to open up the Australian market for the archipelago. The new arrangement offers seamless connections, through one of the daily joint flights between Mahe and Abu […]
Mombasa runway closure delays flights
KENYA AIRPORT AUTHORITY BLAMED FOR MOMBASA FLIGHT CHAOS The closure of the single runway at Mombasa’s Moi International Airport for several hours yesterday morning, information received speaks of the time between 05.30 a.m. to at least 09.30 a.m., in other words for 4 hours, appears to have caught several airlines by surprise. Flights out of […]
Kenya’s latest anti poaching emergency law cited as serious deterrent against wildlife slaughter
KENYA’S PARLIAMENT PASSES EMERGENCY MEASURES AGAINST POACHING (Posted 02nd June 2013) Kenya’s parliament, of late under intense scrutiny and attack by the electorate over their elaborate attempts to increase their salaries just weeks into their term of office, has for a change been receiving praise and kudos. Earlier in the week were emergency measures put […]
Kenya Airways signs expanded codeshare deal with SkyTeam partner China Southern
KENYA AIRWAYS EXPANDS CODESHARE WITH CHINA SOUTHERN Sources close to Kenya Airways have confirmed that the airline has signed a revised and expanded codeshare agreement with fellow SkyTeam member China Southern. The deal will become operational from 01st of August this year and will cover an expanded list of destinations for Kenya Airways passengers, who […]
Routes Africa 2013 preparations in final push towards Kampala meeting
ROUTES AFRICA REPORTS KEEN INTEREST AMONG TOP AIRLINES AND AVIATION ORGANS (Posted 02nd June 2013) Uganda’s Minister for Tourism Maria Mutagamba will formally open the Routes Africa 2013 meeting, which will bring together leading airlines, airports, tourism authorities and related services in the lake side resort of Munyonyo between July 07 – 09. Keynote speaker […]
Martyr’s Day – Uganda’s premier event for pilgrimage tourism
MARTY’S DAY BRINGS THOUSANDS OF RELIGIOUS TOURISTS TO UGANDA (Posted 02nd June 2013) They came by air, they came by bus, they came by car and they came by foot, in their thousands, to attend the annual Martyr’s Day celebrations at the Namugongo Shrine outside the Ugandan capital of Kampala. As every year, Catholic faithful […]
RwandAir launches commercial flights to Accra
RWANDAIR LAUNCHES COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS TO ACCRA (Posted 02nd June) RwandAir yesterday launched their first commercial flight from Kigali to Accra. Extending their regular flight routing to Lagos, which is being served 5 times a week already, to the capital of Ghana, the new route will further strengthen the links Rwanda has been developing with West […]
