Congo conservation news – Two mountain gorilla babies born in Virunga NP
MOUNTAIN GORILLA FAMILY GETS BABIES OVER CHRISTMAS Information was just received that the Kabirizi and Mapuwa families, habituated groups of mountain gorillas in the Congo DRs Virunga National Park, has had one birth each over the Christmas period or in late December. The Mapuwa group now counts 17 members while the Kabirizi group has grown […]
Rwanda aviation breaking news – RwandAir sells two CRJ 200 aircraft with immediate effect to prepare for new aircraft arrivals by June
RWANDAIR SELLS TWO CRJ200 TO MAKE SPACE FOR LARGER JETS News were just confirmed that RwandAir has sold, with immediate effect, their two CRJ200 aircraft which the airline had acquired two and a half years ago from Germanys Lufthansa Cityline. The jets will leave service right away and the schedule, recently beefed up, will be […]
Kenya aviation news – South Africa’s 1Time announces Mombasa flights from March 2012
1TIME TO COMMENCE MOMBASA FLIGHTS IN MARCH Information was just confirmed that 1Time, one of South Africas low cost carriers, will add Mombasa to their network by March this year, following successful flights between OR Tambo in Johannesburg to Zanzibar. The twice a week service to Mombasa will open the South African market for holidays […]
Ethiopian aviation breaking news – Ethiopian Airlines sells all remaining 5 Fokker 50’s to Singaporean company
ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES SELLS FOKKER 50 FLEET It was confirmed from a periodic source in Addis Ababa that Ethiopian Airlines has sold their entire fleet of turboprop Fokker 50 aircraft to a buyer in South East Asia, reportedly to a company based in Singapore. The 5 aircraft are expected to yield anywhere between 30 and 35 […]
Uganda tourism breaking news – CNNGo selects Chobe Safari Lodge’s Spa as 5th best in the world ‘with a view’
CHOBE SAFARI LODGES SPA DECLARED 5TH BEST IN THE WORLD WITH A VIEW Uganda’s Chobe Safari Lodge, owned and operated by the Madhvani Group’s Marasa Africa, has put the country in the spotlight when CNNGo, in its annual listing of the 10 Spas with the most amazing views, has rated Chobe in a very respectable […]
Guest Appearance by Shelly Mirriam – Environmentalists Are For Progress
This is the first of what I hope will be ‘regular’ guest appearances on my blog, courtesy of Shelly Mirriam. In the past I received many comments about being ‘anti development’, ‘anti progress’, was trying to ‘deny Africa her rights’ when reporting about hair brained white elephant projects which would do little else but cause […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, First edition January 2012
TOURISM, AVIATION 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 or read the daily postings on my blog via: www.wolfganghthome.wordpress.com Many of these articles […]
Rwanda tourism news – New record arrivals and revenues for 2011 all but confirmed now
TOURISM ENDS TOP EARNER FOR 2011 IN RWANDA Preliminary figures availed over the weekend from usually well informed sources indicate that the tourism sector has overtaken coffee and tea to become Rwandas top foreign exchange earner, during a year which also saw new arrival records being established. The widening network and increased flight frequencies by […]
Tanzania conservation news – Enquiry into alleged illegal wildlife export ‘stuck in its tracks’
PUBLIC HULLABALLOO OVER WILDLIFE SMUGGLING DOES NOT TRANSLATE INTO ACTION Conservationists keen to find out more about the allegations made last year, that a Qatari air force plane was flying wildlife out of Kilimanjaro International Airport under the eyes of the authorities, will need to wait longer it seems. The committee put into place to […]
Libyan assets in East Africa – still awaiting the African Union’s green light to be returned to their owners?
