Seychelles Tourism Board at Labriz Hilton Silhouette to develop new marketing strategy
SEYCHELLES TOURISM BOARD HOLDS ANNUAL STRATEGY SESSION All key marketing and sales personnel of the Seychelles Tourism Board have gathered at the Labriz Hilton Silhouette Resort and Spa for a 3 day retreat, aimed to review the market performance vis a vis the current marketing strategy in place and define new targets and objectives for […]
Turkish Airlines’ expansion into Africa continues with Juba as a potential 2013 destination
TURKISH EYES JUBA AS AFRICAN EXPANSION PLANS GAIN MOMENTUM It was learned from a regular source in Juba, South Sudan’s capital city that on the prowl Turkish Airlines has apparently set sights on Africa’s youngest country too, as the relentless rollout of African destinations continues to unfold. Reported here way ahead of the mainstream aviation […]
Rwanda removes advance Visa requirement from January 01st for all African visitors
RWANDA SCRAPS VISA IN ADVANCE RULE FOR AFRICAN NATIONALS In a remarkable departure from common practice among African states has Rwanda just declared that come January 01st ALL African nationals will be issued Visa on arrival, sparing them the often cumbersome and tedious and at time intimidating process of having to apply weeks in advance […]
Massawa Airways gets brand new MA60
MASSAWA AIRWAYS GETS FIRST MA60 (Picture taken from Airliners.Net courtesy of Lihutao) A brand new XIAN MA60 was delivered a few days ago to Eritrean start up airline Massawa Airways, which will now commence flights from the Red Sea port city of Massawa to Asmara and other destinations, according to information received from a source […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Second edition December 2012
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’ or […]
Reflections on Doha COP18
DOHA’S FAILURE SPELLS DOOM FOR AFRICA Kyoto extended till 2020, resolution package forced through by conference chair, new draft treaty to be ready by 2015 but no funds yet for Africa and small island states to mitigate the sins of the polluters – that could be said in summary about the just ended Doha 2012 […]
Airline alliances look at Africa as African airlines look at themselves
AIRLINE ALLIANCES FOCUS ON AFRICA WHILE AFRICA FOCUSES ON ITSELF, AT LAST While Asia seems to be the present focus of airline alliances, and for good reasons considering the huge growth markets of China and India – the latter rapidly liberalizing now and offering new investment opportunities – Africa remains on the map of all […]
5 days and counting – the CHUI is coming back …
Dear friends and partners of the Chui’s Herewith a first aerial glimpse of the NEW Leopard Beach Resort & Spa due to re-open on December 12th. You will note the four circular ‘’Bomas’’ housing the Kalani Coffee WIFI Lounge, The Horizon Restaurant with enlarged terraces offering increased and much better, magnificent views over the Indian […]
Google is the first of the global big league to step up against wildlife slaughter
GOOGLE COMES TO THE AID OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION Google’s Global Impact Award Programme has given the World Wide Fund for Nature, in short WWF, a grant of 5 million US Dollars, assisting in the tracking and protection of endangered species via remote operated drones. The UAV’s could soon be deployed over poaching hotspots, linked to […]
Tanzanian government accused of dilly dallying over fate of MV Liemba
MV LIEMBA’S FATE IN BALANCE AS TANZANIA FAILS TO RESPOND TO RESCUE OFFER (Picture courtesy of Wikipedia) Tourism stakeholders, keen to promote Lake Tanganyika as an additional natural resource area beyond the traditional national parks and coastal beaches, have expressed dismay over reports that the Tanzanian government has failed to respond to an offer from […]
Seychelles Tourism Academy on course with campus expansion
SEYCHELLES TOURISM ACADEMY CONSTRUCTION ADVANCES ON SCHEDULE The ongoing construction of state of the art facilities at the La Misere based Seychelles Tourism Academy is reportedly well on schedule, with nearly a third of the present phase 1 construction already completed. Due for completion in March next year, the remodeling and expansion of STA is […]
Turkish Airlines launches Kilimanjaro / Mombasa flights
TURKISH MAKES MAIDEN FLIGHT TO MOMBASA Turkish Airlines has yesterday commenced scheduled flights into Mombasa, serving Kenya’s coastal city now 5 times a week. Passengers connecting from Turkish’s global network via Istanbul will now have the option to fly to THY’s second Kenyan destination, after Nairobi, every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, leaving IST […]
COMESA Business Forum releases ‘Munyonyo Declaration’
COMESA BUSINESS COUNCIL RELEASES ‘MUNYONYO DECLARATION’ Following the conclusion of the COMESA Business Forum, held alongside the 16th COMESA Summit at the end of last month in Kampala, has the secretariat now released the ‘Munyonyo Declaration’ in which key elements discussed by hundreds of delegates, and the respective conclusions and recommendations are now available on […]
KWS admits to significant decline in elephant numbers in Northern Kenya since last census
KWS RAISES ALARM ON ELEPHANT NUMBERS The recently concluded aerial game survey in Northern Kenya has reportedly come up with some stark declines, in particular for elephant and the Gravy Zebra species. KWS Chief Executive William Kiprono, unlike his predecessor Dr. Julius Kipng’etich who had the EcoTourism Kenya CEO arrested for publicly disagreeing with the […]
Uganda’s tourism fortunes get boost by National Geographic
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NAMES UGANDA IN THEIR GLOBAL TOP 20 DESTINATIONS As 2012 is waning now, and with it Uganda’s accolade as the Lonely Planet Guide Books Number ONE Destination for the year, and the hype fades of reaching the half century mark of Independence from Britain, the country is getting an unexpected but well deserved […]
New tourism parastatals fail to take off in absence of boards
LACK OF BOARD APPOINTMENTS FOR TOURISM PARASTATALS CAUSE OF MORE DISSENT The absence of substantive boards of directors at the newly created tourism parastatals is said to be a further cause of growing dissent within the tourism industry and between senior stakeholders, the associations under which the industry comes together and the tourism minister. The […]
Who keeps slamming the brakes in Mauritius tourism
A reproduction of an intriguing article in Le Mauricien, written by Jean Clement Cangy … Vanilla Islands moving, without Mauritius… JEAN CLÉMENT CANGY, the known and respected Mauritian Journalist writes in popular Le MauricienNewspaper on the 3rd December that Mauritius is suffering more than the other islands of the region from the economic crises of […]
Congo militias suspected in attack on Rwandan gorilla monitoring and research camp
CONGO’S ANTI RWANDA MILITIAS SUSPECTED IN RAID ON GORILLA MONITORING CAMP The attack yesterday morning on the Kazi Camp, operated by the Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund International, which killed one staff and saw others injured, was swiftly denounced by several sources close to the powers that be in Rwanda. Fingers were also immediately pointed to […]
Emirates counters B787 hype with more A380 destinations and frequencies
EMIRATES COUNTERS WITH ADDED A380 DESTINATIONS Emirates sales teams have swiftly reacted across East Africa to the news that arch rival Qatar Airways will launch their new B787 on the route to London from mid December, when the airline announced additional A380 destinations. ‘The Airbus A380 provides the greatest comfort available in the sky today. […]
Serengeti Highway case to start on January 23rd
EACJ WILL HEAR SERENGETI HIGHWAY CASE FROM 23 JAN 2013 The East African Court of Justice in Arusha has last Friday announced the trial date for the case environmental groups have brought against the Tanzanian government over the controversial routing of a planned highway across the Serengeti. The case will commence on January 23rd but […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, First edition December 2012
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’ or […]
Kampala Aero Club partners with Tanzania’s Coastal Aviation
KAMPALA AERO CLUB JOINS HANDS WITH COASTAL TO OFFER FLIGHTS TO SERENGETI Tanzania’s Coastal Aviation and Uganda’s Kampala Aero Club and Flight Training Centre, aka Fly Uganda, will effective 15th December offer a unique link, connecting the great migration of Tanzania’s Serengeti with the prized mountain gorillas in Uganda’s Bwindi National Park. The flights will […]
Another Iljushin crash claims the lives of crew and scores on the ground
ILJUSHIN CRASH KILLS CREW AND SCORES ON GROUND Information is emerging from Brazzaville that an Iljushin 76 cargo plane, owned by Aero Services, while attempting to land at Brazzaville’s international airport, crashed into a housing estate, killing the crew on board and scores of people on the ground as the plane hit, disintegrated and the […]
Mauritius gets its groove back as Emirates goes double daily
EMIRATES TO GO DOUBLE DAILY TO MAURITIUS Starting tomorrow, 02nd December, Emirates will move from presently 11 flights per week between Dubai and Mauritius to 14, making it a double daily affair with the island in time for the forthcoming high season when the holidays start, using a B777 for the extra flights. Mauritius’s hospitality […]
SHTA Chairman speaks out about misgivings of the Seychelles tourism industry
I am re-posting this press release, with particular reference to the comments made by Mr. D’Offay on the issue of direct flights between Paris and Mahe, NOT via Abu Dhabi, and the need to restore Mahe as the Air Seychelles hub and not have it shifted to Abu Dhabi. Questions in fact I asked several […]
Entebbe air show for 15/16 December
ENTEBBE AIRSHOW SET FOR DECEMBER 15/16 Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority is partnering to put together a show case aviation event on the weekend of December 15th and 16th, bringing together the aviation industry to give Ugandans a hands on experience. Air Uganda has already offered to fly disabled children on a special flight on their […]
Qatar Airways to deploy B787 on London route
QATAR AIRWAYS PUSHES LONDON AS FIRST B787 DESTINATION December 13th will see Qatar Airways’ first B787 Dreamliner commence flights to London, an occasion the airlines has been using in Uganda to push for added sales in a hardly contested market place. ‘We are the best in the sky and when the new B787 comes on […]
Seychelles starts countdown to ‘Carnvial International de Victoria 2013’
COUNTDOWN TO CARNIVAL 2013 BEGINS TODAY The third edition of the Carnival International de Victoria will commence the formal countdown this evening in Bel Ombre / Mahe in the presence of the Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St. Ange and the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board Elsia Grandcourt. Invited guests from the tourism […]
AFRAA AGM hears revolutionary ideas about the need for a new Pan African carrier
UNITED WE FLY, DIVIDED WE DON’T? The recently held annual general meeting of AFRAA in Johannesburg sprang a few surprises on delegates and aviation pundits, when none other than Kenya Airways’ CEO Dr. Titus Naikuni had the room go so shtumm that a falling leaf could have been heard, as he floated the idea of […]
New EAC headquarters officially opened in Arusha
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY INAUGURATES NEW HEADQUARTERS IN ARUSHA Years of planning and construction came to a successful conclusion yesterday when President Kikwete, accompanied by Kenya’s President Kibaki and Burundian President Nkurunziza officially launched the new headquarters of the East African Community in Arusha / Tanzania, which were funded entirely by the German government at a […]
