Seychelles Heritage Foundation and Raffles join hands to promote Praslin / La Digue Heritage award scheme
SEYCHELLES HERITAGE FOUNDATION AND RAFFLES LAUNCH HERITAGE AWARDS In a remarkable private / public sector cooperation have the Praslin and La Digue Heritage Awards been launched at the Raffles resort on Praslin island, when the Seychelles Heritage Foundation announced a new award scheme. In particular children can submit their projects and research into heritage sites, […]
Save the Uganda Museum campaign gets parliamentary support
FRIENDS OF UGANDA MUSEUM GET PARLIAMENTARY SUPPORT (Image courtesy of www.ugandaninsomniac.wordpress.com) Local groups promoting the protection of Ugandas heritage and in particular of buildings associated with Ugandas history received a boost yesterday, when the Public Accounts Committee in parliament threw out plans to build a 60 storey Trade Centre in place of the historic building. […]
2011 ‘Worst Year’ for wildlife in Eastern Africa
WORST YEAR FOR EAST AFRICAS ELEPHANTS IN DECADES Last year turned out to be the worst for a very long time, with poaching of elephant reaching alarming proportions across Eastern Africa, Uganda alone allegedly losing 25 of them in the wider Murchisons Falls NP conservation area. Reports are now emerging that the notably the Auditor […]
Uganda Tourism part of official delegation to Rio+20 Summit
UGANDA DELEGATION TO RIO SUMMIT INCLUDES TOURIST BOARD Budget considerations appear to restrict Ugandas delegation to the upcoming Rio Summit to around thirty only, inspite of the country being a biodiversity hotspot of global recognition and suffering already from climate change fall out, as the shrinking ice caps on the Rwenzori Mountains, aka Mountains of […]
RwandAir ready to add four more flights to Johannesburg from 10th of June
RWANDAIR PREPARES FOR DAILY FLIGHTS TO JOHANNESBURG Information was received from Kigali that RwandAir, the countrys national airline, intends to add 4 more flights on the route to Johannesburg, going daily from next month onwards with one traffic day seeing both a day and night flight. The new schedule comes into effect on June 10th. […]
Akamba Bus Services suspend operations leaving thousands of travelers in a lurch
ROAD TRANSPORT BETWEEN KENYA AND UGANDA SUFFERS BLOW AS AKAMBA CLOSES Regular Akamba bus users between Nairobi and Kampala will have to find a new home after news emerged that the company, one of the market leaders and with a way above average safety standard, has suspended operations amid reports from Kenya, that the company […]
Emirates posts 24th consecutive profit year against global trends
EMIRATES POSTS 24TH CONSECUTIVE ANNUAL PROFIT, ADDS ROUTES AND AIRCRAFT Dubais award winning national airline, Emirates, has according to a regular source at their Kampala office closed another year of uninterrupted profits, for the past 24 years the norm for this global airline. This year we added 11 destinations to our network and are now […]
Air Tanzania gets a B737-500 to restart operations
AIR TANZANIA GETS B737 ON LEASE Sources in Dar es Salaam have confirmed that Air Tanzania is receiving a leased B737-500 to restart operations within Tanzania later today. With the crashed Bombardier Q300 out of service, the aircraft suffered from a bodged take off attempt in Kigoma some weeks ago as reported here, the jet […]
Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority develops new market strategies
MTPA WORKING ON NEW MARKET STRATEGY FOR EUROPE Economic challenges across the European economies, coupled with the latest election results in France and Greece, which could spell more trouble for the Eurozone, has prompted the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism, to take a fresh look at marketing and promotional […]
Tanzania Tourist Board launches competition for new tagline and slogan
TANZANIA TOURIST BOARD LAUNCHES COMPETITION FOR NEW TAGLINE The Tanzania Tourist Board has now officially launched its search for a new slogan and tag line, with contributions and participation open for everyone who wishes to put a proposal forward. The competition is running up to the 05th of June and the winner can expect to […]
Madhvani Foundation celebrates their own Golden Jubilee with record scholarship funding.
