Qatar Airways adds the ‘Windy City’ as US destination number 4
QATAR AIRWAYS ADDS THE WINDY CITY AS US DESTINATION NUMBER FOUR The Worlds Five Star Airline has just announced their plans to commence daily flights between Doha and Chicago from April 10th next year onwards, bringing to four the number of US destinations served nonstop, following New York, Washington DC and Houston. The airline, already […]
MV Kaawa set to resume lake ferry service from Port Bell to Mwanza
MV KAAWA DUE TO RETURN TO FERRY DUTY (Picture courtesy New Vision file photos) ONLY 7 YEARS after colliding with MV Kabalega, which subsequently sunk into the deep of Lake Victoria, will the MV Kaawa return to service. Diddling with the pros and cons of repairs versus building a new rail ferry, the concept of […]
New routes, more frequencies announcements expected when RwandAir gets new CRJ900 jets
RWANDAIR SET TO MAKE ROUTES ANNOUNCEMENTS WHEN NEW CRJ900S ARRIVE Regular sources close to Rwandas national airline RwandAir have given the clearest indication yet that once the two ordered Bombardier CRJ900 jets have been delivered, thought to take place in October or latest November this year, the airline will almost immediately announce an increase in […]
Minister admits failure to repair Narok to Masai Mara road
MINISTER ADMITS DISMAL FAILURE AS CHINESE COMPANY SET TO FIX MARA ROAD All but admitting to have misled the Kenyan public in the past, the Minister for Roads had to eat humble pie during a public interview on one of Nairobis TV stations, when he had to reveal that the notoriously bad road between Narok […]
Poaching in Tanzania ‘completely out of hand’ according to parliamentary report
TANZANIA PARLIAMENT TOLD OF 30 POACHED ELEPHANT A DAY A report recently submitted to and discussed by parliament in Dodoma makes stark reading and confirms what has been rumoured for long, that the rate of poaching is way higher than Tanzanian officials have previously admitted. During the period between 2006 and 2009 as many as […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Second edition August 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 […]
KAA and transport minister in quarrel over tender award for second runway and airport expansion
NEW HURDLES FOR AIRPORT EXTENSION THREATEN TIMELINES Over the weekend did news emerge in Nairobi that wrangles over the tender for an additional terminal and a second runway have run into a series of problems, with directives and counterclaims flying from all directions. While the Office of the President appears keen to see the project […]
Rhino Fund Uganda releases new tariffs for Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary 2013
RHINO FUND PUBLISHES 2013 RATES FOR ZIWA RHINO SANCTUARY SERVICES The Rhino Fund Uganda has just announced their fee structure for the year 2013, well ahead of the due date to allow for incorporation in tour and safari itineraries, many of which now include a visit to the only place in the wild in Uganda […]
Kenya and South Sudan sign pipeline deal
SOUTH SUDAN AND KENYA SIGN PIPELINE DEAL Within days of reaching agreement with hostile neighbour Khartoum Sudan over the fees on transporting South Sudans oil to Port Sudan for export said to have been literally forced down South Sudans throat by Western governments and subsequently the most expensive such deal ever costing the South some […]
Air Mauritius reports slight reduction on Q1 losses compared to 2011
AIR MAURITIUS ANNOUNCES SLIGHTLY REDUCED LOSS FOR Q1 Air Mauritius announced a slightly reduces loss from last year for Quarter 1 of 10.4 million Euros, compared to 11.9 million Euros in 2011. Airline sources blamed in particular the change in value between the Euro and the US Dollar for the magnitude of the loss, which […]
British Airways counters lower loads with special offers for Business Class to Europe and America
BRITISH AIRWAYS CUTS FARES FOR AUGUST DUE TO LOW LOADS A reported downturn in sales out of Entebbe to Europe and the United States has prompted British Airways to counter the trend with some aggressive market fares, which for business class from Uganda to key points in Europe have been pegged at 1.999 US Dollars, […]
