Kenya’s Minister for Natural Resources and Wildlife banned from parliament for evading to answer questions
ABSENTISM GETS MINISTER BARRED FROM PARLIAMENT AS HE EVADES QUESTIONS The saga of the Southern Bypass, for which the Kenya Government has apparently sanctioned the excision of a major tract of land from the Nairobi National Park, has last week reached parliament and left the government and in particular the Minister for Forestry and Wildlife […]
Kenya Airways signs major financing deal for 20 new aircraft with Afreximbank
KENYA AIRWAYS GETS BOARD APPROVAL FOR ARRANGING FINANCING FOR 20 AIRCRAFT The Board of Directors has given Kenya Airways management approval to arrange for the pre-financing of as many as 20 aircraft, comprising 9 B787-800 Dreamliners, 1 B777-300ER and 10 Embraer 190s and the deal was concluded today already in Nairobi as the airline, according […]
Kenya’s Tourism Awards 2012 once again honour the best of the best
KENYA TOURISM AWARDS CONFIRM SUPERIOR CHOICES AS WINNERS In recent articles about a visit to the Kenya coast there was much talk about both outstanding properties but also about mediocrity and same old same old so it was exciting news over the weekend that the Kenya Tourism Federation and Kenya Tourist Board organized Kenya Tourism […]
Mombasa bar blast called ‘opportunistic crime’ and not part of wider conspiracy of terror
MOMBASA BAR BLAST CALLED OPPORTUNISTIC CRIME News last night that the Jericho Bar in the Kisauni area of Mombasa, NOT frequented by tourists it should be mentioned, was subject to a grenade being thrown into the premises, was by tourism sources called an opportunistic crime like similar incidents previously in Nairobi but not part of […]
ALS Kenya gets IATA’s SMS certification, announced interest in more domestic routes
ALS SET TO WIDEN DOMESTIC FLIGHTS Kenyas Aircraft Leasing Services, based at Wilson Airport in the same building as SafariLink has reportedly placed an order for at least 2 50 seater Embraer aircraft, aimed to add to their existing domestic scheduled flights later this year. A media statement speaks of such destinations as Malindi but […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Fourth edition June 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 […]
Battlefield East Africa
BATTLEFIELD EAST AFRICA 98 YEARS AND COUNTING By Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome June 2012 Little did Africa know, neither of nor about the outcome of the notorious Berlin Conference, when the greats of the world, or those who thought of themselves as greats at the time, grabbed an entire continent and divided it amongst […]
US Embassy pulls staff from Mombasa in a highly visible move condemned by Kenya’s tourism sector and society at large
US EMBASSY PULLS STAFF FROM MOMBASA AMID TOURISM STAKEHOLDER PROTESTS The announcement by the US Embassy in Nairobi, that they had credible intelligence of an imminent attack on tartest in Mombasa was taken a step further yesterday when all their personnel deployed in Mombasa packed up and returned to Nairobi. This visible departure and public […]
Nyungwe, the Enchanted Forest, waiting to be discovered and explored
A RETURN TO THE ENCHANTED FOREST OF NYUNGWE (Map courtesy of New Dawn Associates, Kigali, Rwanda) When in Rwanda last week I was almost continuously asked by regular readers of my blog the sheer number of individual readers in Rwanda continues to amaze me to be honest and more so that dozens of people walked […]
Fatal shooting of tourist and camp manager rattles Tanzania’s tourism industry
TOURIST KILLING RATTLES TANZANIAS TOURISM INDUSTRY News have been confirmed overnight of a raid and two fatal shootings at a tourist camp in the Serengeti. A Dutch tourist and one the camps managers of Ikoma Tented Camp in the western part of the Serengeti were killed when a gang of armed thugs came to rob […]
Ol Pejeta’s Northern White Rhinos mate, raising hope for the survival of the sub species
EXCITEMENT SWEEPS OL PEJETA AS NORTHERN WHITE RHINOS MATE Good news emerged from the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in the central Kenyan highlands near Nanyuki when information was released that two of the four Northern White Rhinos brought some years ago from a zoo in the Czech Republic were actually seen mating, very likely putting Najin […]
Tanzania’s Chumbe Island Coral Park gets included in Sustainia 100 list at Rio+20 Summit
CHUMBE ISLAND GETS GLOBAL RECOGNITION BY SUSTAINIA The Chumbe Island Coral Park was selected at the Rio+20 Summit as one of a hundred globally selected projects and included in the inaugural Sustainia 100 listings, as was announced yesterday by the Honorary Chair of Sustainia, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the presence of such climate […]
Juba International Airport to get security boost through EU funding and logistical support
JUBA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT SECURITY UPGRADE TO GET EU FUNDING Aviation security at the international airport in Juba, South Sudans capital city, has always been porous at best and the airlines operating in and out of that airport had to create their own additional measures to ensure that their own internal security standards were upheld. As […]
Kenya Airways shares now fully traded again at the Nairobi Stock Exchange
KENYA AIRWAYS NEW SHARES START TRADING Yesterday saw the first day of trading of the new shares Kenya Airways had issued under a share rights issue, which raised nearly 14.5 billion Kenya Shillings. While short of the full subscription by some margin the funds generated will nevertheless be enough to make relevant downpayments towards new […]
Seychelles set to host four key events in early July, staying in the media spotlight
SEYCHELLES MAKES HISTORY IN JULY The Seychelles are looking forward to a series of meetings which at the start of July will come thick and fast and underscore why the archipelago is the darling of the global travel and tourism media and increasingly a choice place for bringing political and professional gatherings to the tropical […]