MADHVANI FOUNDATION CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSAY WITH LARGEST FUNDING EVER As Uganda moves towards her 50th anniversary of Independence, so is the Madhvani Foundation equally looking back at 50 years of supporting gifted students, celebrating that special event with a record budget of 600 million Uganda Shillings for the year 2012/13. The attachment of the Madhvani […]
KQ launches another African first with KQ Mobile
KENYA AIRWAYS INTRODUCES KQ MOBILE SERVICE Kenya Airways has signed up with Cellulant to deliver to their clients and passenger up to date information via mobile phone text messaging, it was learned overnight. Named KQ Mobile the service is accessible by dialing in ones mobile phone *737# which then allows access to a range of […]
KWS takes the anti poaching fight to the poachers
KWS TAKES THE FIGHT TO THE POACHERS Reports of two shootouts with poachers became known overnight, when a source from Nairobi confirmed that KWS enforcement personnel was in hot pursuit of two gangs of poachers in Tana River County. During the fire fights at least one poacher was killed while others are suspected to have […]
Air Seychelles cabin crew graduate from type conversion course
AIR SEYCHELLES STAFF COMPLETE TRAINING AT ETIHADS ACADEMY IN ABU DHABI Information was received overnight that the first group of Air Seychelles staff had successfully completed their training programme and were type rated for the A330 and the A320, which have already joined the Air Seychelles fleet on a wet lease from partner airline Etihad. […]
Tanzania’s new tourism minister sets out his agenda
NEW TOURISM MINISTER VOWS TO MAKE CHANGES Appointed only last week, when his predecessor Ezekiel Maige was unceremoniously sacked alongside 5 other cabinet ministers, did the new man at the helm of the ministry for natural resources and tourism Khamis Kagesheki make his first major announcement yesterday in Dar es Salaam. Poaching, illegal timber cutting […]
Ethiopian Airlines sees first 8 pilots graduate from type conversion to the B787
ETHIOPIAN PILOTS START TYPE CONVERSION TO THE B787 DREAMLINER Ethiopian Airlines pilots are the first African pilots working for an Africa based airline to have trained on and converted to the revolutionary new B787 Dreamliner, it was learned overnight. Ethiopian will be Boeings launch customer for Africa and the first 8 pilots have now completed […]
ZANTEL introduces better deals for data bundles
ZANTEL BRINGS UNLIMITED SURFING Residents will be smiling, as will in particular visiting tourists, now that ZANTEL, which is part of the UAEs Etisalat Group, has introduced new data bundles, which can be taken advantage of by purchasing a local SIM card and then surfing the net, uploading pictures on Facebook or sending them by […]
Top 10 world airports named by Skytrax, not one from Africa or the Middle East amongst them
10 TOP WORLD AIRPORTS NAMED BY SKYTRAX, NOT ONE FROM AFRICA AMONGST THEM Information became available overnight that Skytrax has announced the 10 top airports, based on their extensive and detailed surveys carried out amongst passengers, but as often is the case, not one airport in Africa was named amongst the winners. Leading the pack […]
Air Seychelles / Etihad move to 8 flights a week between Mahe and Abu Dhabi
AIR SEYCHELLES / ETIHAD NOW ON 8 FREQUENCIES The codeshared flights by Air Seychelles and partner airline Etihad, between Mahe and Abu Dhabi, have now gone to eight per week, operated four times by an Etihad A320 and four times by an Air Seychelles A330-200 aircraft, they leased from Etihad as their own B767-300s are […]
Kenya’s passenger departure tax doubles from 20 to 40 US Dollars from July
KENYA AIRPORT AUTHORITY RUNS ROUGHSHOD OVER PASSENGERS AND AIRLINES Flying within but also from Kenya will cost passengers twice as much from July onwards, as KAA once again contemptuously brushed aside objections from airlines to reconsider their proposals, which were yesterday approved by the countrys finance minister. International flight charges will double from US Dollars […]
Seychelles set to launch two new festivals in May and June
