Kenya Projects 1.4 Million Arrivals

Kenya’s Tourism Research Institute projects that the country will reach 1.4 million arrivals and over KES265 billion (€2.2bn) in earnings by December, about 74% of 2019’s best ever tourism figures of more than two million visitors. TRI has posted multiple updates on Twitter, outlining Kenya’s annual tourism sector performance report. In one post it notes…

Kenya and Uganda Intensify Collaboration

Kenya and Uganda are further bolstering their strong tourism ties with the establishment of the first ever Kenya Coast – Uganda Tourism Conference and Exhibition in November. Kenya is Uganda’s number-one source market for tourists while Mombasa is a key destination for Ugandans. Last year, Uganda saw 512 945 tourism arrivals, 326 387 of which…

Kenya Launches Mammal Monitoring App

The National Museums of Kenya and the Mammal Committee of Nature Kenya have partnered with Spotteron Citizen Science to develop and launch a mobile app that assists in the tracking and logging of mammals in the country. The Mammal Atlas Kenya, or Makenya, app allows users to to record GPS co-ordinates of an area where they…

SITE Tourism Exhibition Wraps Up in Tanzania

The sixth edition of the national and regional Swahili International Tourism Expo (SITE) concluded its business on Sunday evening. The 3-day tourism exhibition brought hopes for tourism recovery in Africa after the COVID-19 pandemic and ended after successful interactions among key players in tourism from Tanzania, Africa and others from tourist source markets of Europe, Southeast Asia,…

Botswana Relaxes COVID Regulations

Botswana no longer has any COVID-19 restrictions on entry. Travellers no longer need to provide proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test on entering the country. Masks are no longer mandatory in public spaces. The Botswana Ministry of Health advises residents to ensure they are fully vaccinated.

SA’s New Vivari Hotel to Focus on Medical Tourism

The 48-room Vivari Hotel & Spa by Mantis is now welcoming guests to its tranquil setting at Featherbrooke Estates, close to the Cradle of Humankind, north of Johannesburg. Vivari – a Sanskrit word that loosely translated means ‘uncovered’ – is the first hotel of its kind in Africa, encompassing the hotel and spa along with an aesthetic clinic and state-of-the-art hospital…

Fastjet Connects Okavango Delta to Vic Falls

Botswana’s Okavango Delta and Victoria Falls, on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border are two of Southern Africa’s most visited tourist sites. Previously getting between the two had been an expensive hassle, involving detours via Johannesburg, pricey private charters or complicated border crossings on foot. However, thanks to Fastjet’s new flight route, travellers can now get to Victoria…

US to Screen Passengers from Uganda

All US-bound airline passengers who have been in Uganda in the 21 days before their arrival will be routed to one of five US airports for enhanced Ebola screening, according to a health alert issued last week by the US Embassy in Uganda. This is in response to Uganda declaring an Ebola outbreak on September 20. Passengers…

LATAM to Bring Back Brazil-SA Route

Industry has widely welcome the announcement by South American carrier, LATAM Airlines, that it will resume its commercial route between São Paulo (GRU), Brazil, and Johannesburg, South Africa. The airline said in a statement over the weekend that the route would resume in July 2023, with three weekly frequencies using the airline’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. This is after a three-year hiatus due…

Namibia Rolls Out Digital Nomad Visa

The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) has launched its Namibia Digital Nomad Visa programme, which will be applicable for six months. The new visa, which will be available to freelancers or people working remotely for companies outside Namibia, makes it easier for foreign nationals to live and work in the country. It would…

South Africa Gets New Regional Carrier

FlySafair has just received approval from the International Air Licensing Council to operate flights to 11 new destinations within the Southern African region and slightly further afield. FlySafair applied for rights to operate connections to a number of new destinations throughout the region, as well as rights to add to its current twice-weekly frequency to Mauritius. The airline has approval to operate flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg to Gaborone, Livingstone, Luanda, Lusaka, Maputo and Victoria Falls. In addition, it has also…

New $100-million Hotel Coming to Lusaka Zambia

Hospitality management company, Barrows Hotel Enterprises, has closed a US$110-million hotel deal for Zambia and announced plans for construction of a luxury hotel in Lusaka. Barrows – which provides hotel investment and advisory services for hotels in the Middle East and Africa – has advised Asian developer, Hing Construction, to proceed with the construction of…

KLM Increases Cape Town Capacity

KLM will add three weekly Cape Town flights to its schedule ahead of its 30th anniversary on the route. From November 1, it will offer 10 weekly services between Cape Town and Amsterdam. The additional flights will complement the current seven daily services, which leave Amsterdam at 10h30 and depart from Cape Town at midnight. At…

Zanzibar Gears Up for International Tourism Summit

The Zanzibar Tourism Investment Association (ZATI), in collaboration with the organisers of tourism exhibitions from Arusha, KILIFAIR, has entered into an agreement to organise an international summit on tourism opportunities in Zanzibar next year, according to Tanzanian national newspaper, Daily News. The ‘Z – SUMMIT 2023’ is scheduled for February 23-24, with the aim of strengthening…

Airlink Invests in FlyNamibia

Airlink, the independent South African-based airline, is acquiring a 40 percent strategic equity holding in privately-owned Windhoek-based FlyNamibia in an investment which will accelerate Namibia’s post-pandemic recovery and drive the expansion of efficient scheduled airline services to, from and within Namibia. Through this venture, Airlink and FlyNamibia will support Namibia’s National Transport Policy vision by…

African Parks to Manage South Sudan Parks

The Government of South Sudan and African Parks have signed a ten-year renewable Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Boma and Badingilo National Parks, including the wildlife corridors and proposed extension zones – an area that is well over three million hectares. The signing of the MoU is expected to strengthen the long-term protection of ecosystems…

SA Tourism Launches Ambitious Global MegaFam Project

Recognising the need to reach tourists from across the globe on various platforms, South African Tourism will host an ambitious familiarisation trip (MegaFam) trip involving 840 carefully selected people from varied backgrounds across all continents, time zones, linguistic and cultural regions, professions and social standing. Acting CEO of SA Tourism, Themba Khumalo, said the country’s destination-marketing…

More Seats Coming to CPT

Wesgro, the Western Cape trade, tourism and investment development agency, has calculated that 1.5m two-way seats will be available in Cape Town from various airlines between November 2022 and March 2023. This will take the total number of available seats to 93% of 2019 levels. The injection of seats is a major relief to trade…

Avani Adventure at Vic Falls

Located inside Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, Avani Victoria Falls Resort offers free unlimited access to Africa’s legendary cascade. But there are plenty of other ways to while away your days at the resort. Melt your worries away with a choice of essential beauty and health treatments at the Avani spa, where carefully trained professionals will have you relaxed,…

December Brings Daily Delta Flights to CPT

Come December, Cape Town will have a host of US flights. For the South African summer season, Western Cape agents will find themselves with many, many more choices to offer US-bound Cape Town clients (and those in Jo’burg). Delta Air Lines begins its new seasonal ‘triangular’ route, Atlanta-Johannesburg-Cape Town-Atlanta. On December 2, Delta will begin…

Rwanda Christens 20 New Baby Gorillas

Rwanda’s population of endangered Mountain gorillas – a major contributor to the country’s tourism industry – has grown by 26% over the past six years, and another 20 baby gorillas, along with a new gorilla family, were recently christened at the country’s 18th annual Kwita Izina Gorilla Naming Ceremony. The globally recognised conservation event was attended…