Category: Africa

Ghana is planning to have a 40 week long domestic tourism campaign to boost the tourism sector. It was announced by Catherine Afeku, Minister for Tourism Arts and Culture. The campaign named ‘Do Ghana’ is an initiative by culture tourism ambassador and culture advocate PaJohn Bentsifi Dadson and will focus boosting the domestic travel market and encouraging local people explore Ghana’s beautiful landscapes and scenery. The campaign will be officially launched in February 2019 and will run for 40 consecutive weeks. A social media campaign has been created and will be in collaboration with Bentsifi, Graphic Communications, GHOne TV and ... Read more

    Ministry of Tourism, Kenya,  is to establish five regional tourism councils in January next year,  as part of the Tourism Recovery Strategy and for product diversification. “The proposed five tourism council blocs include Rift Valley, the Lake Region, the Northern Region, Nairobi and the Coast and they will partner with the Kenya Tourism Board in promotion and marketing of the country’s vast tourist attractions,” said Najib Balala, Tourism Cabinet Secretary. Drift Valley, Kenya The move is expected to facilitate product diversification and intensify marketing of Kenya as an ideal tourist destination.  Kenya’s vast tourist attractions have already put ... Read more

Tourism minister inaugurates the ALEX center Local farmers of Jamaica has earned around USD 39 million from the Agri-Linkages Exchange (ALEX) pilot project of the Tourism Ministry. The project has assisted 400 local farmers with the marketing of approximately 360,000 kg of agricultural products. ALEX, which is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Tourism and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), is the first online platform of its kind in the country. It brings hoteliers in direct contact with the farmers and could avoid unwanted middlemen and thus retain more of the economic benefits to the local people. The ... Read more

Daudi Migereko, the chairperson of the Uganda Tourism Board, has suggested to appoint Quiin Abenakyo, the reigning 2018 Miss Uganda as the tourism ambassador for Uganda. Quiin Abenakyo has finished 3rd in the just concluded Miss World 2018 pageant, which was held on Saturday December 8th at Chinese island of Hainan, where Vanessa Ponce De Leon of Mexico bagged the title crown. Quiin Abenakyo was crowned Miss Africa 2018 for finishing first among all beauty queens from the African continent who participated in the beauty pageant. Quiin Abenakyo being crowned Miss Africa 2018 The chairperson of the Uganda Tourism Board ... Read more

Chinese tourists can now directly book a tour package to Rwanda on the online travel platform of Alibaba. It was announced by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) on Wednesday in a statement. The launch of ‘Visit Rwanda’ pavilion on Alibaba’s travel arm, Fliggy, followed the launch of the Chinese e-commerce giant’s Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) in October, which aims at promoting tourism in Rwanda. Rwandan government and Alibaba have signed a MoU for the purpose.  According to the MoU, eWTP, Fliggy and the RDB will work together to promote Rwanda as a tourist destination through a Rwanda Tourism Store ... Read more

Narok County Government in South West Kenya has partnered with Reuters Plus, the branded content studio of a multimedia news provider, to launch ‘Moments of Wonder’, a global campaign documenting the evolving world of Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve and surrounding conservancies. The programme showcases the benefits tourism brings to the region. These include new opportunities for the Maasai people, female empowerment and the creation of local guardians who are protecting the remarkable wildlife for future generations. The ‘Moments of Wonder’ campaign comprises a digital interactive experience, including five videos and six first-person articles exploring the lives of the Maasai, ... Read more

Kenya tourism seeks the help of hotliers for driving the marketing campaign of the country.  Najib Balala, Tourism secretary has met with hotliers to discuss the marketing programmes. Top hoteliers of the country have been appointed by the tourism secretary to help with the development of tourism by formulating marketing strategies for a sector that suffered a series of terrorism attacks, which discouraged foreign tourists to visit the country for several years. The hoteliers have to feed the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) with the new trends in Kenya’s tourism sector to help promote the country as business and leisure travel ... Read more

