Uganda news – World Wetland Day celebration sees State Minister blame tourism for wetland destruction
STATE MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT FACES WRATH OF TOURISM FRATERNITY Carelessly uttered remarks by State Minister for Environment Ms. Flavia Munaba over the weekend in Rakai District, where she officiated over the World Wetland Day under the local theme Wetlands Supporting Tourism for our Survival drew immediate condemnation and acid criticism from hospitality operators, whom the […]
Uganda aviation news – Wild Skies over Kajjansi, Version 2.0
WILD SKIES OVER KAJJANSI RELOADED (Capt. Howard Davenport flying inverted over Lake Victoria with this correspondent at the time as his daring passenger in the front seat, picture courtesy of KAFTC) The Kampala Aero Club celebrated its 15th anniversary last Saturday at the Kajjansi airfield with a series of stunning aerial displays in the skies […]
Mauritius aviation news – Air Mauritius raises fares by 5 percent, excludes La Reunion and Rodrigues flights
AIR MAURITIUS PUTS 5 PERCENT FARE INCREASE INTO PLACE Information was confirmed overnight that Air Mauritius has with immediate effect raised their fares by 5 percent across the board for international flights, to cater for the rise in fuel and other cost. In addition will a further fare rise become due when the full impact […]
Vanilla Islands sure to benefit from latest Maldives blunder to attempt raise airport handling fees by over 50 percent
VANILLA ISLANDS READY TO BENEFIT FROM NEW MALDIVES BLUNDER Only weeks after first banning all resort Spas across the Maldives islands for allegedly being brothels in disguise, and then making a swift U-turn when the fall out of the potential damage to the lucrative tourism businesses became evident in the wake of nearly unprecedented condemnation […]
Uganda tourism news – Sectoral budget diverted to pay for electricity subsidies, stakeholders infuriated
TOURISM FUNDING CUT TO PAY FOR ELECTRICITY The chronic funding shortage for tourism marketing and the pathetic facilitation of the Ministry of Tourism, formed only 11 months ago following the general elections of 2011, has at last been partly explained, when news emerged in Kampala overnight that cabinet had sanctioned a budget shift of 377 […]
Seychelles news update – New Air Seychelles management confronted on day one with domestic air services problems
PRASLIN RESIDENTS COMPLAINTS AWAIT NEW AIR SEYCHELLES MANAGERS As the new CEO and his CFO got acquainted to their desks at the Air Seychelles headoffice at the Mahe International Airport, across on Praslin island did residents and tourism stakeholders voice their concerns, if not outright protest, over the state of inter island air services provided […]
Kenya aviation news – President Kibaki to formally open new Kisumu International Airport
PRESIDENT KIBAKI TO FORMALLY OPEN NEW KISUMU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Today will see the long awaited formal opening of the extension of Kisumus newly elevated international airport by none other than President Mwai Kibaki who will fly to Kisumu from Nairobi for the function. Work for the expansion of Kisumu International Airport started back in 2009 […]
Uganda celebrates World Wetlands Day while conservationists decry lip service and turning a blind eye by government
DEVASTATING JUDGEMENT ON UGANDAS PROTECTION OF WETLANDS As the World Wetlands Day is being celebrated around the globe, Uganda has little to be proud of, considering the devastating report produced by the national biomass study, that the country has lost nearly 570.000 hectares of wetlands over the past two decades. Relentless encroachment, draining and complicity […]
Kenya tourism news – Kilaguni Serena tops TripAdvisor survey
KILAGUNI SERENA CAPTURES TRIPADVISORS TOP RANKING (Picture courtesy of Lesley Simpson Communications) TripAdvisor has named the Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge in the heart of Tsavo West National Park as their top choice for 2012 for their annual Top 25 Bargain Hotels in Africa by TripAdvisor when the results of their readers and contributors survey conducted […]
Uganda aviation news – Air Uganda takes the fight for passengers to the market
AIR UGANDA TAKES THE FIGHT TO THE MARKET (Picture courtesy of Air Uganda) With presently three flights a week between Entebbe to Mombasa and on to Zanzibar, Ugandas quasi national airline U7 is clearly intent to fill those 50 seats in the CRJ 200 they use on the route. Fares, excluding of taxes, begin at […]
Uganda aviation news – Emirates set to increase Dublin capacity by 50 percent
EMIRATE TO USE B777 TO DUBLIN FROM MID YEAR A regular source at the Emirates office in Kampala has let it be known that the recent addition of daily flights from Dubai to Dublin / Ireland has seen such a huge response, that the airline will move from the presently used A330 to a B777, […]
Seychelles aviation breaking news – Etihad’s Cramer Ball takes over as Air Seychelles new CEO
ETIHAD TEAM MOVES IN AT AIR SEYCHELLES As February 01 dawns now over the Seychelles will the acquisition of the 40 percent shareholding in national airline Air Seychelles by Abu Dhabi’s Etihad become legally effective and a team of managers, seconded by one the Gulf’s leading airlines, is expected to move in today to strengthen […]
A year after the Independence Referendum – Dashed dreams and lost hope?
