Seychelles arrivals for 2012 up ‘significantly’ already
SEYCHELLES ARRIVALS SIGNIFICANTLY UP ON YEAR BY YEAR COMPARISON Figures were just released by the Seychelles National Bureau of Statistics have put a big smile on the combined faces in the archipelagos tourism industry, confirming a 12 percent rise, year by year, of arrivals in the first week of April. 2011 was a record year […]
Khartoum walks out of Addis talks after more bombings of Southern Sudan’s territory
KHARTOUM REGIME ACCUSED OVER WAR MONGERING The African Union sponsored talks between the Khartoum regime and the government of Southern Sudan have been left hanging in doubt, when accusations and counter-accusations led to the temporary withdrawal of one delegation. A regular source from Juba on request but insisting on anonymity due to the sensitivity of […]
Turkish Airlines host Turkish Festival at Sheraton Kampala Hotel
TURKISH AIRLINES SPONSOR TURKISH FESTIVAL AT SHERATON KAMPALA HOTEL The second edition of the Turkish Festival is going underway tonight at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala, again sponsored by Turkish Airlines which flew in the dancers, musicians, chefs and food specialities to offer a true Turkish Delight to Kampaleans until the 21st of April, when […]
Tsunami alert reveals state of preparedness along East Africa’s shores
TSUNAMI ALERTS PROVIDE REAL TIME TEST FOR INDIAN OCEAN ISLANDS AND EAST AFRICA When news broke yesterday about an 8.6 initial earthquake off Indonesias Aceh province, followed by an 8.2 strong aftershock, Tsunami alerts were sounded across the Indian Ocean and as far as the African mainland. When the alert was called off hours later, […]
Rwanda’s Gishwati Forest expected to be elevated to national park status in 2012/13 financial year
GISHWATI FOREST SET FOR NATIONAL PARK STATUS IN 2012/13 FY For over 5 years now have Rwandan conservation bodies, NGO s and individuals been working on their plans to restore Gishwati forest to its former glory, working hand in hand with The Great Ape Trust and other international partners. Rwanda as a country added to […]
Kingdom Hotels Prince Alwaleed visits Burundi
ALWALEED VISITS BURUNDI ON POSSIBLE INVESTMENT MISSION Saudi Prince Alwaleed, who rose to some notoriety in Uganda over his failed investment for a 5 star hotel ahead of the CHOGM Summit in 2007 inspite of having been given a prime chunk of city land for free has apparently set his eyes on the region once […]
Mauritius set to tap eco tourism market by 2013 with new trails and hikes
MAURITIUS SET TO REVAMP NATURE TRAILS TO INCREASE ECO TOURISM EARNINGS Information has been received from a regular source in Port Louis / Mauritius that the Ministry of Tourism is discussing with other government departments and agencies a complete facelift and overhaul of trails and hikes across the island, with the aim to offer greater […]
Air Tanzania’s sole plane crashes in Kigoma after botched takeoff attempt, 39 passengers and crew all survive
AIR TANZANIAS ONLY PLANE CRASHES IN KIGOMA The financial input by the government of Tanzania into a rescue attempt for ATCL has yesterday come crashing down, pun fully intended, when the airlines single operating plane, a Bombardier Q300 crashed upon a botched takeoff attempt in Kigoma, according to reports from a regular aviation source in […]
Seychelles government approves SHTA request to restore Director of Tourism Marketing position
SEYCHELLES GOVERNMENT APPROVES CREATION OF DIRECTOR OF TOURISM MARKETING POSITION It was learned from a usually well informed and very reliable source in Victoria that the Seychelles government has responded positively to the request made by the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association, that following the move by Mr. Alain St. Ange, who formerly held this […]
ETS comes under more fire with Arab Air Carriers Association also demanding its suspension
ETS COMES UNDER MORE FIRE The European Unions stubborn insistence of sticking to their hugely controversial Emission Trading Scheme or in short ETS has raised opposition from literally around the world, paving the way for a potentially damaging trade war between the EU and China, India, Russia, the United States and now with the member […]
STB audit murmurs cause industry leaders to shake their heads