SEYCHELLES SET TO HOST ZIKANZIL MUSIC FESTIVAL IN MAY, LAUNCHES MIND, SPIRIT AND BODY FESTIVAL IN JUNE The Seychelles will host their first ever international music festival Zikanzil next week. The festival will bring together regional artists from Seychelles and the Indian Oceans Vanilla Islands, as well as from the Lebanon. The festival organizers are […]
This Leopard does not change its spots – Award winning Leopard Beach Resort and Spa set to add 30 private villas
LEOPARD BEACH RESORT AND SPA BREAKS NEW GROUND Arguably today the finest large resort along Diani Beach, itself one of Kenyas best, the Leopard Beach Resort and Spa is entering a new phase in its long and successful existence. Officially opened in December 1974, the hotel instantly became a travelers favourite, and after changes of […]
Seychelles Regatta 4th edition now scheduled for 2013 to avoid clash with other international sailing events
NEXT SEYCHELLES REGATTA EVENT MOVED TO 2013 The Seychelles Tourism Board has announced that the 2012 edition of the Seychelles Regatta has been rescheduled for 2013 due to other major international sailing competitions taking place this year. These major international races will be held during the same period as the Seychelles Regatta was meant to […]
Marasa Africa acquires Silverback Lodge in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Gorilla National Park
MARASA AFRICA ACQUIRES SILVERBACK LODGE IN BWINDI Information was just confirmed that the Kampala based Marasa Africa hospitality group, part of the Madhvani family industrial and service industry empire, has completed the acquisition of the Silverback Lodge, which was previously managed by Geo Lodges Uganda. The 12 room property, the largest tourist facility at the […]
Rwanda gains UNESCO World Heritage Site status for four genocide memorials across the country
FOUR GENOCIDE MEMORIALS GAIN UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE STATUS Rwanda scored big when Paris based UNESCO elevated four genocide memorial sites in Rwanda into the coveted list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in was learned over the weekend. The selected sites, the countrys main memorial venue in Kigali but also sites in Ntarama, Murambi and Bisesero, […]
KAA gets system upgrade to improve handling efficienies
KENYA AIRPORTS AUTHORITY SET TO AUTOMATE TERMINAL INFORMATION It was learned over the weekend that Kenya Airport Authority has contracted Spanish IT solutions provider INDRA to help them modernize terminal operations and integrate the information flow at both Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi as well as at Moi International Airport in Mombasa. The planned […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands – First edition May 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 Get daily breaking news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome, join me on Facebook via www.facebook.com/WolfgangHThome where the articles also cross load or read […]
Sacked energy minister reaffirmed Stiegler’s Gorge power project was to go ahead a day prior to getting the boot
STIEGLERS GORGE HYDRO PROJECT TO GO AHEAD, NGELEJA AFFIRMED ON THE DAY PRIOR TO BEING SACKED (Stieglers Gorge as seen from the air by www.africanbushpilot.blogspot.com / soon gone forever?) The Tanzanian government will remain under the spotlight over their planned assaults on the environment even after the cabinet reshuffle last Friday, which amongst others also […]
KLM wades into ‘The Battle of the Skies’ for passengers out of Entebbe
AIRLINE COMPETITION BENEFITS TRAVELERS AS KLM JOINS THE BATTLE OF THE SKIES The present fare and service offensive by Brussels Airlines and announcements by Gulf Airlines like Qatar Airways and Emirates of bagging new global awards chasing each other have now also brought KLM on to the scene, making their own case to their frequent […]
Kikwete sacks tourism and transport ministers, at last
MAIGE SACKED FROM TOURISM AFTER SERIES OF GAFFES Tanzanias controversial tourism minister Ezekiel Maige has finally bitten the proverbial political dust, after a series of gaffes, misleading international organization like UNESCO over the Serengeti highway plans, denying climate change and the shrinking ice caps on Mt. Kilimanjaro, declaring the planned Uranium mining in the Selous […]
