La Digue – where live stands still, well almost …
LA DIGUE IT IS A WAY OF LIFE If the Seychelles truly are Another World as one of their tag lines reads, the island of La Digue deserves its own for sure. I asked my guide from the Seychelles Tourism Board, born and raised on La Digue, what made her home island so special, what […]
Seychelles delegation set to attend Miami’s Sea Trade Convention
SEYCHELLES HEAD TO MIAMI FOR SEA TRADE CONVENTION Encouraged by the gradual return of cruise ships to the classic Indian Ocean circuits, which has traditionally included the Seychelles, will a delegation from Victoria head to Miami next week to participate in the Sea Trade Convention which takes place between March 12th and 15th. Glynn Burridge […]
La Reunion capitalises on Carnival Festival exposure
LA REUNION CAPITALISES ON VANILLA ISLAND CARNIVAL FESTIVAL EXPOSURE The Tourism Board of La Reunion, represented in full force at the ITB in Berlin with a number of private sector stakeholders, is making the most of the recent exposure gained from being co-host of the Carnival International de Victoria on the Seychelles, where the island […]
Rwanda conservation news – Government launches compensation fund for wildlife damage
NEW WILDLIFE LAWS PERMIT COMPENSATION AT LAST Sources at the Rwanda Development Board Tourism and Conservation, have confirmed that they can now start to process claims for loss of property, damages and injuries by people living near national parks, should they suffer from marauding wildlife. The Rwandan government has last week set up a special […]
Seychelles tourism breaking news – Alain St. Ange appointed Minister of Tourism and Culture and Elsia Grandcourt promoted to CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board
CHANGES AT STB AS ALAIN ST. ANGE IS APPOINTED MINISTER FOR TOURISM AND CULTURE (Alain St. Ange, seen here during an interview last year) Elsia Grandcourt, hitherto Deputy Chief Executive at the Seychelles Tourism Board, has been appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer, following the elevation of Alain St. Ange to the position […]
Seychelles aviation breaking news – D-Day for Air Seychelles as launch of Abu Dhabi flights imminent now
AIR SEYCHELLES LAUNCHES ABU DHABI FLIGHTS This Sunday is a big day for friends, staff, management and board of directors of Air Seychelles, when the airline is commencing operations to Abu Dhabi. Initially the airlines B767-300 will serve the route twice a week in conjunction with Etihad, which in turn is operating four flights a […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, First edition March 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 […]
East African aviation breaking news – Turkish commences twice weekly flights to Mogadishu
TURKISH BREAKS NEW GROUND WITH MOGADISHU FLIGHTS A Turkish Airlines Airbus A340 landed yesterday in Mogadishu to a warm welcome by members of the Transitional Federal Government and representatives of AMISOM, the United Nations / African Union forces providing protection to the airport and the capital at large, after driving the Al Shabab terrorists out […]
Kenya aviation breaking news – Share rights issue for Kenya Airways due to be launched next Monday
KENYA AIRWAYS SHARE RIGHTS ISSUE LAUNCHES ON 12 MARCH Next Monday will be the long awaited start of Kenya Airways share rights issue, which has been in the making for several months now and received all company internal approvals via board resolutions and AGM votes, before securing the required regulatory approvals from the financial market […]
Seychelles news update – Work started on wind power plant at Ile de Port
SEYCHELLES GOES GREENER While on the Creole island paradise of the Seychelles to cover the Carnival International de Victoria for eTurboNews, opportunity arose to also see the site chosen to construct the Seychelles first windpowered electricity plant. Mentioned here a few months ago, when the initial MoUs and contracts were signed between the Seychelles government […]
East African aviation news – Qatar announces across Eastern Africa that their first B787 is now on the production line
QATAR AIRWAYS FIRST B787 NOW ON PRODUCTION LINE Ahead of the inauguration of Qatar Airways latest route into Africa on the 21st of March to Kigali, via an extension from their daily Doha Entebbe flight, has news emerged that the airlines first B787 Dreamliner 5 of a total order of 60 such aircraft (firm orders […]
Quo Vadis Southern Sudan
QUO VADIS SOUTHERN SUDAN We knew it would not be easy but we had hoped it would not be so difficult for us. The regime in Khartoum is the main cause for these hard times now, they first blocked our trade and what we used to buy from Khartoum and ship up the Nile and […]
Mauritius news update – Planetarium planned at the Rajiv Ghandi Science Centre
PLANETARIUM PLANNED FOR MAURITIUS Information was received from Mauritius that funding has been secured to construct and equip a planetarium on the island, supposedly the first in this part of the world, which when complete will be open for research but also local and tourist visitors interested to see the stars of the Southern Hemisphere. […]
East Africa prepares for ITB
EAC TALKING UP TOURISM AHEAD OF ITB BUT WILL IT STICK As the tourist boards and private sector participants start to make their way to Berlin for the worlds biggest tourism trade show, at least four of the EAC member countries have gone on record over their intent and purpose for 2012 and beyond, what […]
Uganda news update – Another lake accident claims more lives
ANOTHER LAKE DISASTER STRIKES Reports have reached Kampala that another lake boat has sunk in a storm on Lake Victoria on Friday night, but with conflicting figures being quoted as to the number of passengers on board the ill fated vessel. Some media reports peg the numbers on the boat to as many as 60 […]
Seychelles aviation breaking news – Victoria selected for July World Routes Conference Africa
WORLD ROUTES CONFERENCE AFRICA OPTS FOR SEYCHELLES VENUE While on the Seychelles for the Carnival International de Victoria news broke that the organizers of the World Routes Conferences have selected Victoria as the host city for the 2012 Routes Africa Conference, to be held in July in the Seychellois capital city. A large number of […]
