ICAO Secretary General present at launch of African Aviation Training Organization in Nairobi
AFRICAN AVIATION TRAINING ORGANIZATION LAUNCHED IN NAIROBI Following a 5 days of meetings in Kampala last week did ICAO move on to Kenyas capital Nairobi, where another series of seminars, workshops and interaction with regulators and the private sector is underway. On Monday was one long awaited piece of the puzzle, how to improve aviation […]
Tanzania tourism news – Support Mwanza and Lake Victoria tourism, stakeholders ask government
MWANZA TOURISM STAKEHOLDERS DEMAND BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE According to a regular source from Arusha did tourism stakeholders meet over the last weekend in Mwanza, Tanzanias lakeside port town on Lake Victoria, to discuss the way forward of how to better promote travel into this part of the country and have a greater share of tourism receipts. […]
British troops in Kenya – Fight your enemies, not yourself
BRITISH TROOPS TAKE COMBAT TRAINING IN KENYA TO ANOTHER LEVEL They should fight their enemies and not each other, and not in public. They wrecked the Sportsmens Arms Hotel in Nanyuki over the weekend while drunk. The English were fighting the Scots were fighting the North Irish and it was free for all. They spend […]
Kenya tourism news – Safari briefs, news and updates
SAFARI BRIEFS Cheli & Peacocks owners Liz and Stefano have announced that they will pitch camp at Lewa for the forthcoming season and be at hand for guests, running Lewa Safari Camp directly and hands on between June and September this year. Visitors will be able to see the remarkable pair in action who have […]
Fire on the Mountain – by Naturezone / Thalzmaria
A NARRATIVE OF FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN BY: NATUREZONE As reported this morning, the fires on Mt. Kenya and in the Aberdare mountains are now finally out. It took an extraordinary effort by volunteers and those tasked to fight fires by the nature of their job to accomplish that. Here is the serialized narrative taken […]
KWS Chief Executive drops case against Eco-Tourism Kenya CEO
KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICES DROPS COMPLAINT AGAINST ECO-TOURISM CEO Just before leaving Kenya yesterday for Uganda did news reach that the criminal complaint filed by Dr. Julius Kipngetich against Eco-Tourisms Kahindi has been dropped, following an apparent change of heart but very likely also because of the massive protests and opposition the action generated in the […]
Kenya Airways announces engine choice, signs deal with GE Aviation
KENYA AIRWAYS ANNOUNCES ENGINE SELECTION FOR DREAMLINERS Kenya Airways announced overnight that they have selected GE as their engine supplier for the 9 B787 Dreamliners on firm order with a further 4 on option. The newly developed GEnx-1B engine will reach up to 70.000 pounds of thrust each and yet offer up to 17 percent […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, First 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 […]
New Mara entrance fee collection system doubles revenues for Narok County Council
JUMP IN MARA REVENUE COLLECTION EXPOSES LIKELY GRAND THEFT IN THE PAST Figures availed to this correspondent during a current visit to Kenya, of revenues collected at the Masai Mara entrance gates since the introduction of electronic payment methods, suggest that grand theft has taken place in the past, when only a fraction of the […]
10 years of eTN and growing stronger year by year
AFRICA TEN YEARS ON SINCE ETN DEBUT eTurboNews is this week looking back at a decade of success, having grown from strength to strength and established itself as a friend of those destinations which 10 years ago were not exactly in the constant spotlight of the media or if at all often being negatively reported […]
Stroking national egos with talk about national airlines
STROKING THE NATIONAL EGO WITH A NATIONAL AIRLINE As Kenya Airways launched their long awaited new share rights issue last Friday the offer is active on the financial markets between April 02 and 27 it became evident once more that The Pride of Africa has since its initial privatization in 1996 established itself as an […]