LIBYAN INVESTMENTS IN EAST AFRICA TO BE DECIDED BY AU SUMMIT Reports are emerging that the forthcoming African Union Summit in Addis Ababa later in January will have Libyas frozen investments on the agenda, as according to findings countries which imposed the freeze have been equally slow to let go of them and return them […]
Uganda conservation news – Mabira Forest under renewed threat, widespread logging exposed
GOVERNMENT ACCUSED TO TURN A BLIND EYE ON ILLEGAL MABIRA LOGGING Information came to light that sections of the prized Mabira Forest, a crucial national water tower and green lung for the capital Kampala and its growing metropolitan area, are being indiscriminately logged by unknown individuals, with the National Forest Authority apparently helpless or toothless […]
Kenya breaking news – Ferry boat sinks off Lamu with over 80 New Year’s travellers on board
Update: Red Cross Kenya says 25 survivors found alive, some in need of treatment, 9 bodies found so far, total number of passengers thought to have been 82. BOAT TRAGEDY HITS LAMU 2011 was a year tourism stakeholders in Lamu will be swift to forget, considering the two abductions from nearby Kiwayu and Manda […]
‘Vanilla Islands’ ready to absorb destination traffic shift after Maldives ban Spa’s
VANILLA ISLANDS TO BENEFIT FROM MALDIVES BLUNDER A regular source from Mauritius, one of the Vanilla Islands in the African part of the Indian Ocean the others being Seychelles, La Reunion, Madagascar and the Comoros Islands has, albeit reluctantly and on condition of strict confidentiality and anonymity commented on the most recent developments reported from […]
Kenya conservation news – Masai herders drive cattle into the Mara incited by rogue politicians
ROWDY POLITICIANS INCITE MASAI HERDERS TO INVADE THE MASAI MARA This is criminal incitement and government should arrest those responsible immediately, regardless of their status or connections said a regular source from Nairobi yesterday afternoon when discussing reports that Masai herdsmen had driven hundreds if not more cattle into the game reserve. The Ministry of […]
Kenya conservation news – Success and failure are close bedfellows
CONSERVATION SUCCESS AND FAILURE, CLOSE MATES (The Pangolin, aka scaly anteater another endangered species) Disturbing news emerged on New Years Eve when it became known that a mob of Masai youths had killed yet another adolescent lion on the Kitengela plains outside the Nairobi National Park, bringing to three such killings over the past few […]
2011 in review – Courtesy of the Word Press Team to whom I extend a special THANK YOU for their support!
Thanks to you, my readers, I saw the popularity of my blog rocket after I went ‘daily’ early in 2011. For the new year I promise you more news, close up and personal, and your reactions, comments and feedback, here, via Twitter or Facebook or by email continue to be most welcome. Have a […]
Uganda aviation news – Qatar Airways due to commence onward flights to Kigali by March 2012
QATAR AIRWAYS TO BEGIN ADD ON FLIGHTS TO KIGALI IN MARCH 2012 A usually well informed source within Ugandas aviation regulatory system has confirmed that Qatar Airways, since early November coming daily to Entebbe, will as indicated here earlier indeed commence onward flights between Entebbe and Kigali, come 21st March 2012. The flights will on […]
Uganda aviation news – SN starts promoting their own ‘Big Apple’ flights
BRUSSELS AIRLINES STARTS PROMOTING BIG APPLE FLIGHTS The Kampala office of Brussels Airlines must have thought what better to end one year than giving a sneak preview into the next, when they launched their 2012 promotional campaign for New York, New York. The airline will fly under their own flag from Brussels to New York […]
Seychelles – truly ‘Another World’
SEYCHELLES ENDS YEAR ON A HIGH NOTE At the end of every year I get swamped with stories, news and bits and bobs from around the entire region, with some notable absentees as usual being my own countrys tourist board, which seemingly still has to learn how to make better use of the new media […]
Rwanda hospitality breaking news – Kigali Serena Hotel takes the only 5 star rating in the city
SERENA TOPS THEM ALL, GETS FIRST 5STAR RATING IN RWANDA (The Kigali Serena Hotel courtyard with gardens and swimming pool Simply the Best) The Kigali Serena was the first to receive the coveted 5 star rating for any Kigali business and city hotel, following an exhaustive and extensive grading and classification exercise conducted by the […]