A YEAR AFTER INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM HAS THE MOOD TURNED SOUR Just over a year ago did the results of the independence referendum come in, with near 100 percent approval by those eligible to cast their vote, setting the stage for the mid July 2011 Independence from the former slave masters in Khartoum. 12 months on, […]
Reef restoration in Mauritius gets funding from global climate change fund
FISHERIES MINISTRY EXPANDS CORAL FARMING The Africa Climate Change Adaption Programme is funding an effort undertaken by the Mauritius Ministry for Fisheries to expand coral farming in several areas of the island, aimed at the dual purpose to restore under water coral habitat as well as allow for commercial harvesting in years to come. An […]
Rwanda’s Nyungwe Forest Lodge voted ‘Global Best’ at award ceremony in London
NYUNGWE FOREST LODGE BAGS TOP ARCHITECTURE AWARD (One of the cottages at Nyungwe Forest Lodge, set right at the edge of this ancient forest, the largest in Rwanda) The Dubai World owned Nyungwe Forest Lodge has done its superior reputation credit when it was announced last week that it had won yet another award, capturing […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Fifth edition January 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 […]
Air Seychelles news update – Will Etihad’s arrival spell the end of Air Seychelles Boeing use?
AIRBUS FOR AIR SEYCHELLES? A source from Mahe, close to the airline, has suggested that plans to acquire a new B737-800 single aisle aircraft for the planned services to the other Vanilla Islands, to South Africa and perhaps new destinations on the African mainland are being reviewed since the tie up with Etihad, the national […]
Seychelles news update – The Story behind Seychelles Success in Marketing the Creole Island Paradise
PUTTING SEYCHELLES ON THE MAP AND KEEPING IT THERE (A relaxed looking Alain St. Ange during an interview with this correspondent in May 2011) The outlook in 2008 was grim for the Seychelles, hit by the global financial and economic crisis and staring at a projected loss of tourist arrivals and related income of over […]
Seychelles news update – Aldabra expedition returns to Victoria with 75 intrepid travelers on board
ALDABRA EXPEDITION RETURNS TO VICTORIA The Clipper Odyssey has returned to Victoria harbour over the weekend after a successful journey to Aldabra and the Amirantes islands. With 75 intrepid adventure travelers on board the trip covered visits to 11 of the outlying islands of the Seychelles, visited two reefs and most importantly paid a visit […]
Kenya aviation news – Profit warning for current financial year by Kenya Airways expected to impact on share trading
KENYA AIRWAYS PROFIT WARNING EXPECTED TO SHAKE MARKETS THIS WEEK The Pride of Africa has over the weekend issued a profit warning that full year results will likely see a reduction of profits by as much as 25 percent compared to the last financial year, inspite of only days ago issuing vastly improved passenger numbers […]
Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort and Casino responds to fire incident
BERJAYA BEACH RESORT AND CASINO RESPONDS TO FIRE WITH PUBLIC STATEMENT (Picture courtesy of Berjaya Hotels) In a forthcoming development has Mr. Ken Choo, General Manager of the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort and Casino responded publicly to the fire incident at his hotel earlier in the week, providing information in a commendable fashion and […]
Tanzania aviation news – Announcement by Air Tanzania of ‘self maintenance’ raises safety concerns