Seychelles Tourism Board issues another ‘Friends of Seychelles – Press’ bulletin
SEYCHELLES TOURISM BOARD PUBLISHES NEXT EDITION OF FRIENDS OF SEYCHELLES Just under a year ago, caught blissfully unaware of what Alain St. Ange and his merry maidens at the Seychelles Tourism Board had in store for me as I was busy taking pictures at the opening function of the Seychelles Regatta, he named me on […]
Etihad comes to Nairobi as the last of the Gulf’s ‘BIGGIES’
ETIHAD JOINS NAIROBI THRONG Ethihad, Abu Dhabis national airline, has today joined the Gulf aviation who is who when the airline commenced nonstop flights between the UAEs capital city and Kenyas capital Nairobi. Etihad will as of April 01st, and this is NOT an April Fools Day joke, operate daily services on an A320 aircraft […]
Mombasa blasts well away from tourist attractions and resorts
MOMBASA BLASTS WELL AWAY FROM TOURIST HOT SPOTS A regular source from the Kenyan coast, only met a few days ago at the e-Tourism Conference in Nairobi, was swift to make contact and get heard when he said: We had two separate but almost simultaneous explosions last evening in Mombasa. First we had an explosive […]
Mauritius President resigns, rejoins active politics as head of opposition coalition against government
MAURITIUS PRESIDENT RESIGNS, REJOIN ACTIVE POLITICS AS FIGUREHEAD In a surprise move, at least as far as the timing was concerned, has Sir Anerood Jugnauth, President of the Indian Ocean island state of Mauritius, tendered his resignation from office and declared his intention to re-join active politics as a figure head amalgamating and galvanizing the […]
Seychelles to host next RETOSA ministerial meeting ahead of Routes Africa 2012
SEYCHELLES TOURISM LANDS RETOSA BOARD MEETING ALONGSIDE ROUTES AFRICA The Midas touch of Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture continues unabated, as he just announced, upon his return from the SADC and RETOSA meetings in Mauritius, that Victoria will be the venue of the next RETOSA board meeting, just ahead of the time when Routes […]
Uganda hosts International Parliamentary Union in Kampala
2.000 PARLIAMENTARIANS ASSEMBLE IN KAMPALA About 2.000 members of parliament from around the world are expected to come to Kampala for the International Parliamentary Union meeting, which is going to last for 6 days. Delegates who came early have already taken advantage of seeing some of Ugandas spectacular sights in the national parks, boosting #VisitUganda2012, […]
Kenya Airways launches share rights issue amid breaking news of Eldoret becoming KQ’s fifth domestic destination.
KENYA AIRWAYS NEW SHARE ISSUE LAUNCH GETS PRESIDENTIAL NOD OF APPROVAL The long awaited launch of Kenya Airways share rights issue yesterday in Nairobi was graced by the presence of President Mwai Kibaki, who in his keynote address called this financial transaction the biggest ever in the history of Kenya and the Eastern and Central […]
Kenya tourism news – KTB partners with Jockey Club of Kenya to promote domestic travel
NAIROBIS TOURISM FRATERNITY HEADS TO NGONG FOR MAGICAL KENYA SHOW The Jockey Club of Kenya is partnering with the Kenya Tourist Board this weekend to bring Kenyans to the Ngong Race Course, to promote both horse racing as well as domestic tourism across the country, now generally known as #TembeaKenya. The mini exhibition will be […]
Airtel launches today in Rwanda, bringing back competition to the mobile sector
AIRTEL LAUNCHES RWANDA OPERATIONS Africas largest mobile network operator, in terms of countries served, is today launching operations in Rwanda, where it will be the third company after MTN and TIGO, stepping into the void left when RwandaTel, majority owned at the time by Gadaffi Libya, lost its license for not fulfilling terms and conditions […]
Earth Hour on 31st March the ‘in thing’ across Kenya’s hospitality industry