Another 6 Nairobi National Park lions killed as KWS’s response comes under fire from Kenya’s conservation fraternity
NEWS OF LION KILLINGS AND RENEWED ELEPHANT POACHING PILE PRESSURE ON KWS The shock news yesterday, that 6 lions were killed outside the safety of the Nairobi National Park has brought not just the human wildlife conflict to the forefront again but also re-kindled the arguments between the conservation fraternity in Kenya and the Kenya […]
Turkish offers third daily connection till September to the Big Apple
TURKISH ANNOUNCES THIRD DAILY FLIGHT TO NEW YORK FOR HIGH SEASON A regular source at the Turkish Airlines Kampala office has confirmed that travelers from Uganda, in fact applying to the other East African destinations of Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Kigali too, will until the 16th September add a third daily flights between Istanbul […]
Qatar Airways announces launch of flights to Maputo by end October
QATAR AIRWAYS SET TO ADD MAPUTO TO THEIR GROWING AFRICA NETWORK Qatar Airways relentless roll out in Eastern and South Eastern Africa seems to be turning into one mighty juggernaut, as the airline just this instant released information to this correspondent that after Kilimanjaro due to be launched on the 25th of July and Mombasa […]
Tanzania’s Tourism fraternity shocked by news of former TTB CEO Peter Mwenguo’s passing
IN MEMORIAM PETER MWENGUO The former Chief Executive of the Tanzania Tourist Board, known around the world for his successful efforts to promote his native country, has according to information received from Dar es Salaam passed away following an apparent stroke on Monday this week. Peter, according to a reliable source, had just returned from […]
Conservation project on the island of Rodrigues / Mauritius receives SKAL Asia Environment Award
SKAL INTERNATIONAL RECOGNIZES MAURITIUS CONSERVATION PROJECT The Mauritius Minister for Tourism Michael Sik Yuen was at hand as guest of honour when Skal International, through Skal Mauritius President Suzy Edouard announced the honour of being selected as recipient of the Asia Environment Award 2012. The Francois Leguat Giant Tortoise and Cave Reserve Project was emerging […]
Kenya’s tourism stakeholders fume over meagre budget allocations for tourism marketing
KENYAS TOURISM STAKEHOLDERS LIVID OVER BUDGET CUTS FOR MARKETING When the budget analysis was done in Kenya last Friday in a series of breakfast and lunchtime presentations by leading accounting, audit and financial service consultancy firms, the stark reality began to sink in with the countrys tourism industry, namely that significant cuts in purchasing power […]
Britain donates three Eastern Black Rhinos to Tanzania
BRITAIN SENDS THREE EASTERN BLACK RHINOS TO TANZANIA Information sent over the weekend but only now accessed and processed speaks of the UK donating three Eastern Black Rhinos to Tanzania, which after their arrival on a cargo plane at Arushas Kilimanjaro International Airport were promptly taken by road to their new home at the Mkomazi […]
Zanzibar aims at half a million tourist visitors by 2020
ZANZIBAR AIMS AT HALF A MILLION TOURIST VISITORS BY 2020 Although the recent riots are now a thing of the past, they also left some intense concerns amongst tourism stakeholders on the spice island of Zanzibar where many investors fear any repeat could irreparably damage the industry for years to come, a development with devastating […]
Korean Air rushes to apologize over calling Africans ‘full of primitive energy’ in start up commercial
SO NOW WE ARE FULL OF PRIMITIVE ENERGY Getting an invitation for an inaugural flight celebration is often something to be more than just a little happy about, as the access to the apron and the smell of jet fuel tends to bring out the best in me when writing about aviation developments. Months ago […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean region, Third edition June 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 […]
Rwanda celebrates 10 years of Gacaca Courts and bringing fast tracked justice to the genocide victims
THE CLOSURE OF THE GACACA COURTS ONE CHAPTER ENDS BUT WHAT NEXT While still in country after a grand Kwita Izina week of conservation celebrations the opportunity arose to sit in on the International Conference on Gacaca Courts, the answer of the new Rwanda to the need to bring people to justice and justice to […]
Hell’s Gate National Park gorges re-open
KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE RE-OPENS HELLS GATE GORGES Following a thorough review of safety procedures and emergency response mechanisms has KWS over the weekend re-opened the gorges, where some 2 months ago disaster struck when a flash flood carried away seven Kenyan youths on a team building exercise. KWS CEO Dr. Julius Kipngetich made the announcement […]
Kwita Izina 2012, where reporting and being reported about for once changed places
KWITA IZINA 2012 A TALE OF NAMING AND FAMING (The author, seen here naming Umutungo or Fortune at Kwita Izina in Kinigi / Musanze on June 16th. Picture courtesy of Telesphore Ngoga) The eighth annual gorilla naming festival, now globally known as Kwita Izina has over the years named 141 young born baby gorillas, with […]
Rhino Fund Uganda announces new procedures for bookings of accommodation
RHINO FUNDS SUCCESS PROMPTS MANAGEMENT CHANGES The Rhino Fund Uganda and the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary have announced some changes in the way the organization is operating. Angie Genade, long serving Executive Director of the Rhino Fund and the sanctuary at Ziwa, shared with this correspondent some insights of her success in past years, most notably […]
Kenya Airways drops Rome and Muscat, increases frequencies and capacity to other key destinations
KENYA AIRWAYS ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE CHANGES IN THE FACE OF PROFIT DROP A statement received literally within hours of announcing full year financial results which showed a very significant increase in cost levels and a more than halved profit compared to the 2010/11 FY, the airline will with immediate effect suspend flights to Rome and Muscat. […]
