From the end of this month, Lufthansa will re-introduce direct services to Cape Town. The flights will operate three times a week. Dr André Schulz, Lufthansa’s GM Southern Africa and East Africa, says this brings a new sense of optimism, adding that he believes we are starting to see the light at the end of…
The Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE 2021) is the first-ever virtual tourism expo in Uganda with a focus on the recovery, rebuilding, reconnecting, and rebooting of the Ugandan Tourism sector. POATE is a tourism exposition organized annually by the Uganda Tourism Board. The launch of POATE 2021 taking place from April 23-25, 2021 is…
The Uganda Ministry of Health is finalizing efforts to start COVID-19 vaccinations on March 10, 2021, after officially launching on March 8, with the tourism sector among priority sectors. Priority will be guided by occupational risk of infection, risk of developing severe disease, death from COVID-19, and demographics (depending on age, gender, and geographical location).…
Qatar Airways is increasing seat capacity into the Seychelles this summer as the tourist hotspot reopens up to the world again. The Indian Ocean islands will be welcoming visitors who will only need to present a negative PCR test taken 72-hours before departure. There will be no quarantine requirement or restriction on movement on those arriving via…
Malawi on Thursday rolled out the first phase of a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign. President Lazarus Chakwera was the first to receive the jab in the small town of Zomba, some 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the country’s commercial city of Blantyre. He described the COVID-19 vaccination program as a major milestone for Malawi as…
In line with the efforts made by Egypt’s diplomatic missions and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to repatriate Egyptian antiquities smuggled abroad, Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zaid, the Egyptian ambassador to Canada, received a bronze artifact of the Goddess Bastet belonging to the ancient Egyptian civilization, in a ceremony of a limited number in the…
Tatenda Safaris is to open a new property, Monde Apartments, in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, before year-end. The property, which is 12 km from Victoria Falls along the airport road, will offer 12 luxury rooms and conference facilities for up to 200 guests. Tatenda Safaris proprietor, Dr Rangarirayi Gunda, said construction was already under way. “We hope to open…
As part of boosting its services in the tourism industry, Malawi’s leading hotel chain, Sunbird Hotels and Resorts is geared to open its new premier beach resort in the lakeshore side of Salima District in May. Named Sunbird Waterfront, a 42-room new beach resort is located adjacent to Sunbird Livingstonia Beach and has all rooms…
Travellers will not be able to spend the upcoming Easter holidays in Mauritius. The island will remain closed to tourists for the first half of the year, including the Easter holiday period and the island has just announced the extension of its mandatory quarantine period until May 31. MD of World Leisure Holidays, Ramesh Jeenarain, said…
Hotel Sky in Johannesburg is the first African hotel to deploy robot staff members. Whilst this hotel is the first of its kind on the continent, robot concierges have been around for a while, with Tokyo’s Henn’na or ‘Strange’ hotel becoming the first to be fully staffed by machines in 2015. The robots in Hotel…
The Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles had one of the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine rollouts, and this month it aims to again break ground by reaching so-called “herd immunity.” In an interview with The Associated Press, President Wavel Ramkalawan said that goal should be reached in mid-March, “when we would have vaccinated 70,000 of…
Traveling to the USA from certain African countries now requires additional public health interventions. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on February 24, 2021, the U.S. government will funnel travelers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Guinea to six U.S. airports. The CDC will institute public health measures…
Zimbabwe has eased its national lockdown measures, reopening the major sectors of the economy. After a surge in infections at the beginning of the year, Level 4 national lockdown was reintroduced on January 5. However, noting a decline in the number of deaths and hospitalisations, President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced the easing of restrictions during his State of…
Government has officially acknowledged the need to address the negative publicity surrounding the so-called SA variant of COVID-19 – which has seen airlines cancel flights and governments impose travel bans. It has reportedly instructed South African Tourism and Brand South Africa to lead a global campaign to rebrand the new variant according to its scientific…
Virgin Atlantic has once again extended the cancellation of all flights on its South African routes (Johannesburg-London and Cape Town-London). The previous no-fly was set to end March 9, but flights are now cancelled for an additional week, with a new ban from March 10-16. The carrier said in a notice to agents that because…
South Africa has started Covid-19 vaccinations following the suspension of an earlier plan to use the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. More than a third of all Covid-19 cases in Africa have been in South Africa, with a new variant of the virus accounting for most of the new cases there. What vaccines is South Africa using? South…