Reed Exhibitions to launch International Luxury Travel Market Africa in Cape Town / April 2013
REED EXHIBITIONS TO LAUNCH FIRST EVER LUXURY AFRICA TRAVEL FAIR IN APRIL 2013 Following in the footsteps of the hugely successful ILTM International Luxury Travel Market series which includes dedicated Asia and Americas editions, Reed Exhibitions has just announced that the first ever Africa edition has been scheduled for April next year in Cape Town […]
African Football Confederation heading to the Seychelles for their extraordinary general meeting
AFRICAN FOOTBALL CONFEDERATION SET FOR SEYCHELLES GENERAL MEETING Only weeks after successfully hosting 4 major international events in succession, the International Council of Tourism Partners, the RETOSA Board Meeting, the Vanilla Island Organization General Meeting and the Routes Africa Conference, will the African Football Confederations 54 member associations head for the archipelago for a week […]
Blue Panorama announces suspension of Seychelles flights from mid September
BLUE PANORAMA TO SUSPEND FLIGHTS DUE TO ITALIAN ECONOMIC CRISIS Information was received from the Seychelles that Blue Panorama, which stepped into the void left for direct flights between Italy and the archipelago after the dramatic cessation of flights by Air Seychelles earlier this year, has announced that come mid September they will suspend for […]
COMESA issues media statement on forthcoming 1st Sustainable Tourism Forum set for Nairobi / Kenya between August 22 to 24
COMESA ISSUES MEDIA STATEMENT AHEAD OF TOURISM FORUM IN NAIROBI The Lusaka based headquarters of Africas largest trade block, COMESA, has today issued a media statement ahead of their First Sustainable Tourism Summit due to be held in Nairobi / Kenya in just under two weeks time. Initially scheduled to take place earlier in the […]
Interview with Vanilla Island Cooperation President, Seychelles Minister of Tourism and Culture, the Hon. Alain St. Ange Reproduced from the ‘Mauritius News on Sunday’
Seychelles Minister Alain St.Ange one-on- one interview with Mauritius News on Sunday. Seychelles’ nomination as the first President of Vanilla Island organisation has generated interest in the Mauritius Press News on Sunday and made a sensational news angle. The Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St. Ange, a strong supporter of the setting up […]
South African Airways adds 3 more flights per week between Johannesburg and Nairobi
SOUTH AFRICAN ADD MORE FLIGHTS TO NAIROBI Information has been confirmed that South African Airways is adding three more flights per week, upping the ante from daily to now 10 between Johannesburg and Nairobi. The airline, a member of the worlds leading airline group Star Alliance will continue to use a mix of B737-800 and […]
FastJet brand on hold, AGAIN …
FLY 540 REBRANDING ON HOLD AGAIN Reports from Nairobi yesterday evening speak of substantial animosity and arguments on the board of Fly 540, where the representatives of one section of shareholders apparently put the brakes on any future developments vis a vis the planned rebranding, until questions on the present legal cases and the implications […]
NEMA admits failure and lack of capacity to monitor oil activities in protected areas
NEMAS ADMISSION OF FAILURES PROMPTS FEARS FOR FUTURE OF PROTECTED AREAS The Ugandan conservation fraternity is reeling in shock over NEMAs latest public admission, that they lack the capacity to effectively monitor oil exploration activities in the Albertine Graben, where much of the test drilling has taken place inside Murchisons Falls National Park, the Kaiso […]
Rising lake levels shut down Lake Baringo resorts
RISING LAKE LEVELS AT BARINGO FORCE RESORTS TO SHUT DOWN Following a detailed report on a visit to Lake Baringo in December last year, when the lake levels already stood at near record highs, only once exceeded in living memory in the 1960s, the onslaught of the rising water appears to have continued with a […]
Kenya’s tourism minister rushes to mend fences with Qatar Airways