EARTH HOUR THE IN THING IN NAIROBIS HOTELS The annual Earth Hour, promoted by the World Wide Fund for Nature, in short WWF and others to raise environmental awareness, has clearly taken roots across the hospitality industry in Kenya, and the region for that matter. At The Sarova Stanley, now 110 years old and located […]
Kenya’s new tourism minister seeks 5 billion budget allocation from treasury to finance marketing and PR
NEW TOURISM MINISTER SAYS 5 BILLION SHILLINGS NEEDED FOR MARKETING KENYA (New tourism minister Danson Mwazo [left] and the former office holder Najib Balala [right]) At the handover from Hon. Najib Balala who had fallen victim to party politics and paid the price for standing up against his chairman Prime Minister Odinga to the newly […]
3rd East African e-Tourism Conference goes underway at Nairobi’s InterContinental Hotel
E-TOURISM CONFERENCE KICKS OFF AT INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL NAIROBI The third East African e-Tourism Conference, sponsored by the InterContinental Hotel Nairobi, The Kenya Commercial Bank, VISA and the Kenya Tourist Board has gone underway today in Kenyas capital Nairobi, with over 200 attendees filling the conference room to the brim. Keynote speaker on opening was IHGs […]
Skal Kampala holds AGM, re-elects Kainembabazi Sabiti as club president
SKAL KAMPALA RE-ELECTS KAINEMBABAZI SABITI TO ANOTHER TERM The annual general meeting last evening of the Skal Club of Kampala saw Kainembabazi Sabiti re-elected as club president for another term of office. In her work life Kaine is General Manager for Amadeus in Uganda, also overseeing Rwanda and Burundi. Vice President is James Rattos, Director […]
Rwanda Development Board responds to sectoral demands with a new ‘better service’ campaign
RWANDA DEVELOPMENT BOARD RESPONDS WITH BETTER SERVICE CAMPAIGN Hot on the heels of growing demands by the private sector stakeholders that Rwanda needs more training for staff working in the hospitality industry, has the Rwanda Development Board Tourism and Conservation responded with a dedicated campaign launched yesterday in Kigali, promoting quality services at all levels. […]
Kenya travel news – Travel agencies raise service fees effective 01st April
TRAVEL AGENTS RAISE SERVICE FEES The Kenya Association of Travel Agents has just announced that their members will from 01st of April charge their clients an extra US Dollar 15 equivalent for consultations and bookings made on their behalf, a practice which goes back to around 2007 when airlines on a broad basis discontinued commissions […]
Uganda Wildlife Authority gets new board, finally
UGANDA WILDLIFE AUTHORITY GETS NEW BOARD, FINALLY The long wait to have a new competent board appointed, a year since the buddy appointment by former tourism minister Otafire of one Muballa and company came to a dramatic end when court declared him not competent enough to hold the position, is now finally over. Former Permanent […]
Emirates announces to their East African markets the opening date for new A380 terminal in Dubai
EMIRATES SET FOR GRAND OPENING OF NEW A380 TERMINAL ON NEW YEAR 2013 A regular source from the Emirates Kampala office broke the news overnight that their new dedicated A380 terminal will be opened officially on the 01st of January 2013, taking the midnight fireworks Dubai has become famous for further into the New Year. […]
Mauritius news update – More pedestrian zones planned for Port Louis
PORT LOUIS SET TO ADD MORE PERIPHERAL CAR PARKS TO CREATE PEDESTRIAN ZONES (Map courtesy of Google) Information was received from a source in Mauritius that plans are underway by the city council of the islands capital to create two more peripheral multi storey car parks as part of their efforts to create pedestrian only […]
Tanzania conservation news – Marine park extension on to dry land prompts accusations against TANAPA of land grabbing
LOCALS ACCUSE TANAPA OF LAND GRABBING Locals between Tanga, via Mwambani to Pangani are up in arms since it became known that TANAPA is clandestinely scheming for the expansion of the Tanga Marine National Park right into the heart of Tanga before then incorporating swathes of inland locations, including villas and existing properties into a […]
