APTA Global Forum Q&A

The Association for the Promotion of Tourism to Africa (APTA) is excited to be hosting its Global Forum in Cape Town, South Africa September 26-30, 2023. This is the first time that APTA has held the Global Forum on the African continent, so this will be a great opportunity for travel advisors from North America…

Arusha Airport Undergoes Massive Expansion

Arusha Airport in Tanzania, popular for charter flights for tourists, will soon be back to full operation after a TZS6.3 billion (€2.4m) expansion. The airport, located on the outskirts of Arusha, is one of the oldest in the country and work has been carried out recently to extend its runway to accommodate larger aircraft. The…

Mauritius Resort Closed Due to Virus

Mauritius beach resort, Outrigger, on the south coast of the island at Bel Ombre, has been temporarily closed to visitors since February 18, due to the detection of the presence of Legionnella, the microorganism that causes Legionnaire’s disease. Although no new cases related to the hotel have been identified since February 18, the property has…

RwandAir Signs Turkish Airways Codeshare

RwandAir has signed a new codeshare with Turkish Airlines. Passengers coming to Africa on Turkish Airlines’ flights into Kigali will have access to RwandAir’s growing African network in Southern, West, Central and East Africa, in a seamless experience, including their baggage. RwandAir passengers, when travelling from Africa, will now have access to the Turkish carrier’s…

Victoria Falls Raises Entry Fees

Zimbabwe’s National Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks) will raise the conservation fees for accessing Victoria Falls National Park from April 1. This decision was made despite the previous backlash from stakeholders who claimed they were not consulted earlier this year when Zimparks first proposed the increase. Back in December, the Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe…

SAUDIA Launches Direct Flights to Dar es Salaam

SAUDIA, the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, launched its first direct flight to Dar es Salaam this past weekend. The airline will be operating four weekly flights between King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The flights are operated with an…

WTM Africa Back to Pre-COVID Numbers

While there are major actions needed to elevate the tourism sector – improving safety, increasing air access, increasing investment, and growing tourism’s contribution to the economy – the industry is ready to come back with a bang! This was the positive message from the Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, speaking at WTM Africa, which kicked…

Ethiopian Airlines To Resume Flights From Côte d’Ivoire To JFK

Continuing with its impressive international route expansion, Ethiopian Airlines is set to operate yet another route between New York and Côte d’Ivoire starting on May 23. The airline will resume the flight between New York JFK international and Felix Houphouet Boigny International Airport in Côte d’Ivoire, commonly known as the Ivory Coast. This route was launched in June 2019…

Airlink to Resume Service to Nosy Be, Madagascar

Johannesburg to Nosy Be will re-commence from 25 June 2023 with a once-weekly direct flight on Sundays as part of the drive to restore flights between South Africa and Madagascar to pre-pandemic levels. “Having just recently re-established connectivity between Johannesburg and Antananarivo, which is a predominantly business and trade route. Airlink is preparing to re-ignite tourism…

Indaba Expected to Double in Size

Africa’s Travel Indaba 2023 is expected to almost double in size, drawing growing revenue and attracting thousands of delegates and international buyers to the Durban International Convention Centre from May 9-11. This is the forecast business and government tourism leaders, including Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille, gave of the continent’s upcoming premier tourism and travel business…

Victoria Falls Raises Entry Fees

Zimbabwe’s National Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks) will raise the conservation fees for accessing Victoria Falls National Park from April 1. This decision was made despite the previous backlash from stakeholders who claimed they were not consulted earlier this year when Zimparks first proposed the increase. Back in December, the Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe…

Zambia Drops COVID Entry Requirement

As of 22nd March 2023, Zambia no longer requires proof of Covid vaccination or a negative PCR test to enter the country. Botswana, Namibia and Zambia now offer free movement with regards to any Covid-19 restrictions. We hope that Zimbabwe will soon follow. For up-to-date travel information regarding Covid-19, please refer your clients to the…

International Tourist Centre Launched in Serengeti

Tanzania has launched an international tourist centre at the iconic Serengeti National Park in a bid to promote the country’s vast tourism offerings. Opened by Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Mohamed Mchengerwa, the visitor centre provides information on the country’s 22 national parks and 29 game reserves, including maps and key attributes of the various…

Deadline Looms for SAA’s Unflown Tickets

SAA has alerted the trade that clients who are holding open tickets and travel EMD vouchers (Electronic Miscellaneous Document), have travel credit vouchers that expire on Friday, March 31, 2023. Following its Business Rescue, SAA created the option for customers holding unflown tickets to exchange them for credit vouchers. These unused tickets and credit vouchers…