Filipe Nyusi, The President of Mozambique, said that culture and tourism are complementary of one another, and that the country must take advantage of its potential to boost development, aiming to be the most sought-after tourist destination in Africa by 2025. He was speaking on the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Culture and Tourism on Tuesday, November 2, 207 in Maputo. “Tourism requires a multitude of services, including access routes, transport, water, health services, infrastructure, and security, among others,” said Nyusi. Combined efforts in encouraging a harmonious environment, enabling national and international investment, and adopting effective marketing mechanisms ... Read more

Stephen Asiimwe, the CEO, Uganda Tourism Board addressing journalists at Media Center on November 27 Coffee Tourism Uganda in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture is set to host the first ever Coffee Tourism expo. The 3-day expo which will be held at the Kampala Serena will run from 14th to 16th December, 2018. Coffee Tourism Uganda, in collaboration with the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) under the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and the Uganda Local Government Association, organizes the first ever Coffee Tourism expo. The 3-day expo ... Read more

Rwanda showcased its products in China International Import Expo (CIIE) for the first time, as it intensifies efforts to diversify its exports. The country is one the 172 nations participating at the exhibition, which ends today, 10th November 2018. The exhibition attracted more than 3,600 enterprises. Rwanda was represented by the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), Utexrwa, C&H Garments, and Urumuri handcrafts. Rwandan Coffee This came just days after the Rwandan government launched a partnership with China’s Alibaba Group to market its tourism opportunities as well as sell its products on the company’s trading platform. “The expo was a ... Read more

The Kenyan government to review a charter incentives program to incorporate low-cost carriers and scheduled flights to boost inbound tourism. Joe Okudo, permanent secretary at the tourism ministry, said the number of charters has risen from one charter (Condor Airlines) to 10 now, boosting tourism business in the region, which has been affected by negative travel advisories. “This move will not only strengthen our destination’s brand visibility as a whole in the source markets but increase visitor number. It will allow us to venture into joint marketing initiatives with the airline operator and the travel agents’ consortia,” said Okudo, as ... Read more

Arusha International Conference Center Tanzania is plans to utilize the country’s positive features like favourable environment, good weather, good accommodation, modern meeting facilities and improved communication infrastructure to promote MICE tourism in the country. “We are bringing together hoteliers, tour and travel agents as well as representatives from local and International Airlines to hatch new means of capitalizing on conference tourism,” said Devotha Mdachi, Director General of the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB). “Leisure tourism is gradually being replaced by ‘working visits,’ where people travel not just to enjoy sceneries but also making use of the time in being productive away ... Read more

Non-stop flights between Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and John F Kennedy International Airport in New York will be launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta on 28th October 2018. Though the inauguration of the direct flight is 10 days away, the vibe around it has warmed US travellers, who have made Kenya a sought after destination, surpassing the rival tourists locations such as Mexico, Italy and Europe. As per local media, bookings for December to Kenya were up by about 28 per cent from last year’s with one operator saying it had placed around USD 8 million worth of business to ... Read more

Kim Kardishian and Kanye West (Photo courtesy: glamour.com) Kanye West, renowned rapper and singer of US is on a private visit to Uganda with his wife and popular TV star, Kim Kardashian. Uganda’s Information Minister Frank Tumwebaze said the visit is “an endorsement of our tourism resources.” Their visit to Uganda is seen as a plus for official tourism promoters, who were recently criticized by President Yoweri Museveni for not doing enough to promote Uganda’s tourism sector. The celebrity couple’s visit is said to be a boost to the Ugandan tourism sect as the authorities believe it would help to ... Read more

Mombasa Elephant Tusks The Port City of Mombasa on Tuesday witnessed the unveiling of a luxury double-decker bus for sightseeing at the historical Elephant Tusks. The inauguration comes at a time when Mombasa is preparing to host the Global Skal Congress, a meeting for tourism executives from all over the world at Pride Inn Paradise Beach Resort, Convention Centre and Spa next month. The bus painted in colours of the Kenyan national flag. Mombasa Sightseeing Limited, the owners of the bus, said that they were delighted at starting the new service in the Port city of Mombasa which is a ... Read more