News
18 October 2019
Application for Membership - Nature Discovery
AttaNature Discovery has applied to join Atta. Their membership will be approved if there are not any objections lodged within the statutory 10 day period. (See objection procedure below).
Read More18 October 2019
Double harvest: Maasai women keep bees and get to conserve their environment
AttaAt night the women on the Maasai Steppe are busy with their harvest. One by one hives stored in the branches of the trees are lowered to the ground and the honeycomb carefully removed. The hives are then again restored high up in the canopy. The Steppe itself is massive stretching from the Usambara to the Great Rift Valley across the borders of Kenya to Ethiopia. This bee keeping initiative is focussed in the area outside the Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. Most of the people who live here are Maasai, many are are now semi nomadic, raising cattle in the traditions which have lasted for centuries. The women own and run their bee keeping operation as a business. Their initial funding in the form of micro grants and training comes from a non-profit organisation called African Wildlife and People (AWP).
Read More18 October 2019
New Whale Heritage Site - Durban, South Africa
AttaThe Bluff in Durban, South Africa and Harvey Bay were both officially accredited as the first Whale Heritage Sites on Friday 11th. The World Cetacean Alliance (WCA) is very excited about this wonderful news and congratulate Durban, South Africa for the excellent and hard work that they put into it, for being an outstanding whale watching destination and for leading the way in responsible and sustainable tourism.
Read More17 October 2019
Ellen DeGeneres has raised $5 million for the conservation of mountain Gorillas
AttaA fundraiser organised by popular American TV personality and comedian Ellen DeGeneres has raised some $5 million (about Rwf4.6 billion) as her efforts to raise funds for conservation of mountain gorillas in Rwanda kicks off in earnest. Ellen DeGeneres was, over the weekend, joined by her wife Portia de Rossi and a host of other big names in the entertainment world for the ‘Gorillapalooza’ event in Los Angeles, California. The proceeds were more than double the initial target, she said on her popular show, The Ellen Show, earlier this week. “We were hoping to raise $2 million. That didn’t happen. We raised $5 million. This is so important because there are only 1,000 mountain gorillas left,” she said.
Read More17 October 2019
Wheels Up on More Flights to the African Continent
AttaNew nonstop flights are dramatically cutting travel time and linking more African cities to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Flights from the United States to the African continent can take 30 or even 40 hours depending on the routing, and many travelers face lengthy layovers in Amsterdam or London, or Dubai or Doha in the Middle East. But that might be changing soon: Airlines are increasingly introducing nonstop flights, dramatically reducing travel time and further linking the United States to major African nations.
Read More16 October 2019
Kenya birdwatchers log migrating birds for Spring Alive
AttaAs the winter season slowly approaches in Europe, bird enthusiasts are in for a treat as migratory birds start arriving in Kenya’s Rift Valley. Conservationists say this season’s migration has started earlier than usual much to the delight of bird watchers and nature lovers. Twice a year, millions of birds fly hundreds and even thousands of kilometres across continents in search of food and the perfect grounds to breed and raise their young ones. James Kimaru, senior warden at Lake Bogoria National Reserve 150 miles north of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, said eight species of migrants have been spotted in the past two weeks during the latest water-bird count.
Read More16 October 2019
Kenya Stats July - September
AttaKTB Reports that international arrivals to Kenya within the period (July – September), closed at 591,996, compared to the same period last year which posted 587,385, indicating a growth of 0.8%. During the period, arrivals through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) closed at 420,770 which is a growth of 4.8% compared to 401,533 in 2018/19. Moi International Airport Mombasa (MIAM) received 28,850 visitors, compared to 28,614 in 2018/19, representing a 1.1% growth.
Read More15 October 2019
Development of Walvis Bay waterfront and marina well on track
AttaThe development of a Waterfront & Marina, identified by Namport to better combine sea port activities with recreational and tourism activities, is well on track with the actual Marina, which will supplement the Waterfront, expected to be completed by 2020. Namport, as the land owner, facilitates the development of a waterfront at the present waterfront area, which on completion could become the main citizen and tourist attractions in Walvis Bay.
Read More15 October 2019
Polish airline launches weekly Mombasa flights
AttaA Polish charter airline will be flying weekly to Mombasa as it moves to cash in on the festive season. The maiden flight to the coastal town on Saturday had 189 passengers. The carrier dubbed Smartwings Airlines will be operating bringing in about 200 tourists from Poland, and is expected to push up the regions hotel occupancy rates above the current 70 percent. It will be operating once a week until end of the year before increasing its frequency to twice a week from January to March next year.
Read More14 October 2019
Expansion of a famous elephant park holds out hope for Africa’s big tuskers
AttaThere is a scene at the start of the film Last of the Big Tuskers where a man is having his upper arm tattooed. As the artist puts the finishing touches to the work and dabs away blood, the camera pans out and an inky face with enormous tusks emerges. Elephants have always had a way of getting under people’s skin. That much was clear at the South African premiere of the documentary, which played to a nearly full theater in Durban this week. Much of the documentary, which focuses on the plight of Africa’s big and super-tuskers — elephants with tusks exceeding 45 kilograms (100 pounds) each — is filmed in South Africa’s Tembe Elephant Park, immediately south of the border with Mozambique, 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Durban.
