New York Times Includes South Africa in “52 Places” List for 2022

From the New York Times: After nearly two years of restricted travel and the recent detection of the Omicron coronavirus variant, South Africa’s many outstanding wildlife reserves and conservation projects are badly in need of support. Lockdowns caused a 96 percent drop in visits to South Africa’s national parks, jeopardizing the efforts of places like iSimangaliso Wetland Park,…

Six Top Trends for Travel to Africa in 2022

With 2022 around the corner, Africa experts have shared their top trends to Africa for the coming year: Exclusivity and privacy “We expect to see more requests for private experiences that allow guests to enjoy specific attractions in the most exclusive way possible,” said Wayne Nupen, regional touring director at AndBeyond. Regenerative travel “‘Restorative safaris…

AirKenya Adds Tsavo To Its Network

Safari airline, AirKenya, has expanded its network by adding Tsavo National Park to its destinations. The flight is already operational from the Finch Hatton airstrip (FIH) in the park. The daily service leaves Wilson Airport in Nairobi at 07h30, arriving at 08h30 via Amboseli National Park. The return service departs Finch Hatton at 08h45 and…

Registration Now Open for Meetings Africa

Registration for the 16th Meetings Africa is officially open. Following the announcement by South African Tourism last year that the trade show would be staged in a physical format after its absence in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Meetings Africa is set to reignite Africa’s business events industry. “The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll…

Seychelles Begins Contactless Screening

A brand-new biometric corridor for traveller health screening has been installed at Seychelles International Airport, making the country only the second in the world after the UAE to use walk-through biometrics. The ‘bio-corridor’ identifies the individual traveller using biometric facial recognition technology and checks their temperature with a thermal camera. Fully integrated with the Seychelles…

Longest Giraffe Translocation Ever Undertaken by Road from South Africa to Malawi

A collaboration between Giraffe Conservation Foundation, African Parks and Department of National Parks and Wildlife is helping Malawi to repopulate some of its protected areas with Giraffe. Few months ago, the longest wild Giraffe translocation ever was undertaken by road. 10 South African Giraffe made their historic trip to Malawi where they joined the 13 giraffe already…

Kenya’s Tourism Numbers Up By 40%

For the first 10 months of 2021 (January to October) Kenya recorded a 40.8% growth in tourism numbers, with 663 036 visitors over the period compared with 470 971 arrivals over the same period in 2020. This was highlighted by Magical Kenya, the country’s official destination website. The destination organisation said this year could see even further performances in tourism…

Mozambique Proclaims New Maputo National Park

Mozambique’s Council for Ministers has issued a decree to formally merge the terrestrial and marine ecosystems of Maputo Special Reserve and Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve into one conservation area, the new Maputo National Park. The proclamation of the 1 700 sqkm park follows two decades of intensive development and restoration activities led by the…

Qatar Airways Returns to South Africa

As South Africa’s airlift gradually returns following the global Omicron variant scare of late November 2021, agents will be relieved to hear that Qatar Airways will  start carrying passengers outbound from South Africa into its Doha hub, on its 21 weekly flights from South Africa, starting January 13. On that date, the airline will resume double-daily…

Temporary Closure of Angama Mara Airfield

Following the appropriation of the Angama Mara Airfield late last year by the Kenyan Government, the Kenya Airports Authority has announced the temporary closure of the airfield with immediate effect. This will allow for planned upgrades to take place, including an improved and slightly lengthened tarmac runway and a chain-link fence which will mean a safer flying…

Emirates Places Restrictions on Flights to Africa

Concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have led Emirates airline to place restrictions on flights from a number of African countries. Bans initially covered southern African nations, following a decree from the UAE government in November preventing travellers from seven countries, including Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia, from entering the UAE. Restrictions have since…

Zambia Opens to South Africas

The Government of Zambia has announced that, with immediate effect, the entry regulations have been changed. This is contained in a government-issued notice ‘Guidance for travel to Zambia in view of the Covid-19 Pandemic’. Arrivals from all countries need only a negative PCR test certificate, from a test taken in the 72 hours before departure.…

New Entry Requirements for Travel to Kenya

Please be advised that the Government of Kenya has just announced new Covid safety requirements for travelers visiting Kenya. Effective 21st December 2021: All passengers arriving into Kenya through any point of entry must have a certificate of COVID-19 vaccination. Travelers below the age of eighteen (18) years are exempt from this requirement. All passengers coming to…

Crackdown on Rhino Poaching Following Massacre

Four suspects have been arrested following the massacre of four rhino, including a pregnant female, on Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve in the Western Cape last week. This was confirmed by Inverdoorn owner, Searl Derman: “As previously mentioned, the South African Police Service, Cape Nature, forensic investigator Wayne Stoltz – who was instrumental in solving the 2011 Aquila poaching incident –…

