And the Carnival is Over
AND THE CARNIVAL IS OVER – FOR THIS YEAR The classic song by the Seekers from 1968 came to mind when the Notting Hill Carnival Road Show Company once again had the cat whistles in the air and screams of approval fill the streets of Victoria, being the last highlight and the last in fact […]
Kenya secures finance for JKIA expansion to create a world class airport
KENYA SECURES PROJECT GREENFIELD AIRPORT EXPANSION FINANCING A regular aviation source from Nairobi has confirmed that the Kenyan government has completed the financing arrangements for the new mega terminal, second runway and other related facilities, which is estimated to cost at current prices well over 650 million US Dollars. It is generally expected that the […]
President Kibaki commissions phase one of new Isiolo airport
PRESIDENT KIBAKI COMMISSIONS NEW ISIOLO AIRPORT PHASE ONE President Mwai Kibaki yesterday formally opened the first phase of the new airport in Isiolo. A new hard surface runway of 1.4 kilometres is the first visible sign of the new airport taking shape, due to be expanded to cater for larger jets in the future but […]
Gala show kicks off Seychelles’ Carnaval de Carnivals
SEYCHELLES CARNIVAL KICKS OFF WITH A BIG BANG AS BRAZIL STEALS THE SHOW LA REUNION, ZIMBABWE, MADAGASCAR were the names called out when Alain St. Ange, Minister of Tourism and Culture, introduced the co- hosts of this year’s Carnaval de Carnivals, the Carnival International de Victoria, bringing together 3 or the initial 6 Vanilla Islands […]
It is Carnival time in the Seychelles
CARNAVAL DE CARNIVALS EDITION 3.0 GOES UNDERWAY WITH MEDIA BRIEFING The Constance Ephelia Resort provided a befitting venue for the launch of the third edition of the Seychelles’ Carnival International de Victoria, which will have 19 participating foreign groups show off their floats and performances, when the juggernaut hits peak with the parade on Saturday […]
STA signs yet another MOU with Maltese counterparts
SEYCHELLES TOURISM ACADEMY SIGNS MOU WITH MALTESE COUNTERPARTS In recent weeks did the Seychelles Tourism Academy sign MoU’s with counterpart institutions in Oman and Shanghai, before now embarking on their latest mission to do the same with the Maltese national tourism and hospitality training institute. According to a source in Victoria this will pave the […]
KWS rocked by suspensions and a transfer wave of senior staff
KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE SENIORS FACE SUSPENSION AND REDEPLOYMENT Kenyans will be waking up to stark news of significant changes at the Kenya Wildlife Service, which is facing mounting pressure from the country’s tourism industry and conservationists over the recent upsurge of poaching across the country. The man who briefly held the Acting Executive Directorship until […]
Has the air ran out for FastJet?
HAS THE AIR RAN OUT FOR FASTJET? The news for upstart FastJet are just getting grimmer by the day, as erstwhile partner now turned foe Fly 540 is reportedly stepping up efforts to extract by hook or crook nearly 7 million US Dollars from the FastJet owners, something they however strenuously and continuously deny ever […]
Happy 3rd Birthday to the Constance Ephelia Resort
CONSTANCE EPHELIA RESORT TURNS THREE Three years down the line and three visits later the Constance Ephelia Resort has just turned 3 years old, young in human years but enough time to mature beyond expectations. First seen while still in the final stages of construction and permitted a hard hat tour of the property in […]
Air Tanzania set for Friday relaunch of Mtwara flights
AIR TANZANIA ANNOUNCES ITS RETURN TO MTWARA After overcoming the cracked cockpit window incident on the inaugural flight to Kigoma three weeks ago, when the airline’s Bombardier Q300 aircraft for the first time went back into the air for a commercial flight since its accident in Kigoma in April last year, has Air Tanzania’s Acting […]
RDB set to grade at least 30 more hospitality businesses and hotels in 2013
RDB SET TO GRADE A FURTHER 30 HOTELS THIS YEAR Information was confirmed from a regular source in Kigali, that the Rwanda Development Board’s Tourism and Conservation Department will grade at least 30 more hotels this year, following the start of the exercise last year. Using the East African Community’s guidelines for grading and classification […]
Anti poaching demonstrations name China as a main culprit in Africa’s poaching crisis
KENYA’S TOURISM SECTOR NAMES CHINA AS ‘ENEMY OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION (Cartoon courtesy of The Star Editorial Cartoons) The tone is getting sharper and the message louder and clearer whom Kenya’s tourism industry who is who consider the main culprit in the growing wave of poaching incidents witnessed in recent months across Kenya. A demonstration organized […]
Stop poaching now demand tourism stakeholders in Mombasa demonstration
TOURISM INDUSTRY MARCHES AGAINST POACHING MENACE (MCTA Chairman Mohammed Hersi, wearing a necktie on the left, leads the demonstration against poaching in Mombasa along Moi Avenue) MCTA Chairman Mohammed Hersi, also Area General Manager Coast for Sarova Hotels in charge of the Whitesands Beach Resort and Spa and the two sister lodges of Taita Hills […]
The Air is indeed getting thin up there
THE AIR IS INDEED GETTING THIN UP THERE Predictably were the outcries from those named angry but for certain in denial, after the latest article was published on the ups and downs and twists in the tail of the FastJet versus Fly540 saga in Kenya and Tanzania. As done before, it is always interesting to […]
Seychelles gets new Dornier aerial surveillance aircraft
SEYCHELLES BOOSTS AERIAL SURVEILLANCE CAPACITY WITH NEW PLANE The Seychelles government has over the weekend taken formal delivery of a brand new Dornier surveillance aircraft, built in India and donated by the Indian government to the Seychelles as part of their bilateral assistance. For the last nearly two years was an Indian airforce Dornier deployed […]
Soroti Flying School aircraft crashes as both pilots cheat death
TRAINING AIRCRAFT CRASHES BUT BOTH PILOTS ESCAPE WITH MINOR INJURIES The East African Aviation Academy in Soroti, aka, Flying School, a designated centre of excellence by the East African Community, has returned to the headlines for all the wrong reasons again, when a training aircraft crashed yesterday. The small Cessna plane carried two pilots currently […]
An Appeal by Eco Tourism Kenya – Stop Poaching Now
Tourism Expert Seeks High Court’s Help to Curb Wildlife Poaching Today, High Court Judge Lady Justice Mumbi Ngugi, presided over the mention of a petition filed on 25th January 2013 by Mr. Kahindi Lekalhaile, an ecotourism expert and renowned conservation scientist, and others seeking redress for the rampant illegal killing of rhino and elephants for […]
Hideaway of Nungwi coming to Zanzibar’s North West coast
HIDEAWAY OF NUNGWI COMING TO ZANZIBAR A new luxurious 5 star resort and Spa complex is nearing completion at the far North West side of the main Zanzibari island of Unguja, set in nearly 25 acres of prime land with over 300 metres of direct beach access from within the resort. Located about an hour’s […]
Is the air getting thin up there for FastJet?
