News
30 April 2014
Webinar: Benin, West African Hub
14:00 BST on the 1st May 2014 The Atta member Middle Africa invites you to a webinar on Benin which is, together with Ghana, the West Africa's most promising destination. Benin offers the traveller culture, nature, and leisure at its best. Even if we compare it to emerging Ghana, Benin stands out as one of Africa's most traditional countries. In this webinar Benin will be presented as a great destination on its own and also as the ideal hub to explore West Africa. From Cotonou or Port…
Read More30 April 2014
Commercial News from Africa
Executive summary: Financial services in Africa are coming of age and some markets are approaching a tipping point. After decades outside the global financial mainstream, Africa is now becoming one of the world's fastest-growing emerging markets and an increasingly sought-after investment destination. The basis for this dramatic reassessment is clear: African economies are expanding on the back of commodities, trade, foreign investment and increasing consumer affluence is further fuelling …
Read More30 April 2014
Fastjet To Restructure Businesses As Low-Cost Airlines
Africa low-cost airline fastjet is restructuring two of its loss-making Fly540 businesses and concentrate on expanding its east and souther Africa network. The airline says that after a detailed evaluation of the potential of Fly540 in both Ghana and Angola, it has concluded that, although these countries present very significant long-term opportunities for the fastjet low cost model, in the short term it intends to fully focus on the considerable potential of opportunities in east and so…
Read More30 April 2014
Atta members at Indaba
Atta is again exhibiting at Indaba in a huge marquee with nearly 50 members showcasing the best of what Africa has to offer. Come and meet our members in the Atta Pavilion ODG02 and other Halls. Those members who will be exhibiting in the Atta Pavilion (ODG02) this year are: Indaba 2014 - ODG02 Email Name African Bush Camps shelley@africanbushcamps.com Shelley Airkenya Express cheryl@airkenya.com Carole Alex Wa…
Read More29 April 2014
Malawi, one small step....
One small step for tourism investors, one small step for the environment What’s it all about? Atta members in Malawi were shocked to hear that the Malawi Department of Forestry had given a logging license to cut most of the trees around Luwawa Dam, an amenity area and important water catchment area, an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in a Government Forestry Reserve. Tree cutting started earlier this month with the feller claiming to hold a receipt from the Forestry Department in pay…
Read More28 April 2014
Atta Indaba Networking Event May 10th
Atta - The African Travel & Tourism Association in partnership with the Kenya Tourism Board requests the pleasure of your company at our annual Indaba Networking evening Responsible Tourism Protects Wildlife Saturday May 10th at 19.30 Coastlands on the Ridge Hotel, 315 Peter Mokaba Ridge, Musgrave, Durban Cocktails, Dinner and Dancing Charity Raffle with holiday prizes donated by Atta members from all parts of Afric…
Read More28 April 2014
A Mobile Solution For Tour Operators And Travel Agencies
mTrip has announced the launch of a new mobile solution for tour operators. Replacing the traditional printout sent to a customer, tour operators can offer their customers a 100% offline, branded mobile application for iPhone or Android that includes all of their trip details, travel guides and advanced guidance features. Customers will be greeted with a complete trip overview consisting of detailed trip information including their transportation and accommodation details, travel documents suc…
Read More28 April 2014
Opinion: African local currencies
The volatility of African local currencies often has far-reaching impacts on inbound tourism and can lead to major challenges but also to profitable opportunities for tour operators. Zambian tour operators and tourism service providers breathed a sigh of relief earlier this month when the ban on U.S. dollars (USD) for domestic transactions was lifted, saying that this would stabilize prices for tourism products and boost tourism to the country. South African tour operators, on the other hand,…
Read More25 April 2014
New app tracks Serengeti's great migration in Real Time
Now wannabe explorers who can’t make it to Tanzania to watch the awe-inspiring wildebeest migration can track their movements throughout the Serengeti in real time on a new app. HerdTracker is Google map that shows instant updates of the 1.5 million animals’ precise location. Users can also chart a migration map, which publishes accurate monthly predictions, based on data from the Serengeti. Real time updates are sourced from pilots who fly over the Serengeti and Masai Mara, safari…
Read More24 April 2014
Webinar: Benin, West African Hub
14:00 BST on the 1st May 2014 The Atta member Middle Africa invites you to a webinar on Benin which is, together with Ghana, the West Africa's most promising destination. Benin offers the traveller culture, nature, and leisure at its best. Even if we compare it to emerging Ghana, Benin stands out as one of Africa's most traditional countries. In this webinar Benin will be presented as a great destination on its own and also as the ideal hub to explore West Africa. From Cotonou or Port…
Read More24 April 2014
Local Volcano in Tanzania Set to Become a Geo-Park
Tanzania will soon join the international 'Geo-parks' network, thanks to the latest proposal by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to declare the country's active volcano site a global geological heritage. Oldoinyo L'engai, the active volcanic mountain which is the country's third highest mountain after Mt Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru, is in the process of being declared a geo-park, becoming a unified area with geological heritage of internation…
Read More23 April 2014
Commercial News from Africa
Tanzania expected to relax its rules on capital controls The Tanzanian government plans to increase participation of foreign investors in the listed equities and allow them to buy government bonds. Presently restrictions bar non-residents from buying the nation's bonds and block companies that are more than 60 per cent owned by foreigners from trading on Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE). The DSE chief expects the liberalisation…
Read More23 April 2014
Floating African hospital soon to start operations in Tanzania
An African floating hospital by Scottish charity group has finally reached the African shores. In partnership with local health professionals and NGOs the aim is to build a quarterly Primary Care service which will see 100,000 patients a year. The hospital vessel called Jubilee Hope left Glasgow on January 22, 2014, for East Africa (Mombasa port) arrived in South Africa. The ship is a former Royal Navy fleet tender that was refitted at a cost of pound sterling one million by BAE systems …
Read More23 April 2014
Angola carrier to start frequent direct flights between Harare and Luanda
Angola’s national carrier, Linhas Aereas de Angola (Taag), plans to introduce frequent direct flights between Harare and Luanda on the back of increased business between the country and Zimbabwe. At the moment, Taag flies the route once a week but there are plans to introduce three or more flights per week. Source: nehandaradio.com
Read More23 April 2014
Lamu to Set Up Tourism Information Centre
The Kenya Airports Authority will partner with the Lamu tourism department to set up an information centre at the Manda Airport. The main purpose of the information centre is to stop the current confusion among tourists landing at the airport. Through the information centre, tourists will be able to access genuine tour guides and identify the hotels they would like to be hosted through a hotline.