Kenya has put in place stringent measures on its borders with Tanzania in the wake of a sharp spike in COVID-19 infections in the neighboring country. Measures will see Kenyans entering the country from Tanzania undergo the mandatory 14 day quarantine at the port of entry before being allowed in. They will also be forced…
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Qatar Airways continues to be the leading global carrier connecting South Africa by operating one of the largest and most reliable networks in the region. Having become the largest international carrier during the early stages of the pandemic, the airline has applied its knowledge of global passenger flows and booking trends…
The Seychelles Islands luxury segment expands as the tropical island destination welcomes STORY (Seychelles) and L’Escale Resort Marina & Spa two exclusive properties on Mahé. Launched in January 2021, L’Escale Resort Marina & Spa lies off the North East coast of Mahe on the site of the previously Wharf Hotel close to Eden Island, inviting…
Nyala Lodge, located in Lengwe National Park and run by Malawi tour operator Jambo Africa, has been expanded with a brand new Conference Centre, which has now opened. The conference centre, which was completed in late October 2020 can seat up to 40 people and tables can be adjusted to suit the conference. The room is fully kitted…
City of Cape Town, in conjunction with Cape Town Tourism (CTT), today (Monday, February 22) launched its Digital Nomad initiative – which aims to encourage domestic and international audiences to consider Cape Town as a remote working destination. This follows news earlier this year that Cape Town had made the 2021 list for the 50 Best Cities…
Courtyard Hotel Rosebank has refurbished its bedrooms and reopened at the beginning of the year to accommodate its first group of guests since its temporary suspension of services at the start of lockdown. With fresh furniture, furnishings and air-conditioning units, the hotel is keen to welcome back guests. Read more here
South Africa’s low-cost airline kulula.com, today announced that it will resume its operations at Lanseria International Airport from 1 April 2021, servicing its Durban and Cape Town routes. Read more here
The Western Cape government – through its Cape Town Air Access (CTAA) team – has secured an agreement with TAP Air Portugal for a direct flight to Cape Town, starting from November. Further details on the route will be revealed soon. This was announced today (February 17) by Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, during his State of…
Zimbabwe has extended the level four COVID-19 lockdown by a further two weeks until March 1. President Emmerson Mnangagwa noted that while the national lockdown goals were now within reach, the numbers of active cases and deaths were still high. “Since the implementation of the current lockdown, which ended on February 15, we have witnessed a marked…
There are few places in the world as beautiful, or as vulnerable as the Outer Islands of Seychelles. While the archipelago in the western Indian Ocean is made up of 115 islands, its 72 Outer Islands are undoubtedly its most remote and preserved locations. Situated at distances ranging from 60 minutes to two and half…
Twenty South African land borders that have been closed for more a month, have re-opened today. This past Saturday, cabinet gave the go-ahead for the reopening for these border posts: Source: Department of Home Affairs South Africa’s land borders have been closed since 11 January after large traveller volumes caused massive bottlenecks, particularly at the Beitbridge border with…
Zimbabwe will roll out the COVID-19 vaccine this week, targeting frontline workers and others from the essential services first, according to President, Emmerson Mnangagwa. The first batch of 200 000 COVID-19 vaccines arrived from China on Monday (February 15). “The faster our country is protected against this virus, the faster Zimbabwe’s economy can flourish,” said Mnangagwa.…
The South African government on Tuesday launched a 1.2-billion-rand (79.4-million-U.S.-dollar) fund to support the tourism sector amid the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic. The Tourism Equity Fund will be used in particular to help facilitate “the participation of black entrants, women and persons with disabilities,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in the virtual launch of the…
Get the opportunity to preserve wildlife and enjoy living on a 96 400ha (240 000-acre) big-5 private game reserve in the Kalahari Desert. This new project offers a true perspective of the problems facing African Wildlife and allows guests to give something back to the continent’s conservation efforts in one of the continent’s last remaining…
Kenyan charter airline Fly-SAX is buying SA Express for R50 million, Parliament has been told on Wednesday. The East African airline has already paid R24,7 milion of the purchase price. SA Express has been in provisional liquidation since April 2020. One of the provisional liquidators of SA Express, Aviwe Ndyamara, has been briefing Parliament’s select committee on…
Hilton has just announced two new properties in the Seychelles, one of which sounds like it could be incredible. This is in addition to the recent announcement of the Mango House Seychelles, which is a new LXR Hilton property. Waldorf Astoria Platte Island Seychelles This is without a doubt the more exciting addition, even though details are limited…
Gorilla trekking in Africa just got a bit more difficult, at least for the short term. Rwanda last week announced new measures to fight the recent rise of COVID-19 cases. These adopted resolutions will be applied immediately and will continue through Feb. 22, at which time the situation will be reviewed. The most important updates…