Zambia Airways Goes Regional

Zambia Airways will debut its regional operations with thrice-weekly flights between Lusaka and Harare from March 28, as the relaunched national carrier seeks to achieve its goal of carrying 1.9 million passengers annually by 2028. The airline was relaunched in December 2021 through a partnership between the Zambian Government, the Industrial Development Corporation and Ethiopian…

Chiawa Camp in Zambia Opens to the Stars

A new ‘Star Bed’ tower and ‘Star Drift’ experience will debut at Chiawa Camp in the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia on May 1. Located just downstream of the main camp, the ‘Star Bed’ tower – an open-to-the-skies sleep-out experience – is positioned on the banks of the Zambezi River, overlooking ‘Scout’s Hollow’, an…

Cyclone Freddy Slams Malawi, You Can Help

The cyclone has unleashed torrents of water in built-up areas of Blantyre along the rivers, and terrible landslides have swept down hillsides. Boulders more enormous than houses have rolled down the mountainside leaving no trace of dwellings, humans or life behind. The plains in Chikwawa and Nsanje have again disappeared under water, leaving thousands of…

Airlink Moves Forward in North America

Airlink has appointed AVIAREPS as its GSA to consolidate the airline’s presence in the crucial North American and Asian source markets. “North America is a significant source market, not just for Airlink but for businesses, entrepreneurs and leisure travellers. Economic activity between South Africa and North America is increasing, including tourism, trade and commerce,” said…

SAUDIA Adds Johannesburg Flights

SAUDIA, in collaboration the Saudi Air Connectivity Programme (ACP) and the Saudi Tourism Authority, is launching flights to four new destinations including Johannesburg, Kano (Nigeria), Birmingham (UK), and Beijing. The new direct flight routes are being launched in response to the increase in consumer demand from travellers looking to visit or transit through Saudi from…

Airlink Adds Seasonal JNB-St Helena Flight

St Helena has welcomed a new mid-week Airlink flight connecting the remote destination with Johannesburg from November 2023. The new seasonal flight, which will operate on Tuesdays, will complement the regular scheduled flights to St Helena on Saturdays. The additional flight will be available during the Southern summer season, from November 28 to the end…

Tanzania to Shine at ITB Berlin

Tanzania Association of Tour Operators – TATO, is the largest association of tour operators, travel agents, DMCs, airlines, hotels, and different activity providers in Tanzania, East Africa. TATO members are experts in all tourism and travel services Tanzania has to offer: ~ wildlife safaris in the world-famous national parks, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, and…

Flydubai Expands to Somalia

Flydubai will expand its East Africa network with a new daily direct flight to Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, from March 9. The carrier will double the frequency of flights from June 1, making it the first carrier to connect Somalia directly with Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. Hamad Obaidalla, FlyDubai Chief Commercial Officer, said the…

Tanzania’s New Power Backup System Means Seamless Immigration Services

A key driver of a multi-billion-dollar tourism industry in Tanzania has offered a cutting-edge power backup system worth more than $15,000 to immigration department to guarantee seamless clearance services at Kilimanjaro International Airport. Idea behind the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO) to step up support is to complement the government efforts to create seamless,…

Zim Signs New ‘Open Skies’ Agreements

Zimbabwe’s Civil Aviation Authority (ZCAA) has announced the signing of new air service agreements (ASAs) and reviews of existing agreements, to both accelerate the country’s integration into the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and enhance access from overseas source markets. Signed at the ICAO Air Services Negotiation Conference in Nigeria in December 2022, the…

Uganda Gets Serious About MICE

The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) is on a quest to secure more Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Events (MICE) business from key source markets, including South Africa, in 2023 and beyond. Anthony Ochieng, UTB Market Development Representative, Africa, said there were already a good number of hotel meeting spaces in Uganda, with many exciting projects on…

EcoTraining Celebrates 30 Years

PIONEERS in safari guide and wildlife training, EcoTraining celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.“What sets us apart is the fact that our formally accredited courses are the most recognised of any training school in Africa. We are the original guide training school in South Africa with the largest, most diverse footprint in Africa,” said Corne…

Tanzania Recovery Hits 95% of Pre-COVID Figures

Tanzania’s full-year official figures show that international arrivals for 2022 were at over 95% of those recorded before the pandemic. According to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the number of foreign tourists who visited Tanzania last year increased to 1.45 million, up by 57.7% from the 922 692 recorded in 2021. More impressively, the…