STAKEHOLDERS DISMISS STB AUDIT HULLABALOO AS OF NO CONSEQUENCE Regular contributors from the Seychelles islands used the long Easter weekend to make their feelings known over what one individual called misplaced focus about the audit reports the Seychelles Tourist Board had submitted for the past six years. When Alain St. Ange was brought on initially […]
Kenya Wildlife Service responds to disputed poaching statistics, states their own case
KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE RESPONDS TO ECO-TOURISM KENYA AND OTHER CLAIMS In a media statement issued ahead of the Easter weekend, but received too late for timely inclusion in the daily mailings and weekly summary, has KWS Corporate Communications Department finally responded with a detailed account of their own, after the criminal case against the Eco […]
Qatar Airways now permits loyalty card holders to redeem miles in Doha Duty Free
QATAR AIRWAYS ADDS DUTY FREE SHOPPING REWARDS FOR LOYALTY CARD HOLDERS Presently serving 4 destinations in East Africa, daily to Entebbe and Kigali and double daily to Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Qatar Airways seems set to add ever more reasons to travel with them, ahead of their launch of their new destinations Kilimanjaro, Mombasa […]
Weekly summary of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, second edition April 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 where the articles also cross load or read the daily […]
Court stops TANAPA from implementing new fee collection
COURT BLOCKS TANAPA FROM IMPLEMENTING NEW FEE COLLECTION Following the reported collapse of a mediation efforts initiated by the complainants HAT, TCT and TATO allegedly caused by TANAPA negotiators not moving an inch from their hardline position, did a court in Tanzania bar TANAPA from implementing their planned collection at park gates of concession fees, […]
Kenya’s aviation union accused of compromising aviation safety and security
AVIATION UNION ACCUSED OF COMPROMISING SAFETY AND SECURITY OVER PAY DEMANDS A periodic source, wishing to remain anonymous, has made allegations against the Kenya Aviation and Allied Workers Union, suggesting the union was deliberately targeting areas of aviation safety and security in an ongoing pay dispute with the Kenya Airports Authority. Several flights, according to […]
Sovereign Suites, Fit for Royalty and certainly fit for your’s truly
SOVEREIGN SUITES, FIT FOR ROYALTY (A view of the main entrance of Sovereign Suites, a mansion extraordinaire in Limuru, outside Nairobi) A recent trip to Kenya permitted me to make use of an extended weekend and gave me the opportunity to visit the now in soft opening stage Sovereign Suites, owned and operated by Sun […]
Kenya Airways resumes Rome flights, share issue take up encouraging after the first week of sale
KENYA AIRWAYS RESTORES ROME FLIGHTS Information from Nairobi confirmed during the week that Kenya Airways has now resumed flights to the Italian capital Rome after a brief suspension of services in March. While it could not be conclusively confirmed, the cause of the suspension was subject to some speculation amongst aviation observers, with opinions ranging […]
AWF brings conservationist organisations to Nairobi to discuss rhino protection
RHINO SUMMIT IN NAIROBI DEVELOPS ACTION PLAN The Nairobi based conservation centre of the African Wildlife Foundation, in short AWF hosted a continental meeting during the week, aimed to discuss strategies on protecting the rhinos, now under assault like never before. Prices for a kilogram of rhino horn have risen to an all time level […]
Congo aviation breaking news – Korongo Airlines sets date for inaugural flight from Lubumbashi to Kinshasa as April 16th
KORONGO AIRLINES SET TO FLY FROM APRIL 16TH As reported here a few months ago in a breaking news announcement, Brussels Airlines Congolese aviation offspring Korongo Airlines has now finally given a date when flights will officially commence. After formally launching their offices last week the airline will be operating out of Lubumbashi. Korongo Airlines […]
Seychelles aviation news – New state of the art scanners introduced at Mahe International Airport
SEYCHELLES BOOST ARRIVAL SECURITY WITH NEW SCANNERS Earlier this week two brand new state of the art scanners were formally commissioned by the Minister for Home Affairs and Transport Joel Morgan at the international airports arrival hall. Aimed to detect prohibited imports such as plants, seeds and even pets the new machines will be used […]
Zanzibar’s 2009 tourism law already up for amendments – figure out why.
