The number of charter airlines flying to Moi International Airport in Mombasa, Kenya, from Europe has increased to 32, raising prospects for more tourist arrivals for Kenya safaris.

The Airport manager Yatich Kangugo said 29 chartered aircraft plied the route last year when the airport handled 1.4 million passengers.

The latest addition is Yes Airways of Poland, which made a maiden flight from Warsaw to Mombasa with more than 200 passengers.

Finair from Finland and Novair from Sweden are expected to make inaugural flights to Mombasa between next month and December.

Alitalia from Italy is also expected to make a comeback by year end, followed early next year by Transavia from Russia and 1time airline from South Africa.

Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda airlines have scheduled flights to the tourism hub as well as Precision Air from Tanzania.

“The entry of new airlines from South Africa, Poland, Finland, Sweden and Russia indicates that the number of passenger traffic is on a high,” said Kangugo.

He said the flights could increase the arrivals by 100,000. The airport has a capacity of 2.5 million passenger traffic per year.

By Jean,

Africa Safari & Travel News

Uganda’s skies have continued to attract attention of international airlines as they seek to tap into the country’s growing passenger traffic.

Following Qatar Airways’ recent announcement to enter Uganda’s airline business, Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier, announced it’s re-launch of flights to Entebbe effective December.

Mr. Karim Makhlouf, the Gulf Air chief commercial officer, said during a news conference in Kampala that the re-launch is part of the airline’s strategy to expand to diverse and niche locations beyond Middle East and Bahrain in a bid to spur investment, trade and leisure travel between the two countries.

The re-launch of the airline’s flights to Entebbe, will give Ugandan travelers another alternative airline to the Middle East, Europe and Asian destinations with Ugandans currently using Emirates, Kenya Airways, British Airways and KLM to fly to these destinations.

Gulf Air suspended services to Entebbe eight years ago, saying it was undergoing restructuring to enhance the efficiency and attractiveness of its operations but has now come back after realising that Uganda is a growing market with a lot of potential.

Qatar Airways, a Doha-based airline is expected to commence daily flights between Doha and Entebbe in November.

By Jean

Africa Safari & Travel News

The national carrier of the State of Qatar, Qatar Airways, is set to begin daily flights to Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport from November 2.

Entebbe will be the airline’s 16th route within Africa, joining its ever-growing global network spanning over 100 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.

Qatar Airways already has a successful operation to the Kenyan capital Nairobi and the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam, launched four years ago.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said: “We are pleased to be reinforcing our presence in Africa with the latest addition of scheduled flights to Uganda, allowing us to further serve the African public.

The launch of Qatar Airways in Uganda will give business people and tourists direct flights to Doha and beyond.

With this exposure, Uganda will be able to attract more tourists for Uganda safaris offering activities like white water rafting, bungee jumping, kayaking at the source of River Nile, wildlife safaris in the national parks, gorilla tracking, chimp safaris, mountain climbing safaris and so much more.

By Jean,

Africa Safari & Travel News

Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel and Tourism Africa Fair, Africa’s second largest tourism exhibition that takes place in Zimbabwe is set to start on Saturday with about 1 000 exhibitors and buyers.

The Fair is currently rated the continent’s second largest tourism showcase, after the Indaba held in Durban, South Africa.

Previous editions were a resounding success with the world converging in Zimbabwe in the form of high- calibre international buyers as well as exhibitors, hence achieving its main purpose of providing a platform, “Where the world meets Africa“.

Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive Mr. Karikoga Kaseke said he was confident that this edition would surpass the previous ones in terms of both the business generated and attendance.

“This year’s edition has registered over 650 exhibitors and over 200 trade buyers and media. It is my sincere hope that the local industry will take the opportunity and afford our visitors an opportunity to sample the Zimbabwean hospitality,” he said.

According to Mr. Kaseke, the success of this year’s fair has been made possible by the support from the Government of Zimbabwe, local media, the local tourism players, with special mention going to the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry.

By Jean,

Africa Safari & Travel News

Tourist arrivals into Zimbabwe are expected to hit the 2.5 million mark this year due to increased confidence with arrivals peaking to the 1996 levels last year. According to Tourism and Hospitality Industry secretary Dr Silvester Maunganidze, Zimbabwe received over 2.3 million visitors, equalling the 1996 figures.

The arrivals would increase this year as more countries lifted travel warnings to Zimbabwe. We expect an increase in tourist arrivals because of the various strategies that we have undertaken as a ministry to tell the true Zimbabwean story and also portraying Zimbabwe as a must-go tourist destination,” Dr Maunganidze said.

He said the Buy Zimbabwe campaign and the stable environment had played a huge part in rebuilding tourists’ confidence in Zimbabwe. Dr Maunganidze said Zimbabwe was now the second biggest tourist destination in the region after South Africa.

“We are now second only to South Africa in tourist arrivals and we believe the sector will continue to grow and contribute to Zimbabwe’s economic recovery,” he said.

Tourist arrivals slumped to record lows due to bad publicity on Zimbabwe by the Western media after Government’s successful land reform programme. However, the arrivals have picked up since the formation of the inclusive Government in 2009.

By Jean

Africa Safari & Travel News