Hong Kong blood ivory suspects taken to court in Dar es Salaam
KAGESHEKI’S REACTION TO BLOOD IVORY FINDS ENDS 5 IN COURT When shock news broke a few weeks ago over the seizure of a record haul of blood ivory in Hong Kong, and fingers were pointed immediately at Tanzania, the first reaction from Dar es Salaam was one of denial and feigned outrage. This however soon […]
Ethiopian eyes Air Malawi stake
ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES TO BID FOR STAKE IN AIR MALAWI Ethiopian Airlines has reportedly expressed their interest to make a bid for Air Malawi, which according to a periodic aviation source in Johannesburg has been put back on the market by their government, which plans to sell up to 49 percent to a strategic investor. A […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Fourth edition November 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 […]
Embraer chooses Nairobi for their African sales and maintenance support centre
EMBRAER SET TO OPEN AFRICA CENTRE IN NAIROBI Embraer, Brazil’s commercial aircraft manufacturer, used the opportunity last Thursday, when another E190 jet was delivered to Kenya Airways at their Embakasi headquarters, to announce that they will be opening an office in Nairobi in early 2013, aiming to serve a growing African market where the demand […]
Kenya Airways adds another E190 to their fast growing fleet, enters into code share with China Eastern for Shanghai
KENYA AIRWAYS TAKES DELIVERY OF YET ANOTHER E190 Kenya Airways, aka The Pride of Africa, has taken delivery of yet another E190 aircraft on Thursday last week, as the current pending order for 10 of these advanced aircraft is progressively being fulfilled by Brazil’s aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The E190 jets are a perfect fit for […]
Turkish Airlines becomes number one
TURKISH BECOMES NUMBER ONE Turkish Airlines, almost by stealth but certainly with a lot less fanfare compared to some of the Gulf’s leading carriers, has this month reached a new milestone, when first it took delivery on its 200th aircraft before adding the 90th country to its fast growing destination network of now 170 international […]
Turkish Airlines becomes global leader
TURKISH BECOMES NUMBER ONE Turkish Airlines, almost by stealth but certainly with a lot less fanfare compared to some of the Gulf’s leading carriers, has this month reached a new milestone, when first it took delivery on its 200th aircraft before adding the 90th country to its fast growing destination network of now 170 international […]
Kenya cabinet approves KAA financing packages
KIBAKI’S INFRASTRUCTURE LEGACY SECURE AS CABINET APPROVES AIRPORT FINANCING The aviation sector in Kenya, and in fact in the wider region, will be jubilant as news emerge from Nairobi that the last cabinet meeting chaired by President Kibaki has approved the financing proposals by the Kenya Airport Authority, for the pending Project Greenfield which includes […]
UWA finally gets a new substantive CEO
DR. ANDREW SEGUYA APPOINTED AS NEW UWA CEO Dr. Andrew Seguya, for the past nearly two years Acting Executive Director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority, has been appointed to a 5 year term of office following the conclusion of a recruitment exercise undertaken on behalf of the UWA Board of Directors by a local HR […]
Gamewatchers extends Porini operations to Nakuru
PORINI COMES TO NAKURU The four celebrated and award winning Porini Safari Camps of Gamewatcher Safaris in Kenya will be getting another ‘sibling’ when a new temporary tented camp will open in a wooded area of Lake Nakuru National Park. Similar in set up to all the sister camps on Ol Pejeta and their conservancies […]
Ethiopian opens new premium lounge in Addis Ababa
ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES OPENS NEW PREMIUM LOUNGE With the first few B787 Dreamliners now flying from Addis into the world Ethiopian Airlines has now opened the first section of a brand new business class lounge in Addis Ababa, to match the new aircraft in the skies with the comforts of a newly designed, state of the […]
Mauritius hopes Visa rule relaxation will rekindle tourism fortunes
MAURITIUS RELAXES VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR 75 COUNTRIES A regular source from Port Louis has confirmed information, that Mauritius has relaxed Visa requirements for 29 African countries and 75 countries overall, aimed to facilitate greater bonds with those countries vis a vis trade and travel. Restrictive Visa regimes were according to tourism sources from Mauritius at […]
Jetlink’s woes just got worse as creditors move to court
CREDITORS MOVE ON JETLINK TO PROTECT THEIR CLAIMS The High Court in Nairobi has granted what must be the first of several applications by creditors of grounded privately owned Kenyan airline Jetlink, as the owners of four of the carrier’s CRJ200 jets have moved to get them ‘taken into CAA custody’. According to a source […]
COMESA Business Forum ends with tourism on the agenda
COMESA BUSINESS FORUM ENDS WITH TALKING TOURISM Tourism was the penultimate item on the agenda of the just ended COMESA Business Forum, which brought together hundreds of business wo/men at the lakeside convention resort of Munyonyo. Two days of intensive business to business meetings alongside a range of keynote speeches and presentations discussed progress made […]
Appeals process starts for the three former tourism leaders
CONVICTED FORMER TOURISM LEADERS START APPEAL HEARING Former Permanent Secretary Rebecca Nabutoola, former KTB CEO Dr. Achieng and former Maniago Safaris CEO Duncan Muriuki yesterday appeared before the High Court in Milimani / Nairobi, pleading to be granted bail ahead of a formal appeal hearing going underway. All three convicts, through their lawyers, cited a […]
More rooms for Serengeti Simba Lodge