Seychelles ‘Carnival International de Victoria’ finally underway
2013 CARNIVAL TO BECOME A THREESOME (The Notting Hill Samba Dancers kicking off the show in the heart of Victoria) The inaugural edition of the mother of all carnivals the Carnaval de Carnivals in Victoria last year was solely the affair of the Seychelles, but the second, larger, bigger and better edition turned out to […]
Kenya news update – LAPSSET launched in Lamu
LAPSSET LAUNCHED IN LAMU Presidents Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and Gen. Salva Kiir of Southern Sudan were joined by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Menes Zenawi in the formal ground breaking ceremony yesterday at Lamu, jointly laying a foundation stone and committing their respective countries to one of the largest infrastructure project ever in Eastern Africa. […]
Kempinski Seychelles Resort opened tonight with glitz and glamour
KEMPINSKI SEYCHELLES RESORT NOW OFFICIALLY OPEN Global luxury hotel giant Kempinski has today launched the latest addition to their collection, when the Kempinski Seychelles Resort was officially opened for business. While already for some weeks in a soft opening phase the tape was only cut today and a grand opening party was held by management […]
Rwanda hospitality news – Managers side with RDB in quest for more and better training of staff
HOTEL MANAGERS BLAME OWNERS FOR POOR SERVICES A group of managers of hotels in Musanze / Ruhengeri have stood up to their bosses when they denounced them for being responsible for the lack of top quality services, as tourist visitors expect to find when coming to see the mountain gorillas in Rwanda or else visit […]
Kenya conservation news – KWS and wildlife ministry launch new 10 year strategic plan for elephant conservation
KENYA LAUNCHES NEW ELEPHANT STRATEGY A regular conservation source in Nairobi confirmed that the long awaited 10 year plan of how the Kenya Wildlife Service intends to deal with elephant conservation over the next decade, has been released last weekend in the Kenyan capital. The Minister for Forestry and Wildlife Dr. Noah Wekesa officially presented […]
Seychelles tourism breaking news – More than half of the Costa Allegra passengers opt to stay in Seychelles for a few days
HALF OF COSTA ALLEGRA PASSENGERS OPT TO JOIN SEYCHELLES CARNIVAL It was learned overnight that when the disabled Costa Allegra will be towed into Victoria Harbour later today, more than half of the passengers will remain on the archipelago for a couple of days, courtesy of Costa Cruises, which has flown a team of staffers […]
Seychelles tourism breaking news – Cabinet reshuffle will create new Ministry of Tourism and Culture
SEYCHELLES TO GET MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND CULTURE A long practice in the Seychelles seems to be coming to an end, whereby the portfolio of tourism was held at top level of government, for several years by the former Vice President H.E. Joseph Belmont until his retirement from public service and then over the past […]
East Africa news – Cut fibre optic cables slow down internet traffic – may take weeks to restore full service levels
INTERNET TRAFFIC SERIOUSLY DISRUPTED AS CABLE CUT BY ANCHOR Information is gradually spreading about the seriousness of the current disruptions of internet traffic and the time frame it may require to bring it back to life, after operators, one should say as usual, initially stonewalled and downplayed the extent and failed to reveal the reasons […]
Zanzibar conservation news – More sea turtles released from Mnarani Marine Aquarium
TURTLE CONSERVATION GETS A BOOST IN ZANZIBAR (Picture of a Hawksbill turtle courtesy of http://www.ioseaturtles.org/species_overview.php) Information was received overnight that another batch of 25 tagged sea turtles has been released into the ocean off Zanzibar by the Mnarani Marine Aquarium. This brings the total number reared and released to over 170 since the programme commenced […]
Kenya tourism news – Sun Africa Hotels set to launch balloon operations at Keekorok, opening new tented camp in Naivasha
SUN AFRICA HOTELS SET TO LAUNCH OWN BALLOON OPERATION (Picture courtesy of Sun Africa Hotels) Sun Africa Hotels has announced that they will launch their own balloon operation from their Keekorok Safari Lodge in April under the name Balloon Adventure now that the final test flights have been concluded by the manufacturers and the equipment […]
Tanzania conservation news – FZS reiterates opposition to highway across the Serengeti
FRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY REITERATES OPPOSITION TO SERENGETI HIGHWAY A four day conservation workshop at the Seronera headquarters of the Serengeti National Park ended with both encouragement and praise for Tanzanias conservation efforts but also calls to stop any plans to build a highway across the parks sensitive migration routes. Frankfurt Zoological Societys Director Dr. Christoph […]
Costa Allegra adrift in Seychelles waters – Search and Rescue mission by Seychelles Coast Guard underway
COSTA ALLEGRA ADRIFT IN SEYCHELLES WATERS The Seychelles coast guard is presently mounting a support and rescue operation for Italian cruiseliner Costa Allegra, a ship from the same operators as the recently sunk Costa Concordia, which reportedly got disabled at sea after successfully fighting a fire in the engine room. The incident happened near the […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Fourth edition February 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 […]
Living with Wildlife – Ol Pejeta breaks new ground with gated estate at the boundary of the conservancy
LIVING WITH WILDLIFE – OL PEJETA BREAKS NEW GROUND When international wheeler dealer and notorious arms trader Adnan Kashoggi bought the then 160.000 acre Ol Pejeta estate outside Nanyuki on the Laikipia plains in the 1970s, it was to ranch cattle and create a private retreat where the Happy Valley Days of yesteryear were being […]