RwandAir Returns to South African Skies

RwandAir has announced the resumption of daily services to Southern Africa, to both Johannesburg and Lusaka, effective December 23. Entry requirements, destination by destination, can be seen here: https://bit.ly/2T73OVu Note: A certificate of a negative COVID-19 test is required for all travellers arriving or transiting in, or departing from Rwanda. The only accepted test is a…

Seychelles Again Wins World’s Most Romantic Destination at World Travel Awards

Seychelles has won the World’s Most Romantic Destination title for the second consecutive year at the 28th World Travel Awards, the Tourism Department said Thursday. The island nation came in first in the romance category ahead of other nominees which included Antigua & Barbuda, the Atacama Desert, Chile, Bali, Indonesia, Jamaica, Jordan, Maldives, Mauritius, Saint Lucia, the Bahamas…

The Moutya, a Traditional Dance in Seychelles, Added to UNESCO’s List of Intangible Heritage

The Seychelles’ traditional Moutya dance has been added to UNESCO‘s list of intangible heritage — the first cultural tradition of the island nation to receive such recognition, an official said on Thursday. Moutya was added to the list on December 15th and the Secretary General of the Seychelles Institute of Culture, Heritage and the Arts, David Andre, said that…

Uganda’s ‘Dr. Gladys’ Honored by U.N. for Work Linking Conservation and Health

Years before the obsession with wild-borne pathogens latching onto humans gripped the world, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka was already dealing with disease spillovers. Except, she worried about humans infecting gorillas in her native Uganda. “Disease transmission goes in both directions,” says Kalema-Zikusoka, a trained wildlife veterinarian. It demonstrates, albeit narrowly, an idea gaining currency in the COVID-19…

New Zambia Airways Takes Flight

The new version of Zambia Airways has taken to the skies and the airline has ambitions to fly to Johannesburg and to service at least two routes in Zimbabwe. The new airline forms a building block in Ethiopian’s hub strategy across Africa. The publication New Business Ethiopia says Ethiopian Airlines has a 45% stake in the joint…

Crackdown on Rhino Poaching Following Massacre

Four suspects have been arrested following the massacre of four rhino, including a pregnant female, on Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve in the Western Cape last week. This was confirmed by Inverdoorn owner, Searl Derman: “As previously mentioned, the South African Police Service, Cape Nature, forensic investigator Wayne Stoltz – who was instrumental in solving the 2011 Aquila poaching incident –…

Cape Town and US – United Again!

United Airlines has resumed its thrice-weekly non-stop service between its New York/Newark hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and Cape Town, with a special (grey) water salute marking the arrival of the first flight UA1122 into Cape Town International Airport last night (Thursday, December 2). The seasonal service was operated for the first time from December 2019…

New Airport Opens in Mozambique

The government of Mozambique has opened a new international airport, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi Airport, at Chongoene, near Xai-Xai in the Gaza province, making the region accessible by air for the first time. The airport was officially opened by President Filipe Nyusi, who said it would promote the development of the local and regional economy, especially with…

Ethiopian Airlines Wins ‘Best African Airline’ Award at the 2021 Business Traveller Awards

Africa’s largest aviation group, Ethiopian Airlines, has been crowned as the ‘Best African Airline’ at the 2021 Business Traveller Awards. The votes made by the business travellers for this year took into account the COVID period with key questions covering airlines’ effectiveness in communication, effective implementation of COVID precautionary measures, handling of loyalty program member…

Kenya Airways and South African Airways Seal Strategic Partnership Towards Starting a Pan-African Airline Group

The new advanced partnership is a key milestone towards both airlines’ ambitions of co-starting a Pan-African Airline Group by 2023. The partnership framework follows the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) that the two airlines signed two months ago to foster the exchange of knowledge, expertise, innovation, digital technologies, and best practice between the two airlines. The…

Africa’s Eden Tourism Association Shares Open Letter Regarding Southern Africa Travel Bans

Appeal for taking a “risk-based and scientific approach” to travel bans to Southern Africa with consideration of the devastating human implications following the announcement of the B.1.1.529 variant of COVID-19. Africa’s Eden Tourism Association is a private sector, membership based organisation representing the tourism ecosystem in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We are appealing to…

Seychelles Closes Borders to Southern African Countries Due to New COVID-19 Variant

Visitors from seven southern African countries will not be permitted to enter Seychelles from Saturday November 27 until further notice under new travel measures announced by the local health authorities on Friday due to a new variant of COVID-19. The Ministry of Health said that the new restrictions apply to South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia…