Africa Safari Travel News

Mayor Insists on Gulu Road Repairs

November 19th, 2008

Repairing of the Gulu-Lacor road will continue, Gulu municipality mayor Christopher Acire has said.
The Uganda National Roads Authority had urged the municipality to start the repairs in 2010.

“In the last two years we have been struggling to raise money to start work on the Lacor road. This time, nothing will stop us from continuing with the work from Christ Church in town to Custom Corner, and later look for some more funds to finish up to Lacor.

“The Government has been singing about working on the road since 1996 but up to now no work has started on the road. So, how sure are we that the work will begin in 2010 as they are saying,” Acire said on Monday.
The mayor’s remark came after reading a letter written by town clerk Mackay Opolot Odele, who is on leave, to the acting town Clerk, Vincent Opiyo.

Odele asked Opio to convene a meeting so that the council gets an alternative road to tarmac instead of Lacor road.
The letter came after a meeting between the municipal technocrats and the UNRA officials in Gulu recently.

“It is not that we are stopping them from continuing with their plan.

“It’s because when a programme is on to tarmac a trunk road that passes through an urban authority, a link road of up to 5km into the urban centre from the trunk road is always tarmacked,” UNRA station engineer for Gulu, John Bigabwa, said.
Acire said the council had raised sh400m to start the work.

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East Africa to set up organisation to manage Lake Victoria.

November 19th, 2008

Members of the East African Community are set to sign an agreement that will set up an organisation to manage Lake Victoria. The decision to sign a water Release and Abstraction policy was agreed on last week in Zanzibar where member states agreed to establish “ an independent and transparent mechanism “ for monitoring the status of the lake.

Water and environmental minister Maria Mutagambe said: “the agreement will enable us to know how much water we are using and , therefore how best utilize the lake.” She said a study was commissioned two years ago to find out the lake’s abstraction. ‘We hired a consultant who has been given up to the end of this year to report the findings to the Lake Victoria Basin Commission.” She said although the new Agreed Curve Limits partitioning the lake between Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania had not yet been ratified, developments on the lake would goon until the signing of the covenant. “Tanzania had originally wanted to put a caveat on development projects, but the proposal was rejected by other members,” she said.

Earlier this moth, Egypt had also called for a pact in which it would have a say on any developments undertaken by Uganda that would affect the flow of River Nile, on which it heavily depends

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Kenya tourism third quarter earnings slump.

November 4th, 2008

Kenya’s third quarter tourism earnings fell 30% to $435 million as a violent post-election crisis at the start of the year hurt east Africa’s biggest economy, local media said.

Ethic and political clashes killed some 1,300 people and uprooted 300,000 more after a disputed December 27^th presidential poll. The bloodshed scared off many foreign holiday makers. Tourism, officials have since launched a marketing campaign to re assures visitors it is safe to return and they said other factors were also to blame for the drop in revenues.

“High fuel prices reduced demand for long haul destinations from major source markets,” Achieng Ongong’a head of Kenya tourists Board, told the Nation newspaper. Chaos in the financial markets may threaten the luxury travel segment. Wall street jobs, contribute about 10 percent to the luxury travel segment”

Kenya earned $640 million in the third quarter of 2007 from tourists drawn to its white beaches and picturesque game parks. , This quarter, Britons made up the biggest number of visitors with 42m763 arrivals. Holiday makers from the United states and Italy were second and third with 25,00 and 13,000 respectively. No tourists were hurt during the clashes in January and February and stability had returned since April when Kenya’s Politicians forged a coalition government to end the turmoil.

But officials have said they still expect full-year tourism earnings to fall 23 percent to around $ 665 million. Ongong’a said he was sure earnings for the fourth quarter of 2008 would improve, but would not reach the levels of the Q4 2007. “Although this year will not be good for us in terms of revenue and arrivals, we expect to get an improvement from the onset of winters” he said. Last month, Kenyan tourism authorities boosted their marketing spending by $13 million and said half the money would go on the united states Russia, the Middle East and China. The rest would be spent on traditional European markets, but would also target new countries including France and Spain.

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Kenya readies for Obama tourists boom.

November 4th, 2008

Holly wood has its star tours, Boston the freedom Trail. Now Kenya is busy planning a new addition to the world’s tourists treks- the Obama experience.

Ten days away from the US presidential elections, tour operators in the east African nations are positioning themselves for an Obama boom. Kogelo, the remote village home of Barak Obama’s grandmother, Sarah, is no-where near Kenya’s safari circuit. But the three hotels in the nearby city of Kisumu are booked solid for the week of the US elections as visitors make a pilgrimage to the region where Obama’s father was born and buried.

A sub-economy has sprung up around Mr Obama’s candidature with trinket and T-shirt traders, hawkers and kiosk operators hoping to do brisk business. Road side hotels and barber shops, boutiques and hair salons have been renamed after Obama to attract business. An east African breweries beer, Senator, has taken on new significance. “ People now say ‘I want a Obama’ when asking for senator” say a Kisumu Bar man.

Noah Ger, who runs a tour firm specializing in western Kenya tours, said interest was picking up for Kogelo day trips. Foreign correspondents are mining Kogelo and the slums of Nairobi and Kisumu for an Obama story- a new half brother was “discovered” in Hurumu, A poor Nairobi Neighborhood. For residents of Kisumu, which supported prime minister Raila Odinga in the bitterly disputed presidential elections in 2007 , Obama-mania is closely connected with local politics,. Mr Odinga is a member of Kenya’s Ethic Luo tribe- as was Mr Obama Father. It has become a common a common refrain among Kenyans that the US will have an ethic Luo president before Kenya does.

It’s almost as if we’re falling back on Obama as our only hope,” says Steve Sande, a Kisumu-based artists and activist.

“People are less interested in Obama becoming president than they are in the fact that a son of this place has made it.” “There’s always been this idea that our people have been neglected economically by the central government” say Mr Mande. If Obama wins, he says, the government will be forced to do things it has been unwilling to do for generations. “they will have to up grade the airport for instance”.

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KLM adds fifth frequency to Entebbe

November 3rd, 2008

KLM, in an effort to enhance tourism in uganda, has introduced a fifth flight to the current direct operations to and from Entebbe moving its frequencies to Uganda from the current four. many tourists have appreciated this move. This has been reflected in the current rise in the overall bookings reported by different tour companies in uganda.
This means the carrier’s customers will have more choice on when to travel with KLM, more convenient connections and reliability. The 5th flight will operate on Mondays beginning December 8, 2008 with Airbus A330 equipment.

In addition to the new flight, KLM has introduced extra flights to New York and Washington offering its clients earlier connections which lead to time savings while in transit at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. In June last year, the airline moved from three frequencies a week to four on the back of growing traffic on the route, which was re-introduced in November 2005.

Currently, the airline operates four frequencies a week into Entebbe from the Dutch capital. As of December 8, KLM will fly into Entebbe every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The schedule will not change as another flight will just be added onto what the airline is doing.

Kenya Airways, a partner with KLM operates two flights to Amsterdam out of Nairobi but the flights go up to three in the summer. In case all the three flights are full, passengers are re-routed through Entebbe. KLM flies to Dar es Salaam daily with a stop in Arusha.

KLM resumed operating direct scheduled services between Amsterdam and Entebbe on November 1, 2005. KLM’s decision to return to Uganda after a 30-year hiatus was prompted by Uganda’s booming economy and the growing demand for passenger services to and from Uganda.

Before that, KLM was offering twice-daily services to Entebbe via Nairobi through a code-sharing arrangement with KQ. This flight option has remained available to passengers after KLM launched its direct services to Entebbe.

With the increased frequency, KLM and KQ under their code-share agreement will now offer more than 15 weekly services between Amsterdam, Entebbe and Nairobi. Until the new frequency, the airline has been operating three direct services, plus 11 weekly flights via Nairobi. The Amsterdam-Entebbe route offers passengers from Uganda non-stop service within the Air France-KLM network.

The new flights, in combination with the successful code-sharing services already offered by KLM and KQ, will further strengthen Air France-KLM’s presence on the African continent. Air France operates a weekly freighter service between Paris and Entebbe via Nairobi.

By Deborah Allen

News reporter Uganda

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TPS Rolls Out Tented Camps As It Expands Across E. Africa

October 30th, 2008

Tourism Promotional Services of East Africa has started its roll out of a new product, Serena under Canvas, as part of its expansion plan that will see it open new units in Kenya and Tanzania.

The new product is expected to see TPS, which runs Serena Hotels, move into underdeveloped areas with high-end facilities in form of luxury tented camps.

The move is part of the company’s strategy to strengthen its safari business in the region and to offer tourists wider choices from the structured units.

Speaking at the weekend, TPS managing director, Mr. Mahmud Jan Mohamed, said 26 per cent of its business was from repeat clients and the expansion plan would enable Serena to offer them new experiences.

“Our expansion strategy will see us move to underdeveloped areas, which are less fragile compared to some of the areas where Kenya’s safari is concentrated,” he said.

Mr. Jan Mohamed was speaking at Nairobi Serena Hotel where he signed a lease agreement with Ol Pejeta Conservancy that will see the hospitality company continue to manage Sweet waters Tented Camp and Ol Pejeta House.