South African airline FlySafair will be introducing a Johannesburg to Mauritius route once the two countries’ borders reopen. “This is indeed good news for both the Mauritius and South African tourism industries and will provide many exciting opportunities and collaborations going forward. While the travel ban is still in place, South Africa remains one of…
RwandAir plans to start flights from Kigali to New York (JFK) via Accra, in a bid to boost the airline’s recovery post-COVID. The national carrier said in a statement that it had applied to the US Department of Transportation to provide passenger and cargo flights between Rwanda and the US. Subject to regulatory approval, the…
The ongoing ban on direct flights from South Africa to the UK has resulted in Virgin Atlantic extending the suspension of its South African services until the end of February. “We are keeping a close eye on updates from the UK with regard to the imposed travel restrictions. There is, regretfully, currently no end date…
Gonarezhou National Park in the south-east of Zimbabwe will be closed until the end of February for rehabilitation and maintenance, including roads that were damaged during heavy rains last year. Camps in the park – Mananga Camps, Chinguli and Chilojo Bushcamp – that closed at the end of November, are scheduled to reopen at the…
President Lazarus Chakwera says his government will begin vaccinating Malawians against COVID-19 in early March. Addressing the nation on Sunday, President Chakwera says the first consignment of the vaccine would arrive in Malawi in February; with doctors among the 20 percent cohort prioritised to get the drug. Meanwhile, the president urged citizens to stop spreading…
The Seychelles is now welcoming all travelers who have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to visit the country. The announcement follows the launch of the destination’s national immunization campaign, which includes plans to vaccinate most of its adult population by March. A valid vaccination certificate is required by all visitors for entry and at least two weeks must have passed…
Zimbabwe has extended the level four national COVID-19 lockdown by a further two weeks until February 15 following a spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths. Acting President and Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Constantino Chiwenga, said the level four lockdown – which came into force on January 5 – had stabilised the situation, with…
The launch of RwandAir’s new service to the Central African Republic is part of the carrier’s recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as it opens up new markets and destinations. The Kigali-based airline will fly to Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, twice a week from February 3, with flights operating on Wednesdays and Sundays. Tagged to the existing route…
The Blue Train announced that it would resume full operations this month, after a temporary shutdown in December, and a partial offering in January. “We are happy that, as the year begins, we are back on track, offering the best of African luxury rail experience,” said Lekhetho Mokoena, Operations Manager of The Blue Train. In line…
Ethiopian Airlines and CemAir are implementing an interline agreement that will allow passengers to travel seamlessly with a single ticket between points within the carriers’ networks. “Ethiopian Airlines is a strong partner and, with the significant changes in the South African airline industry, we look forward to working closely with it as we expand our…
Coffee is a widely consumed beverage all over the world and in Uganda, a country that also lists it as one of its main cash crops. The hilly and mountainous areas in the east are ideal for its growth. Kapchorwa in eastern Uganda is one of the many places where Arabica coffee favourably grows. From…
President Joe Biden is expected to block travel for non-United States citizens who have recently visited South Africa as the spread of a new and concerning coronavirus variant has been detected. The ban is to begin on Saturday. Biden will also reinstate a ban on most travel from the United Kingdom, many countries in Europe,…
Uganda is conducting clinical trials of a domestically developed drug to cure COVID-19 infections after nearly a year of research by Ugandan scientists, the government said on Wednesday. Uganda has confirmed 39,188 COVID-19 cases and 318 deaths – a much lower toll than in most countries. Experts attribute the East African country’s relative success so…
Emirates will increase its weekly flights to Zimbabwe and Zambia from February. The airline, which has recorded a gradual increase in travel on the Dubai-Harare-Lusaka route, said frequency would be increased from three flights a week to four. The fourth flight will operate on Wednesdays, using a Boeing 777-300ER. This complements its current Friday, Saturday and…
For their 33rd annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey, Conde Nast readers leaned in heavily into nostalgia. With travel largely on pause this year, it seems what they may have missed most was a coveted beach vacation where they could get away from it all. Whether you’re looking for a calm stretch of sand in the Caribbean or a family-friendly…
Airlink will resume scheduled air services to and from Skukuza Airport in the Kruger National Park, with effect from Thursday, January 28. The airport was temporarily closed on January 14, after a local outbreak of COVID-19 in the nearby Lower Sabie rest camp. A media release said Airlink flights would operate on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays…
Qatar Airways has signed an interline agreement with Mango, further expanding its presence in South Africa. The agreement with Mango will provide passengers with connectivity via Johannesburg and Cape Town to Zanzibar, and Durban, Port Elizabeth, George, Bloemfontein and East London in South Africa. “Mango Airlines is delighted to announce an interline e-ticketing agreement between…