East Africa Travel And Tourism News
Kenya Seeks To Push For Increased Conference Tourism In Africa
Kenya is among 3,500 exhibitors attending this year’s international IMEX fair in Frankfurt, Germany with conference tourism industry players ready to market and position Kenya as a world renowned business events destination.
At least seven Kenyan Business Tourism Stakeholders are attending IMEX led by Tourism Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Joe Okudo.
The Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) is coordinating Kenya’s participation at the show on behalf of the Ministry.
KICC Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Nana Gecaga said: “It is high time Kenya took up its rightful share of the meetings industry globally and this can only be achieved through aggressive marketing activities like the IMEX show. The Ministry of Tourism and KICC are joined by partners from private sector in the show.” She said.
“This year’s increase in partner members is a show that Kenya is taking up its position as the preferred Conference Tourism destination in Africa,” she added.
The private sector participants joining the Ministry and KICC include Heritage Hotels, Pride inn, Radisson Blu, Safari Park Hotel, Intercontinental Hotel and Zuri Events.
The show is expected to reap business leads that will be followed up as potential conferences and events to be hosted in Kenya. Kenya has a total of 60 hosted buyer appointments and several group presentations that will be providing leads for potential conventions and incentives travel to Kenya
Nearly Extinct Pink Dolphin Gives Birth To Pink Calf
Rare pink dolphin mom gave birth to a cute baby dolphin. People call her Pinky, and the animal has been spotted in the Calcasiey river in Louisiana. The pink calf was there, too.
The pink mammal became popular 12 years ago. Captain Erik Rue was the first to spot her. The video of Pinky and her baby was posted on Pinky’s Facebook page. The dolphins were swimming in front of a big boat in the Calcasieu Ship Channel.
According to experts, Pinky is a Rare River Dolphin who got the pink color from a rare genetic mutation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed river dolphins as endangered. It’s population is decreasing.
The birth of the calf gives us hope that calves have inherited their mother’s genetic mutation which would help in the effort of increasing the population of rare species.
Captain Rue explained that the dolphin is pink from its tail to the tip, and has red eyes. Its skin is smooth and glossy.
Pinky isn’t affected by the environment or sunlight but sure likes to remain below the surface more than other animals.
AirKenya Announces Launch Of Masai Mara To Bwindi flights
Nairobi based Air Kenya has confirmed to ATCNews.org that they will commence flights between the Masai Mara and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, home to most of East Africa’s endangered mountain gorillas.
The airline will fly passengers from the Masai Mara to Kisumu for customs and immigration clearance, then proceed across Lake Victoria to Entebbe International Airport following which Air Kenya’s Ugandan partner airline will carry the passengers on to the Savannah airfield in Kihihi.
At that point will Ugandan tour and safari operators be able to pick up passengers and take them to Buhoma, the entrance point to many of the gorilla tracking routes.
Said Capt. Dino Bisleti, CEO of Air Kenya: ‘Never before has such connection ever been possible. Airkenya and AeroLink will provide a seamless connection from Kenya to Uganda and vice versa. Our customers will no longer require to travel to Nairobi spend a night in the City and connect to Entebbe next day. What a time saver!
Similar connections have been available for some time now out of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park via Mwanza to Kigali for gorilla tracking in Rwanda, these flights being operated by Coastal Aviation.
Uganda’s tourism industry is set to benefit from the new air link as visiting the country after a safari in Kenya, especially for tourists using the single tourist Visa available online, is made more time- and costeffective.
KCAA OKs Jambojet Expansion To 14 New African Routes
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has granted Regional low-cost carrier, Jambojet a three-year license to operate in seven new African countries. The licenses allow Jambojet to fly to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Dar-es-Salaam, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza (Tanzania), Kigali (Rwanda), Jubba, Hargeisa, Mogadishu (Somalia), Goma, Kisangani (Democratic Republic of Congo), Moroni (Union of the Comoros) and Lilongwe and Blantyre (Malawi) from its hub at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
“We have an ongoing expansion programme and we will announce when we are ready to fly to the various destinations,” Kilavuka said.
Initially, Jambojet had targeted launching operations to 16 routes in nine countries, others being Bujumbura (Burundi) and Juba (South Sudan). It made its maiden flight to Entebbe, Uganda in February last yea
Silverstone Adds Wajir Route To Network
Silverstone Air has announced the launch of flights from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport to the north eastern Kenyan town of Wajir.
The daily flights will commence on the 24th of June, using a Dash 8-300 aircraft with a 50 seat all economy configuration for the service.
Silverstone already serves the Wilson to Kisumu route, flies nonstop from Mombasa to Kisumu three times a week and also connects Wilson Airport to Lodwar, Mombasa, Ukunda / Diani, Lamu and the Masai Mara Game Reserve.
UGANDA
Uganda Tourism Board CEO urge women entrepreneurs to take opportunities in the tourism sector
Members of the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited (UWEAL) have been urged to position their businesses in line with Uganda’s tourism in order to fully harness the opportunities presented by the sector.
Lilly Ajarova, the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), Chief Executive Officer, highlighted the above while speaking to participants during a monthly UWEAL networking meeting held at the association’s offices located at Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA), Lugogo yesterday 30/05/2019.
She explained that positioning of their various businesses such as agriculture, craft, and accommodation; among others in line with tourism would enhance their opportunities to benefit from the sector.
“There are so many opportunities in the tourism sector. Right now for instance, the sector could benefit from more accommodation facilities ranging from homestays, budget and luxury lodges and hotels. Kampala has a number of facilities but once you are out of the city, the need for more investment in accommodation facilities is quickly evident,” Ajarova said.
She also revealed that UTB had formally written to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development requesting for incentives to be extended to investors looking to set up accommodation facilities in different parts of the country. This she hopes, will help alleviate the deficit.
Ajarova further encouraged the participants to set up home-stays given that there is a growing number of tourists who prefer this arrangement.