KENYAS TOURISM MINISTER RUSHES TO MEND FENCES WITH QATAR AIRWAYS The recent launch of Qatar Airways 5th East African destination, Kilimanjaro, due to have operated from Doha via Nairobi to JRO, found itself with an unexpected new routing as Kenyan authorities, reportedly at the very last moment perhaps in a warped sense to inflict maximum […]
COMESA to hold its first Sustainable Tourism Development Forum in Nairobi
COMESA SET TO HOLD ITS FIRST EVER TOURISM FORUM IN NAIROBI The Lusaka headquartered Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa, in short COMESA, has of late decided to pay greater attention to the trade blocks tourism potential. The organization, which now spans much of the African continent an reaches from Zambia to Congo and […]
Tanzania to hold ‘Chef Challenge 2012’ to find the country’s BEST
CHEF ASSOCIATION OF TANZANIA LAUNCHES CHEF CHALLENGE 2012 The Hotel Association of Tanzania, in short HAT has passed on information about the upcoming registration period between August 15th and September 15th, during which chefs, professional, aspiring and those still at amateur level, can sign up to participate in the Chefs Challenge 2012 at the end […]
The Boma, Nairobi’s latest 5 star hotel, set for soft opening by mid August
THE BOMA ANNOUNCES SOFT OPENING DATE Nairobis latest addition to the hotel industry, the Kenya Red Cross owned The Boma is presently finishing its dry runs before envisaging soft opening during the second half of August, once all systems have been checked and re-checked and been given the green light as fully functional and operational. […]
Safarilink takes delivery of their fourth Garmin3000 Cessna Caravan
SAFARILINK ADDS NEW AIRCRAFT Safarilink has confirmed the arrival of a brand new Cessna Caravan equipped with a Garmin 3000 avionics suite, the fourth such state of the art aircraft on their fleet, three of them fully owned and one leased. In addition does Safarilink operate another four earlier generation Caravans, beside their DHC Twinotter […]
Ethiopian set to make African aviation history with B787 Dreamliner delivery next week
ETHIOPIAN MAKES HISTORY FOR AFRICAN AVIATION WITH DELIVERY OF FIRST B787 Ethiopian Airlines will in a week from today make African aviation history once again when the airline takes delivery in Seattle of their first B787 Dreamliner. Delayed by several years the late delivery has made the planned rollout of new destinations a challenge for […]
TANAPA announces fee hikes for 2013 by as much as 400 percent
TANAPA CHARGES RISE BY AS MUCH AS 400 PERCENT FROM 2013 ONWARDS In a move, termed by sections of the tourism fraternity as suicidal has TANAPA raised a range of fees to enter the countrys national parks, effective from July 2013. While appreciating the one year notice given to build the risen fees and charges […]
Kigali’s ‘Downtown’ burns to the ground
DOWNTOWN TURNED TO ASHES One of Kigalis most popular entertainment hotspots, DOWNTOWN burned to the ground last Friday, following a fire which reportedly originated in the kitchen of the combined restaurant, bar and nightclub. Well known to this correspondent from his regular visits to Rwandas capital, though only visited during day hours to avoid complications […]
Mauritius loosing appeal in tourism source markets as competitors soar
MAURITIUS STRUGGLES TO RETURN TO WINNING WAY Stark news have emerged from available tourism statistics for the first half of 2012, confirming fears and doubts by the Mauritius hospitality industry, that indeed the once overwhelming lead in arrival numbers and appeal to holiday travelers choosing to visit the Indian Ocean islands, has now waned and […]
Helicopter crashes at Wilson Airport shortly after takeoff, pilot and passenger survive
HELI CRASHES AT WILSON AIRPORT (Picture of a Raven 44 courtesy of Wikipedia) The pilot and one passenger survived narrowly when their Robinson R44 crashed back to the ground shortly after takeoff from Nairobis Wilson Airport. Both were taken from the scene in an ambulance to the Nairobi Hospital for treatment but their condition could […]