Tanzania conservation breaking news – Attempted denial of cross Serengeti Railway exposes yet more ‘projects’
OFFICIAL DENIALS EXPOSE YET MORE TIMEBOMBS FOR CONSERVATIONISTS (The most direct line from Mwambani to Musoma leads across the Serengeti) With much of official Tanzania on their year-end vacation to celebrate Christmas and New Year, the almost inevitable denials over the suggested direct routing of a new railway line from Tanga to Musoma through the […]
Kenya conservation news – New park fees from New Year
NEW YEAR, NEW FEES FOR KENYAS PRIME NATIONAL PARKS Effective New Years Day 2012 will Kenya Wildlife Service raise their premium park fees from the present US Dollars 60 per person per day for foreign nonresident visitors to US Dollars 80 per person per day, after making the announcement earlier in the year. Also discontinued […]
Tanzania tourism news – VAT refunds for tourists set to begin next week
VAT REFUNDS FOR TOURISTS DUE TO COMMENCE JANUARY 2012 A regular source from Dar es Salaam has provisionally confirmed that the long awaited VAT refunds for tourists on departure from either Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam or from the Kilimanjaro International Airport outside Arusha are due to start come the New Year […]
Kenya aviation news update – From the one and only Harro Trempenau
NEWS FROM THE ORLY AIRPARK GIVE AN ANNUAL ROUND UP Harro Trempenau, former and almost forever chairman of the Aero Club of East Africa at the Wilson Airport in Nairobi, has since his eventual retirement two years ago from that position been relatively quiet, much to the dislike of, […]
L’Esperance – A Rwandan orphanage with a difference
THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS LASTS ALL YEAR ROUND AT LESPERANCE AN ORPHANAGE WITH A DIFFERENCE When on the newly created Congo Nile Trail a few weeks ago, which hugs the shores and mountains along Lake Kivu from Kamembe to Gisenyi, a side trip to a unique orphanage, LEsperance in Kigarama captured my attention and imagination […]
Seychelles tourism update – La Tribune honours Kathy Mason, a leading pioneer of Seychelles tourism
KATHY MASON A SEYCHELLOIS TOURISM PIONEER Every once in a while I come across some outstanding individual who has left her or his mark on the tourism industry of their respective countries, and yesterday my friend Alain St. Ange, himself a success story extraordinaire with the impact he has made on marketing the Seychelles and […]
Kenya tourism news – Swahili Beach opens its doors just in time for Christmas
SWAHILI BEACH HOTEL OPENED JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS The first major new 5 star resort development over the past decade has opened in time for the Christmas and New Year season at one of Kenyas top beaches, Diani Beach south of Mombasa putting a smile on the faces of the owners, the management team […]
Rwanda hospitality breaking news – Hotel star awards set for today at the Kigali Serena Hotel
MORE THAN TWO DOZEN HOTELS AWAIT STAR RATING The Rwanda Development Board Tourism and Conservation, has concluded the first phase of the East Africa wide grading and classifying of hotels, resorts, lodges and other hospitality businesses and today about 30 hotels in Kigali will be awarded their stars at a ceremony held at the Kigali […]
Bahrain Air Show 2012 – Where ‘luxury and exclusivity’ make up for size and numbers
BAHRAIN AIR SHOW 2012 THE NEXT BIG STAGE FOR AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS The worlds leading aircraft manufacturers are gearing up to showcase their latest models, improvements and show off future aircraft designs, amongst many other presentations of keen interest to the aviation industry, during the upcoming Bahrain Air Show 2012. The second edition of BIAS is […]
Kenya aviation news – Kenya Airways set to double lounge spaces for frequent flyers and premium class passengers
KENYA AIRWAYS SET TO DOUBLE LOUNGE SPACE The Pride of Africa and its partner airlines KLM and Air France are poised to provide yet more space and a better environment to their frequent travelers and business class passengers, as an expansion of the upstairs JV Lounge is presently underway, literally doubling the available seating spaces. […]