ZANZIBAR TOURISM LAW TO BE REVISED AFTER ONLY 3 YEARS A regular source from Dar es Salaam has taken issue with the apparent plans of the government of Zanzibar to amend the Tourism Act of 2009 after hard line legislators suggested moral decay brought by tourists needed to be dealt with. Only last year did […]
Rwanda commemorates the 18th anniversary of the genocide
18 YEARS AND COUNTING Never again has too often been spoken in haste, lacked honest conviction or was a convenient utterance aimed to capture an audience or score cheap points. When Rwanda this Saturday commemorates the 18th anniversary of one of the swiftest and most cruel genocides in human history in 100 days between 800.000 […]
Uganda news – Protea Entebbe Hotel now open
PROTEA HOTEL ENTEBBE NOW OPEN NEAR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (Artists impression of new Protea Entebbe Hotel from the Protea website) The new Protea Entebbe Hotel has this week opened its doors to the public with 75 rooms and suites. Located right near the perimeter to the Entebbe International Airport the new property is the closest of […]
Rwanda backs ICT ambitions with added contracts for more capacity and higher speeds
RWANDA BACKS AMBITION WITH ACTION News was received overnight that Rwandas declared ambition to become a regional ITC superpower has now been backed up by government plans and commitments to inject additional fibre optic high speed high bandwidth capacity in the market through a contract with Tanzania Telecommunications. The 1.244 Gigabyte per second new connection […]
Brussels Airlines joins other European carriers to fight back against Gulf giants
BRUSSELS AIRLINES REACT TO COMPETITION BY ADDING FOURTH FLIGHT The arrival in Uganda of more recent competition in form of Qatar Airways, now also flying to Kigali / Rwanda, i.e. into two destinations where SN has been having a strong client base, has undoubtedly spurred a review of operations and commitment to these important markets […]
Australians get better deals from Air Austral to visit Mauritius and other Vanilla Islands
AUSTRALIANS GET NEW DEALS FROM AIR AUSTRAL TO VISIT THE VANILLA ISLANDS Air Austral of La Reunion, rather than the financially ailing Air Mauritius has now embarked to lift visitor numbers from Australia to Mauritius, the Seychelles and other Vanilla Island destinations, as the latest information from sources down under have confirmed overnight. The carrier […]
Emirates throws down the gauntlet to the global aviation industry with new campaign ‘Hello tomorrow’
EMIRATES BIDS GOOD BYE TO KEEP DISCOVERING RELOADS TO HELLO TOMORROW Whether the hugely successful Emirates advertising campaign Keep Discovering had truly run its course and intended lifespan of if competitive shakeups of markets and market shares prompted the powers that be in Dubai to get cracking on a new theme, is now rather immaterial […]
Sarova Hotels Kenya take top honours at KAM Energy Management Award Dinner
SAROVA HOTELS SCOOP KAMS ENERGY MANAGEMENT AWARDS 2012 Last Friday saw the Kenya Association of Manufacturers hold their 08th Energy Management Award dinner, a day ahead of the annual WWF sponsored Earth Hour event which took place globally on Saturday night and in which the entire Sarova Group participated by putting all but the essential […]
A different sort of truth about Tanzania’s government plans for Lake Natron and beyond
GOVERNMENT IS LYING TO US OVER PLANS FOR LAKE NATRON, SERENGETI Regular sources from Dar es Salaam and Arusha have insisted that the government is actively misleading the public over their true intent of constructing a soda ash plant at Lake Natron and the required road and rail links to the coast. President Kikwete last […]