IS THE AIR GETTING THIN UP THERE FOR FASTJET? Already embroiled in a potentially major lawsuit with erstwhile buddies Fly540 in Kenya, where some nearly 7 million US Dollars are at stake over alleged outstanding payments claimed by one but strenuously denied by the other, FastJet is now faced with yet more such woes in […]
A rare guest post by Zina Dale of My Destination Tanzania
The Ultimate Once In A Lifetime Travel Experience! MyDestination.com is offering punters from all around the world a chance to win the ultimate round-the-world trip. The “Biggest Baddest Bucket List” is a fantastic opportunity to think of everything you have EVER wanted to do – and then go and do it! Go bungee jumping in […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, First edition February 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 breaking news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome, join me on www.facebook.com/WolfgangHThome where the articles also ‘cross load’ […]
Jake Grieves Cook recognized as Africa’s finest by The Good Safari Guide’s Safari Awards 2013
JAKE GRIEVES COOK RECOGNIZED AS AFRICA’S TOP TOURISM PERSONALITY The Good Safari Guide’s Safari Awards 2013, aka The Safari Oscars,announced at a ceremony in London last week the winners from among 90 finalists in 18 categories of awards, selected by a panel of 18 eminent judges who know the continent’s tourism businesses like the back […]
Air Uganda may see Uganda Government take a stake
UGANDA GOVERNMENT CONSIDERING STAKE IN AIR UGANDA When some time ago a few individuals tried to make hay with their chatter to once again start up a national airline in Uganda – Uganda Airlines was liquidated in 2001 after several failed attempts to privatise the carrier as a result of strong arm tactics and political […]
Seychelles uses FITUR presence to promote UNESCO WHS bid for Mission Lodge
SEYCHELLES PROMOTE UNESCO WHS BID FOR MISSION LODGE IN MADRID MEETING Seychelles’ Minister for Tourism and Culture met at the sidelines of Spain’s premier tourism exhibition FITUR with the UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai, to discuss, among other issues of mutual interest, the country’s bid to be elected to the prestigious Executive Council later this […]
Precision ups flights to Mbeya to daily
PRECISION AIR ANNOUNCES DAILY FLIGHTS TO MBEYA When on the 16th of January Precision Air, Tanzania’s premier airline, launched their flights to Mbeya’s revamped Songwe Airport, they cautiously announced that the new destination would be served four times a week, linking the commercial capital Dar es Salaam with this western Tanzanian municipality. The airline’s strategy […]
More action needed to stem rising poaching tide in Kenya
KENYA GOVERNMENT COMMENTS ON POACHING BUT FALLS SHORT OF EXPECTATIONS The Kenyan government has at last taken some action vis a vis the poaching crisis which is gripping the country and which has seen elephant and rhinos poached now almost at will. A meeting yesterday between senior government officials and leading members of the conservation […]
Precision resumes scheduled flights to Kigoma
PRECISION AIR RESUMES KIGOMA FLIGHTS Precision Air has confirmed that the airline has on Wednesday this week resumed operations to Kigoma, a town located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The airline is using an ATR 42 for the service, which now operates 5 times a week, originating in Dar es Salaam and routing via […]
HTTI staff go on strike over unpaid wages and benefits
HTTI STAFF GO ON STRIKE Reports are coming in from Jinja that staff at Uganda’s national Hotel and Tourism Training Institute, located at the Crested Crane Hotel, have down their tools demanding payment of salary arrears and other dues, which according to one source have been outstanding in some cases for several months. Insiders were […]
Blankets and Wine goes to Carnivore
BLANKETS AND WINE MOVES TO CARNIVORE GROUNDS Kenya’s premier monthly music and social event, Blankets and Wine, will with the February 03rd edition for the first time move to the popular Carnivore grounds in Nairobi, having burst at the seams at the previous location as a result of its growing popularity. Blankets and Wine is […]
RwandAir relaunches Mombasa nonstop to Dubai flights
RWANDAIR RESUMES MOMBASA STOP FOR DUBAI FLIGHTS Effective tomorrow will RwandAir re-launch their Mombasa stop for three of their 7 weekly flights between Kigali and Dubai. The airline is using their B737-800NG for this service, which gives travelers from Mombasa once more a nonstop access to Dubai, without having to travel through Nairobi or other […]