PLANS FOR SELF MAINTENANCE RAISE SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERNS An announcement earlier in the week by financially crippled Air Tanzania, that they were intending to maintain their presently single aircraft, a Bombardier Q300, at their home base in Dar es Salaam, has raised immediate concerns over compliance with Airworthiness Directives. The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority has […]
Kenyan government taken to court over Lamu mega projects
SAVE LAMU SUES KENYA GOVERNMENT OVER PORT AND RAILWAY PLANS No sooner had Kenya and Southern Sudan put pen to paper during the week, signing a deal to construct a pipeline from the oil fields in Southern Sudan to the planned new port in Lamu, did a civic group Save Lamu emerge and file legal […]
TripAdvisor puts Porini Mara Camp into Africa’s Top Ten for 2012
TRIPADVISOR PUTS PORINI MARA CAMP INTO THEIR TOP TEN FOR AFRICA Gamewatcher Safaris and Porini Safari Camps are no strangers to receiving awards, but being elevated by global review giant TripAdvisor into their Top Ten African Properties still got the buzz going. The hotel review site has just published their recommendations for 2012 and Mara […]
Rwanda raises gorilla permit fees by 50 percent, effective June 01st
RWANDA RAISES GORILLA PERMIT FEES BY 50 PERCENT (Posted 07th May 2012) An announcement was just received that the Rwanda Development Board will, effective 01st of June 2012, raise gorilla permit fees for new permits, though not permits already pre-booked until the time of the announcement, from the present US Dollars 500 per person […]
Ethiopian tourist killings and abductions blamed squarely on Eritrean regime’s support for terrorist
ETHIOPIAN TOURIST ABDUCTIONS AND ATTACKS BLAMED ON ERITREA Eritreas dictatorial and radical regime has been fingered by Eritrean opposition groups, Ethiopian and other international sources for alleged complicity in the recent spate of attacks on foreign tourists and abductions as Ethiopian rebels granted safe havens inside Eritrea are suspected to have carried out the attacks. […]
Uganda aviation breaking news – Air Uganda terminates code share agreement with RwandAir
AIR UGANDA TERMINATES CODE SHARE AGREEMENT WITH RWANDAIR While Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni honoured his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in a ceremony at Liberation Day in Kapchorwa / North Eastern Uganda on Thursday, the day when 26 years ago his then National Resistance Army captured the capital Kampala and threw the old dictatorships out […]
Rwanda aviation news – RCAA suggests up to 50 percent traffic growth in 2012
AIR TRAFFIC FOR KIGALI TO GROW BY 50 PERCENT IN 2012 The Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority has projected a growth in flight movements in and out of Kigalis Kanombe International Airport by 50 percent in 2012, suggesting that the present level of around 200 flights per week might rise to 300 flights per week. The […]
Kenya aviation news – KQ releases Q4 results of 2011 – passenger growth of 15.4 percent
KENYA AIRWAYS Q4 RESULTS SHOW SIGNIFICANT GROWTH Information received overnight from Nairobi indicates that Kenya Airways recorded a traffic growth of over 15 percent in Quarter 4 of 2011, substantially better than feared when the stories of the Somalia conflict began to emerge and tourism braced itself for some tough weeks ahead. Not so according […]
Guest appearance by www.frugaldad.com
Why airlines are bankrupt Like many of you, Im often forced to fly to see family, take vacation, or go on business trips. And each time Im struck by how little I get on the flight and how much I end up paying for the pleasure. So when I saw that American Airlines was filing […]
