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 […]
Brussels Airlines plans non stop Mombasa service from November
BRUSSELS AIRLINES TO ADD MOMBASA TO GROWING AFRICAN ROUTE NETWORK The Brussels Airlines Country Manager for Kenya, Pierre Declerk, has confirmed that the airline intends to add a nonstop service from Brussels to Mombasa this November, then routing back to the European and Belgian capital city via Nairobi. The planned connection will bring another scheduled […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, First 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 […]
La Digue prepares for the annual ‘Feast of Assumption’
LA DIGUE IN THE SPOTLIGHT AS ISLAND PREPARES FOR ASSUMPTION FESTIVAL The Seychelles third largest island, La Digue, a personal favourite of this correspondent for its laid back attitude and unique way of life, is preparing for the Feast of Assumption, when the Catholic faithful from the archipelago are joined by hundreds of tourists to […]
Air Tanzania does it again – but not in a good way
AIR TANZANIAS TROUBLES CONTINUE Only weeks after making full mouthed statements when the company brought in a leased B737-500 – a move by the way immediately questioned by aviation analysts as this Boeing type is no longer considered a state of the art aircraft -have news emerged from Dar es Salaam that Air Tanzania had […]
Rwanda’s safari guides awarded their ratings following May examinations
RWANDAS TOUR AND SAFARI GUIDES GET PROFESSIONAL RATINGS The efforts to inject professionalism into Rwandas tourism industry, supported by government via the Rwanda Development Board, the Private Sector Federations tourism chamber and the Rwanda Tours and Travel Association RTTA have born fruits when late last week 25 guides out of 30 who sat for exams […]
Emirates introduces the A380 on the route to Amsterdam
EMIRATES INTRODUCES THE A380 ON THE AMSTERDAM ROUTE A regular source at the Emirates office in Kampala has confirmed that the airline is now deploying the worlds largest passenger aircraft on the route between Dubai and Amsterdam, making the Dutch city the 19th A380 destination now being served by Dubais award winning airline. Emirates flies […]
Kampala Aero Club adds classic 1954 De Havilland Super Chipmunk to their acrobatics fleet
WILD SKIES OVER KAJJANSI RELAOADED VERSION 3.0 The skies over Kajjansi just got wilder, when news broke that the Kampala Aero Club and Flight Training Centre now operates a third aircraft dedicated purely to acrobatic flying. Besides the classic single seat Jungmeister, owned and lovingly maintained by Capt. Howard Davenport, the Aeroclub also has an […]
Seychelles announces bid for membership in UNSC for 2017 / 2018
SEYCHELLES GET AFRICAN UNION NOD TO BID FOR 2017/18 UN SECURITY COUNCIL SEAT The Seychelles have started their campaign to be elected to the UN Security Council as a non permanent member for the years 2017 and 2018, after being cleared by the African Union as a continental candidate. The tiny Indian Ocean country has […]
Insider updates from the Creole Island Paradise of the Seychelles – Another World
International Elephant Conference scheduled for July 2013 in Kwa-Zulu Natal’s Zulu Nyala Lodge
INTERNATIONAL ELEPHANT CONFERENCE PLANNED FOR JULY 2013 AT ZULU NYALA LODGE An international elephant conference has been convened to discuss the plight, and future on the continent of Africa, of the remaining elephant herds, which are increasingly endangered and pushed into ever smaller habitats with ancient migration routes being cut off by fenced farms, ranched […]
Rwanda’s tourism industry continues to perform above average with 11 percent growth for first half of 2012
RWANDAS TOURISM REVENUES GROW BY 11 PERCENT TO REACH NEW HALF YEAR RECORD Tourism continues to perform way above average for Rwandas economy, with a reported 11 percent rise in revenues generated for the first six months of 2012, up from the previous year by nearly 13 million US Dollars to 128.3 million US Dollars, […]
More bad news for Fly 540 as Lufthansa Technik files suit against them
MORE BAD NEWS FOR FLY 540 AS LUFTHANSA TECHNIK SUES THEM TOO Join the queue comes to mind when news emerged in Nairobi overnight that Lufthansa Technik has sued Fly 540 over an unpaid bill for the repair of an aircraft engine. The suit was brought before the High Court in Nairobi, where another suit […]
Leopard Beach Resort re-opening tentatively put to 12th December
LEOPARD BEACH RESORT AND SPA REBUILING ON COURSE FOR MID DECEMBER REOPENING The management of the Chui, as the Leopard Beach Resort and Spa is fondly referred to by friends and aficionados, has confirmed that the present rebuilding of parts of the resort damaged by a fire two months ago, is one course for a […]
