Qatar Airways announced second Japan frequency from October
QATAR AIRWAYS GOES DOUBLE DAILY TO JAPAN A media release received overnight has confirmed that Qatar Airways will commence a second daily flight to Japans capital Tokyo, adding to the current daily service routing via Osaka at present. The new service will commence on 28th of October but the airline gave early notice to the markets […]
Emirates continues ‘hard sale’ mode with Summer Sale promotion
EMIRATES HITS MARKET WITH SUMMER FARES With summer and scorching temperatures now arriving back in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries, Emirates is simultaneously launching their annual Summer Sale in the East African markets. Under the offer, up to two children under age 12, traveling with an accompanying adult in economy class, are […]
Kenya Airways announced full year results for 2011/12 FY, sets AGM date
KENYA AIRWYAS FULL YEAR PROFIT DROPS AMID RISING OPERATING COSTS Kenya Airway has now released the full financial year results for 2011/12 and while the upside is continued profitability, and a sharp rise in revenues and passengers carried, the downside is a sharply reduced profit compared with the 2010/11 financial year. This trend translates to […]
East Africa Tourism Platform launches in Kigali
EAST AFRICA TOURISM PLATFORM LAUNCHES IN RWANDA Following the launch at the EAC headquarters in Arusha last week the East African Tourism Platform has now also launched in Rwanda, coinciding with the annual Kwita Izina week, arguably the most important week on the calendar of event of the Rwanda Development Boards Tourism and Conservation Department. […]
Marriott Kigali on course for mid 2013 opening date
MARRIOTT KIGALI ON COURSE FOR OPENING IN MID 2013 The Marriott Kigali Hotel, now under construction in the heart of Rwandas capital city with an adjoining conference centre, is reportedly on course for an opening in 12 months time, as ascertained from a team of the hotel group who are in Kigali at the moment. […]
MV Pearl finally gets license, commences ferry operations to the Ssese Islands
MV PEARL TAKES TO THE LAKE AT LAST The MV Pearl, owned and operated by Kalangala Infrastructure Services, has now reportedly been granted a full license to operate between the mainland at Bukakata near Masaka and Luku on Bugala Island, the main island of the Ssese group in Lake Victoria and site of the Kalangala […]
South Sudan wildlife officers graduate from KWS’ Manyani training college
39 WILDLIFE OFFICERS GRADUATE FROM KWS MANYANI TRAINING SCHOOL The Kenya Wildlife Service, under a bilateral agreement with the Republic of South Sudan, has just graduated some 39 senior wildlife officers from an inaugural course conducted for them at the KWS Wildlife Training College in Manyani, Tsavo West. Present for the graduation was Dr. Julius […]
Rwanda selected as host country for the EAC’s first regional cultural extravaganza
RWANDA SET TO HOST EAST AFRICA FIRST JOINT ART FESTIVAL A regular source in Kigali has overnight shared information that Kigali will be the host city for the East African Communitys first ever joint art festival, to be held in Rwandas capital city from 27th October until 04th of November. The launch event is expected […]
Marasa Africa re-open the Aberdare Country Club and the Ark after extensive modernization and refurbishments
MARASA AFRICA RE-OPEN ABERDARE COUNTRY CLUB AND THE ARK The Kenyan properties of Marasa Africa, the hospitality arm of the Madhvani Group in Uganda, have just been re-opened following months of intense refurbishments and attention to detail at the Aberdare Country Club, featured in the picture above, the Ark a treehotel now much more of […]
Turkish to fly to 30 destinations in Africa by end of the year, eyes 40 by end of 2013
TURKISH TO DOUBLE AFRICAN DESTINATIONS BY END 2013 A source at Turkish Airlines in Nairobi has confirmed that the airline is set to double its African destinations by the end of next year. Presently flying from Istanbul to 20 destinations on the continent, mainly using narrow body B737-800 and B737-900 aircraft, including the East African […]
Leopard Beach Resort and Spa sets December 01 as provisional re-opening date
LEOPARD BEACH RESORT AND SPA SET PROVISIONAL RE-OPENING DATE Following the fire incident, reported here on the day it happened, at the Leopard Beach Resort and Spa two weeks ago, the preliminary assessment of damages sustained in the fire, such as makuti roofs over parts of the restaurant, stores and offices, has been completed and […]
New Dawn opens New Horizons for visitors to The Land of a Thousand Hills
NEW DAWN OPENS NEW HORIZONS When I return to familiar stomping grounds there are normally few things which I can say are truly new to me as it is after all my business to know what is happening across my areas of reporting. So when I came back to Kigali yesterday to commence the countdown […]
Air Mauritius announces dismal full year results with a loss of 29.2 million Euros
AIR MAURITIUS LOSS DESCRIBED AS SHOCKING News just received confirm that the annual results of the 2011/12 Financial Year for Air Mauritius are worse than excepted and a new round of cost cutting and route reduction, over and above the 8 destinations already axed earlier this year, is on the cards now. The loss of […]
President Michel opens Seychelles’ first Arboretum
PRESIDENT MICHEL LAUNCHES ARBORETUM A vision dating back some 14 years, before James Alix Michel even became President of the Seychelles, came to a conclusion yesterday when he opened the archipelagos first arboretum. Located at Barbarons / Grand Anse on a 17 hectares plot, the new arboretum is as much planned for posterity and for […]
Sheraton Kampala to host vintage and classic car show on Saturday
SHERATON KAMPALA SET TO HOST CLASSIC CARS SHOW The Sheraton Kampala Hotels this coming weekend is the place to be for classic car enthusiasts, when the gardens of the hotel will showcase some 40 vintage and classic cars from collectors and motor buffs around the country. The event has been widened into a society weekend […]
