Category: Africa

South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs (DHA) said that the first phase of the electronic visa system will be piloted by the end of March 2019. This will make it easier for tourists to enter the country thanks to the online visa and permit application process and capturing of applicants’ biometrics both locally and abroad. The rollout of the first phase of the e-visa system is expected to take place at a foreign mission, embassy or local DHA office. The pilot will initially cover temporary residence visas, adjudication of temporary residence visas, applications for waivers, applicant notifications and biometric details. ... Read more

The world’s last surviving male northern white rhino, Sudan, who lived at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, has died after months of ill health. The 45-year-old Sudan died after age-related complications worsened. Only two females of the subspecies are alive in the world at present. Now, the only way to preserve the northern white rhino, is trying in vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques. Sudan lived in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. Researchers have saved some of Sudan’s genetic material in the hopes of successfully artificially inseminating one of the two females left. Sudan made headlines last year when the Tinder ... Read more

Pacific Area Travel Writers Association’s (PATWA) award for the title of Worldwide Tourism Minister of the Year goes to Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism for the Caribbean island of Jamaica. The award was presented to the Jamaican minister during the ITB Berlin trade show in Germany. “It is truly humbling to be recognised in this manner at such a major international event. “I accept this award, not for myself but for the people of Jamaica. It is clear that we have made our mark on the globe. The world now knows that Jamaica can host the biggest conferences and that we have some ... Read more

The Marvel Studios movie “Black Panther” has not only been breaking box office records around the world, but it’s also become a bona fide cultural phenomenon and spurred interest in all things African. If Black Panther has piqued your curiosity about Africa, take the next step and discover the real people and stories of this fascinating, complex continent with African Travel, Inc. Moviegoers have been queuing for miles to see the film, which tells the story of a superhero from the mythical African country of Wakanda who literally saves his country – and the world – from destruction by his enemies. ... Read more

Kenya is all set for the ‘Maesabit-Lake Turkana Cultural Festival’ which is into its 12th  year.  The event, to be held at Loyangalani town,  is a celebration of a cluster of 14 communities that form a larger unity of Marsabit County’s total strength. The event, started in 2008 and conducted annually at Lake Turkana from 28th to 30th June 2018. Lake Turkana, the largest desert lake in the world, often termed ‘The Jade Sea,’ is a World Heritage Site. El Molo, Rendille, Samburu, Turkana, Dassanatch, Gabra, Borana, Konso, Sakuye, Garee, Waata, Burji, Somali etc are the communities. Photo Courtesy: Youtube.com Speciality of the ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: socialmediaweek.org Nigeria, commonly know as ‘Giant of Africa’ with larger population and economy, currently plans to introduce Virtual Reality in marketing their destinations. Most of the countries have already come up with this technology, as such it helps to generate more attention from the stakeholders as well as the travellers. Virtual Reality uses various algorithms that stimulate more realistic visual extravaganza for the users. The terminology Virtual Tourism thus comes into play with video montages, still images, and 3D effects including music, background score and voice over. Photo Courtesy: techcabal.com Managing Director of Sky View communications, which is ... Read more

Jambojet is all set to start flights into Wajir, the capital and largest town in Wajir County. The maiden flight on the new route will take off from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on 14, February using one of their Bombardier Q400NextGen aircraft. Now into its fourth year of operations, the airline is targeting growing domestic travel market comprising of traders, investors, government workers and employees of local and international aid agencies to consolidate its position in Kenya’s foremost low cost airline market. Jambojet fares from Nairobi to Wajir will start from Ksh 5,200 (inclusive of taxes) making travel ... Read more

Luambe National Park, one of the oldest and smallest national parks in Zambia, is declared the most carbon neutral National Park in the world. The 254 km² park located on the eastern bank of the Luangwa, is awarded the most carbon neutral in the world by a USAID-funded Community Forests Program (CFP) implemented by BioCarbon Partners (BCP), in partnership with the Zambian Government. This world-first level of carbon neutrality means the emissions of all tourism and conservation management activities within with the park are offset, including all international tourist airline travel. Platinum is the highest possible carbon rating available from ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Royal Zambezi Lodge, Lower Zamberi Zambia and Spain signed a Memorandum of Understanding with an aim to boost cooperation in the tourism sector. The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the ongoing International Trade Fair for Tourism in Madrid. Minister for Tourism and Arts, Charles Banda signed on behalf of the southern African nation while his counterpart Matilde Pastora Asian Gonzalez signed on behalf of her country. The agreement was aimed at further cooperation in the areas of wildlife management and combating illegal wildlife hunting, development of meetings, conferences and events, development of sports tourism , cultural ... Read more

A private tour company in Zambia lashes out at the US president Donald Trump’s controversial remarks about their country by releasing a new campaign.         photo courtesy:yahoo.com Trump opened this controversial statement about African countries as “****Hole countries” during an office meeting about immigration at the oval office in White House. In a fitting reply to this remark, the Zambian tour company, used the same words coined by Trump in their latest campaign, which is creating waves across social media platforms. The company titled its campaign as ‘Visit ****Hole Zambia’ with the tagline, “where the only stars ... Read more

South and Fashion don’t seem quite suiting to many. But, the fact is that the industry has grown leaps and bounds in the African continent to that level where Cape Town can be even called the Paris of Africa. There’s a magnificent opportunity for the South African tourism sector also to grow in tandem with the fashion industry. photo courtesy:safashionweek.sa Africa has so far been promoted to the travel fraternity by showcasing its cuisine, wildlife and art and culture. However, the continent is now can be promoted as a lifestyle destination with a handful of fashion events happening in its ... Read more

Astro Tourism is a new trend in tourism that enables the travellers to probe in learning more about the vast open sky. Recent atmospheric pollution and cloudy skies had put 60 per cent of Europeans and 80 per cent in the US unable to watch the clear sky. However, the large fields in Africa that lies far from cities give clear night skies throughout the year. Chile in South America is said to be the astronomical capital of the world that showcases exquisite beauty of dazzling exuberant open skies. African countries such as Kenya reported over 40,000 visits during November ... Read more

Photo courtesy: youtube.com Cairo, the capital city of Egypt is called in Arabic as AL-Qahirah meaning the conqueror, known for its immense civilizations throughout centuries from pharaohs to the Persians. From Greeks and Romans to the Umayyads, its past is exquisitely rich. Being noisy, the city of thousand minarets is the biggest among Africa that gives you extraordinary memories and experience. The city consist of Coptic churches of old Cairo, Great Pyramid and Sphinx of Giza, artefacts in the Egyptian museum, antiques in the modern market, cinema theatres modern malls and much more. The city is blessed with Pyramid of ... Read more