Read More14 October 2019
Application for Membership - Journeys Namibia
AttaJourneys Namibia has applied to join Atta. Their membership will be approved if there are not any objections lodged within the statutory 10 day period. (See objection procedure below).
Read More11 October 2019
Kenya launches first mountain race
AttaMeru Governor H.E. Kiraitu Murungi on Tuesday officially launched the Mt. Kenya Mountain Running Championship, scheduled to take place in February 2020. Under the theme ‘Challenging the Heights’, the race will be the first of its kind in Kenya and will hopefully attract runners from around the globe, therefore promoting the county as a tourism, investment and sports hotspot. Mt. Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second highest in Africa, and with 40% of the mountain being in Meru, the county government is hoping to leverage on this and bring more tourists to the county.
Read More11 October 2019
Registration Opens for Film Tourism Festival
AttaThe Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme (STTP), organisers of the inaugural International Tourism Film Festival-Africa (ITFFA), has opened registrations to attend the festival taking place in Cape Town and the Northern Cape from 20-24 November 2019. “As we have limited spaces available, we suggest that interested parties register as soon as possible or by 30 October at the latest,” says James Byrne, Executive Assistant to the ITFFA Festival Director.
Read More10 October 2019
New electric vehicle charging station benefits local businesses
AttaSouth Africa’s first electric vehicle road trip Africa (EVRT Africa) brought to the country by Generation.e, has launched a new electric vehicle charging station powered by ACDC Dynamics at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands, Cape Town, on 9 October 2019. Ben Pullen points out that one sector which will benefit is the tourism industry which is a large contributor to the economy of the country. “Launching charging stations at local hotels, such as the Vineyard, not only provides direct opportunities for their business, but also has a knock-on effect on the surrounding restaurants and tourist attractions that will benefit from an increase of thoroughfare in the area of those who are needing to charge an electric vehicle.”
Read More10 October 2019
Arsenal Defender David Luiz Expected in Rwanda
AttaArsenal defender David Luiz is expected in the country on Thursday for a two-day visit. The visit is part of the 'Visit Rwanda' partnership between the Government of Rwanda and the English club. "I have heard wonderful things about the breath-taking beauty of Rwanda and its people, and I can't wait to experience the country and all it has to offer. Football has the amazing power to bring communities together and drive social change, and the Arsenal shirt has a unique ability to reach fans all over the world. I am very proud to represent Arsenal to help tell a global audience of Rwanda's modernisation into a luxury tourism destination, its amazing culture and its enthusiasm for football development," the Arsenal star said in a joint statement.
Read More09 October 2019
e-Visa pilot to start ahead of Festive Season, making travel easier to SA
AttaStarting November 2019, visitors to South Africa will be able to apply for visas online when the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) launches a pilot scheme for the e-visa system. This will make travel much easier for foreign tourists, as they will be able to apply for their travel documents from the comfort of their homes, which was especially problematic for visitors from India and China. South Africa has been rolling out much-needed reforms to its visa regime, including visa-free entry for residents of New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with visa waivers in the pipeline for Ghana, Cuba, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Visa requirements have also been simplified for China and India.
Read More09 October 2019
Elephants turn Mt Elgon Park caves into maternity units
AttaDeep in Mt Elgon National Park, on the Kenya-Uganda border, are five caves that elephants have turned into maternity wards. Elephants consider the caves a safe place to bring forth new ones because they are secure, have salt for them to lick, and there is plenty of food in their neighbourhood. The caves are protected by rangers. “The elephants are known to travel from the neighbouring Trans Nzoia County and Uganda to these caves, where they give birth and bring up their young ones,” said Mr Renson Makheti Wanyonyi, Bungoma County tourism executive.
Read More08 October 2019
This South African student is fighting animal poaching using wildlife photos
AttaIt's a shocking image: A huge rhinoceros pinned to the ground while a grimacing man shreds a power saw through its horn, white shards shooting off in a blur of high speed. The photograph, taken by 20-year-old student Neville Kgaugelo Ngomane, shows the radical lengths that are now being taken to protect vulnerable rhinos from the poachers who hunt them down for their horns. Though it seems cruel, this is now a standard practice in some parts of Africa to keep rhinos alive. Robbed of the horns that fetch high prices in illegal trade, the rhinos will be left alone.
Read More08 October 2019
Chester Zoo celebrating birth of a baby bongo - Africa's rarest large mammal
AttaFirst-time mum, Safi, gave birth to the critically endangered eastern bongo calf on Wednesday, September 4, after a nine-month-long gestation. It is the first eastern bongo – the world’s largest forest-dwelling antelope - to be born at the zoo for more than 11 years. Zoo experts have hailed the female calf’s arrival as “incredibly important”, with latest estimates suggesting as few as 70 may now remain in its native East Africa.
Read More07 October 2019
South African Airways Announces Codeshare Expansion to New York with Air Seychelles
AttaSouth African Airways (SAA) is pleased to announce the expansion of the codeshare agreement with Air Seychelles (HM) to New York effective 1 November 2019. SAA will be the operating carrier on the Johannesburg (JNB) – New York (JFK) sector and Air Seychelles will be the marketing carrier. The codeshare flights will open for sale on 15 October 2019 and the effective date of travel will be from 1 November 2019.
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