By Deborah Allen

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NFA Wants Eco-Tourism Developed

October 30th, 2008

Tour Operators and NFA officials in Budongo Forest. The National Forestry Authority (NFA) has appealed to the private sector to come together and improve eco- tourism in the country.

While conducting a tour of Mabira, Mpanga and Budongo forest reserves with tour operators, NFA’s eco-tourism specialist, Isaac Mweru, said in order to improve eco-tourism, there must be collaboration with different partners.

The officials included all the Tour Operators and Tour specialists in the Uganda; the tour was conducted from October 4 to 7.

“We have decided to manage the forest reserves with non-government organizations and people in the private sector. We need to sign a memorandum,” Mweru said.

He said NFA alone cannot manage all the sites because the majorities lack proper facilities like good roads and proper transportation.
“We lack proper facilities but if NGOs and other private sector players come on board, we shall address these problems,” Mweru added.

By Deborah Allen

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Tour operators want to end the gorilla tracking monopoly.

October 6th, 2008

Members of the Association of Uganda Tour Operators and the Nkuringo community in Kisoro district have demanded the removal of the monopoly on permits for Mountain gorillas.

They said the arrangement that allocated six out of eight permits to the community he canceled. Appearing before the parliamentary committee on tourism, trade and industry, the state minister for tourism, Nelson Gagawala said the monopoly was damaging the development of the industry.

The operators said that packages without gorilla trekking did not sell, yet the permits were left to Uganda safaris Company. The company went into partnership with only 23 members of the Nkuringo community to form the Nkuringo Conservation and development Foundation. James Bakeine of Nile Safaris limited said the monopoly on gorilla permits had forced about 40 hotels in Kisoro district to close. He said the two gorilla permits which where left for the rest, are either boarded or sold off in advance at inflated rates. Uganda safaris Company is owned by Jonathan Right, a board member of the Uganda wildlife Authority.

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Game Parks to Get 5-Star Hotels

July 30th, 2008

By Deborah Allen Nakawojwa

Tours Uganda news reporter
Kampala Uganda

Six five-star hotels are to be constructed in six national parks to boost tourism, the tourism state minister, Serapio Rukundo, has said.

Kidepo Valley National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Lake Mburo National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park would get the hotels.

“We are in negotiations with investors like Kempinski Hotels, Hilton Hotels, Sheraton Hotels and Serena Hotels to construct these hotels by 2012,” Rukundo said while launching the Pearl of Africa Tree at Akright Kakungulu Satellite City on Entebbe Road.

He said more hotels were needed near game parks to accommodate tourists.
“For our tourists to face nature in its virginity, see animals like climbing lions and relax, accommodation within the parks has to be improved.”

Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Uganda, with earnings expected to reach $500m (about sh820b) annually.
Last year, over 770,000 people visited Uganda. They included businesspeople, conference attendants, cross border tourists and participants at the Commonwealth summit.

Urban planning state minister, Urban Tibamanya, said the Government was looking for investors to partner with Kampala slum-dwellers to develop the slums.

He said that investors would construct storeyed buildings and share floors with the slum-dwellers

Anatoli Kamugisha, the Akright managing director, asked the Government to enact strong laws to protect rare tree species like the Pearl of Africa Tree.

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Emirates to End Delays

June 25th, 2008

Deborah Allen Nakawojwa

Tours uganda news reporter
Kampala Uganda

Emirates air lines is planning to end delays by closing the boarding gate 15 minute before taking off, a statement revealed. “The 15minutes before departure gate closure is in consideration of customers who arrive on time for their flights.

It will allow aircraft to take off as scheduled as it takes about 15 minutes to locate and off load gabbage of missing or late customers”. Mohamed H Matter, Emirates senior vice president for airport services in Dubai, explained. The new policy, which is also aimed at ensuring customers do not miss connecting flight, took effect on June 22. Latecomers to the boarding gate will be left behind.

Passengers in transit who arrive late into Dubai will be helped by airport staff through formalities to make onward connections. Customers will be reminded about the policy when they check in. written reminders have been placed on e-tickets, tend cards in lounges, restaurants ad smoking areas.

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Africa Safari Travel News

Mayor Insists on Gulu Road Repairs

East Africa to set up organisation to manage Lake Victoria.

Kenya tourism third quarter earnings slump.

Kenya readies for Obama tourists boom.

KLM adds fifth frequency to Entebbe

TPS Rolls Out Tented Camps As It Expands Across E. Africa

NFA Wants Eco-Tourism Developed

Tour operators want to end the gorilla tracking monopoly.

Game Parks to Get 5-Star Hotels

Emirates to End Delays

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