SERENGETI SIMBA ADDS STONE HOUSE Located on top of what is locally known as Gambasage Hill inside the Ikona Wildlife Management Area, the Serengeti Simba Lodge has always offered great views, in particular over the Grumeti River and into the Grumeti area of the Serengeti. The latest addition to the lodge is the just opened […]
Safarilink scoop more green honours for carbon neutral operations
SAFARILINK MAKE IT THREE IN A ROW Kenya’s premier safari airline, Safarilink, last week scooped the coveted Enterprise of the Year 2012 – Airlines award at the EcoTourism Kenya gala dinner, where the topmost green performers of Kenya’s tourism industry are recognized for their commitment to reduce their carbon footprint, employ best practice and show […]
Air traffic controllers in Kenya on yet another go slow
KENYA’S ATC INFLICTS MORE PAIN ON AIRLINES Kenya’s aviation primadonnas, aka air traffic controllers, have once again decided to move from regular work to slow go, inflicting some serious pain on travelers and the airlines flying within Kenya but also the international carriers coming to Nairobi. As reported recently, such measures keep piling up delays […]
Entebbe Highway project launches today
PRESIDENT MUSEVENI TO BREAK GROUND AS ENTEBBE HIGHWAY WORK GOES UNDERWAY Construction of the long awaited new toll highway between Kampala and Entebbe will finally go underway as President Museveni will today perform the ground breaking ceremony to signal the formal project start. Two key elements will be covered under the project, namely a new […]
Precision Air confident of long term future as Tanzania’s premier airline
PRECISION AIR TO STICK TO MARKET STRATEGY AS RIVALS REVEAL FARE STRUCTURE Tanzania’s premier airline Precision Air appears undaunted by the prospect of big talking FastJet coming on line in coming weeks, as another ATR42-600 state of the art turboprop aircraft joined their fleet a few days ago. FastJet appears to be putting as many […]
Legal cases over KTB appointments end, for now
KTF WITHDRAWS CASE AGAINST MWAZO The pending court case by the Kenya Tourism Federation against tourism minister Danson Mwazo was yesterday withdrawn in the High Court in Nairobi, following the Industrial Court’s decision earlier to re-instate Muriithi Ndegwa to the position as rightful CEO of the Kenya Tourism Board. A regular source in Nairobi attributed […]
Kenya Airways appoints Chris Diaz as new Marketing Director
KENYA AIRWAYS APPOINTS CHRIS DIAZ AS NEW DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Kenya Airways has just announced the appointment of Mr. Chris Diaz as their new Director of Marketing, effective immediately. Chris joins Kenya Airways from BIDCO Group where he served as the Group Marketing Director, overseeing functions in Communications, Corporate Affairs and Business Development across different […]
Congo fails to draw Rwanda into civil conflict
CONGO’S REGIME TROOPS FIRE INTO RWANDA In what has been described as a blatant act of aggression and an overt attempt to drag Rwanda into the civil conflict raging in Eastern Congo, have regime soldiers fired mortar rounds and shells into Rwanda, killing at least two innocent Rwandans and injuring several more. Notably this is […]
STB Chairman launches new hotel investment tender
SEYCHELLES INVESTMENT BUREAU SEEKS INVESTORS FOR AIRPORT HOTEL PROJECT As the archipelago is gearing up towards yet another major tourism festival, SUBIOS, aka The Festival of the Sea, has the Seychelles Investments Bureau launched the Ile Soleil project where a major new hotel, located within close distance to the international airport is at the centre […]
5th cable to double internet capacity in Kenya and beyond
KENYA TO GET ANOTHER FIBRE OPTIC LINK TO THE WORLD When a planned 4th fibreoptic cable will connect Kenya, and the hinterland countries, with the rest of the world, capacity will nearly double from the present 8.5 terabyte per second to over 15 terabyte a second, allowing for greater penetration of internet usage in Kenya […]
COMESA’s Business Forum brings together hundreds from the 19 member trade bloc
8TH COMESA BUSINESS FORUM GOES UNDERWAY IN KAMPALA An extensive programme awaits participants of the 08th COMESA Business Forum which kicks off today at the lakeside resort convention centre of Munyonyo, ahead of the upcoming 16th Summit of COMESA Heads of State and Government. Top rated speakers will cover a range of topics from Africa’s […]
Serena Beach bags Eco Warrior Award 2012
SERENA BAGS KENYA’S ECO WARRIOR AWARD 2012 The Serena Beach Hotel and Spa was last weekend crowned with EcoTourism Kenya’s Eco Warrior Award for 2012 in recognition of nearly 20 years of dedication towards turtle and butterfly conservation along Shanzu Beach in Mombasa, where the resort is located. At the same function EcoTourism Kenya also […]
Praslin set to get new Coco de Mer reserve
Fond Ferdinand Seychelles- A new Coco de Mer Nature Reserve open its doors (Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St. Ange planting a Coco de Mer, picture courtesy of MoTC) A few weeks ahead of its official opening, the Praslin special Coco de Mer Nature Reserve, Fond Ferdinand lifted the curtain allowing government representatives […]
UWA starts mountain biking on Mt. Elgon
UGANDA WILDLIFE AUTHORITY LAUNCHES MOUNTAIN BIKING AT MT. ELGON Tourism sources have expressed their satisfaction over news that UWA is now permitting the use of mountain bikes at Mt. Elgon National Park, a trans-boundary ecosystem shared with neighbouring Kenya. The formal launch took place last Friday when a group of Irish mountain bikers took to […]
Jetlink case only the tip of the iceberg as South Sudan defaults on large scale
JETLINK SAGA PUTS PRESSURE ON KENYA GOVERNMENT TO ACT ON SOUTH SUDAN The halt of operations by Jetlink, one of Kenya’s leading privately owned airlines, has not only stunned Kenyans but also exposed a weak link in the relations between Kenya and South Sudan, namely payment for goods and services rendered. It is understood from […]