Brussels Airlines flights to New York – Savoir Vivre returns in renewed splendor
BRUSSELS AIRLINES FLIGHTS TO THE BIG APPLE SAVOIR VIVRE RETURNS TO THE AIR A contact from Brussels Airlines has made a range of comments and pictures available, received soon after the airline launched their own nonstop flights between Brussels and New York, and only a number of already planned trips into the nearer and more […]
Mabira, the Endangered Forest yet full of promise and opportunities
MABIRA, THE ENDANGERED FOREST (Posted 12th June 2012) Writing about forests for me is like writing about life rich, varied, exciting, full of challenges and promises but also fraught with dangers. In recent years I have written much about the forests in our wider region, many of these pieces published in The […]
Precision Air announces new destinations with Lilongwe and Harare, hint at major profit for 2011/12
PRECISION AIR ANNOUNCES LILONGWE / HARARE AND HINTS AT SIGNIFICANT PROFITS Precision Air, Tanzanias leading airline, has just announced that they will launch flights to Lilongwe / Malawi and Harare / Zimbabwe from August this year onwards, when additional aircraft have joined their growing fleet. At the same time as making this announcement was it […]
Rwanda’s Ruhumuriza takes Kwita Izina cycling tour honours
RWANDA TAKES KWITA IZINA INTERNATIONAL CYCLING TOUR EVENT FOR THE FIRST TIME (Picture courtesy of RDB media release) The Festival of the Gorillas also known as Kwita Izina, commenced its countdown towards the actual naming ceremony this Saturday, 16th of June outside the national park head quarters in Ruhengeri / Musanze with the annual cycling […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean region, Second 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 […]
Mauritius mends fences with Vanilla Islands partners as MTPA’s Chairman Robert Desvaux speaks out
MAURITIUS SEEKS TO MEND FENCES OVER CARNIVAL COPY AND PASTE JOB The presence in the Seychelles of the Chairman of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, Robert Desvaux, ostensibly on other business, was nevertheless used to put the major talking point across the entire Vanilla Islands and much of the global tourism world allegations that his […]
Kenya’s coast – Where some places still got what it takes to compete with the best in the world
BEACH HOLIDAYS IN KENYA SOME PLACES STILL GOT IT There are constant murmurs from within Kenyas tourism fraternity, and from the outside too, that in particular the beach resorts along the coast line have gone stale and tired and need some fresh impetus, fresh ideas, fresh investments, renewed focus and perhaps a new national vision […]
Tanzania’s transport minister hints at new board, explains sacking and suspensions
NEW BOARD FOR AIR TANZANIA IS NEXT SAYS MINISTER A few days after sacking former Acting CEO Paul Chizi did Dr. Harrison Mwakyembe, Minister for Transport in the Tanzanian government, make his first public comments about the circumstances which prompted him to take this decision and make Capt. Lazaro Lusajo the new man at the […]
Kenya Airways share right issue results announced in Nairobi
KENYA AIRWAYS SHARE RIGHTS ISSUE MEETS ONLY MINIMUM TARGETS Information availed yesterday from Nairobi indicates that the much hyped share rights issue by Kenya Airways, aimed at raising some 21 billion Kenya Shillings, achieved a take up of about 14.5 billion Kenya Shillings according to airline executives and their financial advisory team. This meets the […]
ATCL’s new CEO Capt. Lazaro Lusajo speaks out for the first time since his appointment
AIR TANZANIAS NEW CEO SPEAKS OUT ON FUTURE Capt. Lazaro Lusajo, earlier this week appointed as Acting Chief Executive Officer of Air Tanzania following the sacking of his predecessor Paul Chizi, expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the Minister for Transport while swiftly reassuring his staff, the airlines clientele and the public at large that […]
Tourism ministry’s report raises concerns over oil drilling and production effects in the parks
TOURISM SECTORAL REPORT RAISES OIL DRILLING CONCERNS The annual report by the Ministry of Tourism, in conjunction with the World Bank, has raised broad concerns over the level of future drilling and production of oil in the main concession blocks presently being explored. Located in the Albertine Graben, part of the Great African Rift Valley, […]
Kenya Airways launches SkyPriority initiative
KENYA AIRWAYS LAUNCHES SKYPRIORITY IN NAIROBI Frequent flyers of Kenya Airways and their SkyTeam alliance partners operating in and out of Nairobi will be delighted to hear of the latest initiative by the airline to make their travel more pleasant, starting with the check in on the ground. Termed a branded priority service by the […]
Tourism stakeholders organize meeting to discuss apex body leadership
STAKEHOLDERS CALL FOR MEETING AMID ALLEGATIONS OF ASSOCIATION FAILURES Long pending differences of opinion and a range of allegations towards the incumbent leadership of the Uganda Tourism Association will come to a head this afternoon, after the Uganda Safari Guide Association broke the silence and called for a meeting of all stakeholders to discuss the […]
East African Tourism Platform launches today in Arusha
EAST AFRICAN TOURISM PLATFORM LAUNCHES TODAY The East Africa Tourism Platform launches in its first county in the East African Community today 08th June, namely in Tanzania, to facilitate active and focused engagement of the private sector in the East African Community (EAC) integration process. The Platform, an apex private sector body for tourism in […]
British Airways announces secure credit card payment option for online bookings in Uganda
BRITISH AIRWAYS INTRODUCES CREDIT CARD PAYMENT OPTION IN UGANDA British Airways Commercial Manager for Uganda Faith Chaitezvi yesterday announced in Kampala that the airlines clientele can with immediate effect now use their credit cards to pay for bookings made on the airlines website, greatly enhancing the chances of actually doing transactions and not deserting due […]