Read More18 April 2014
South Africa Tourism Report Q2 2014
A Summary from SA Tourism Report published by Business Monitor International . The most recent tourist arrivals data (for January to October 2013) show that total arrivals were up by only 4% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 7.8mn. Consequently, BMI has decided to revise down its estimate for full-year 2013 arrivals growth to 5%, from 9% previously. This would place arrivals at around 9.7mn for the year. Although official data for 2013 are yet to be released, in January 2014 the South African Broadcasti…
Read More18 April 2014
SA gets new domestic airline
Safair has announced that FlySafair was granted a domestic air service licence for the operation of domestic scheduled flights. This is in addition to the international and domestic unscheduled licence that it held for almost 50 years, providing aviation services both domestically and locally. The airline was initially blocked from starting its operations after two competitors brought an urgent application to interdict the new low cost airline from starting its operations based on it not meeti…
Read More17 April 2014
Highway upgrade between Tanzania and Kenya
The planned highway between Arusha, Tanzania, and Voi in Kenya is now finally due to start in June this year. The project worth nearly US$235 million will be largely financed through the African Development Bank, with the two governments of Kenya and Tanzania contributing some US$28 million combined. The road project will, when completed, greatly ease road transport between the port city of Mombasa to Arusha, supporting regional trade but also boosting the flow of tourists who can then visit t…
Read More16 April 2014
Atta Networking Drinks in Brazil - April 23, 2014
Atta and members exhibiting with us are inviting Latin American buyers to a drinks gathering on the Atta stand KK60 on the first day of WTM Latin America in Sao Paulo. All Atta members attending the show are welcome to come and invite your own contacts that you think may be interested in African products. Here is the invitation in Portuguese. World Travel Market (WTM) Latin America, Transamerica Expo Center, Sao Paulo Stand: KK60 Date: Wednesday, April 23rd Time: from 18h Atta members showcasi…
Read More16 April 2014
Commercial News from Africa
Key commercial and political activity in Africa for private equity investors by DCE Partners, UK Private Equity advisors to Atta. Executive Summary: Private equity investors have long looked to four large emerging markets for big returns: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. However, the BRICs today don't fit the fast-growth described in the original 2001 paper that coined the widely used acronym. Each BRIC economy in some kind of trouble and private equity firms are increasingly puttin…
Read More16 April 2014
Emirates reduces flights to Nairobi during Dubai Airport runway work
When during the period from May 1 until July 20 the two runways of Dubai International Airport are undergoing maintenance and re-surfacing, airlines flying to what is poised to become the world’s busiest international airport later this year, have to reduce capacity or move to the recently opened Dubai World Central in Jebel Ali which is also knows as Al Maktoum International Airport. Emirates will reduce flights accordingly by about 26 percent as the national airline of Dubai has opted …
Read More14 April 2014
Kenya to improve aviation security
Kenya’s Transport Secretary announced that the government will create additional facilities at JKIA to facilitate the work of security services. More patrols by the paramilitary GSU, short for General Service Unit, will also be introduced to in particular secure the arrival and departure flight paths out of JKIA. None of Kenya’s airports has been able to secure Category One rating by the American FAA, which effectively put a stop to introducing nonstop or direct flights from Kenya …
Read More14 April 2014
Top 25 African destinations
Looking at Africa, TripAdvisor's 2014 Travelers' Choice awards rate Marrakech as the top destination on the continent, with Cape Town ranked second. Moroccan and South African cities dominated the top destinations list for Africa. A total of 6 Moroccan and 11 South Africa cities were listed in the top 25 destinations for Africa, with Kenya representing 4 spots and Mauritius, Gambia, Tanzania, and Tunisia having one city each. Knysna, along South Africa’s Garden Route, was listed …
Read More14 April 2014
Photo Competition: Like and Share
Saving Wildlife... What does it mean to you? We have received amazing photographs from our members and will be posting them all on Atta's Facebook page today. Start voting and sharing to raise awareness and inspire your friends to take part in saving the wildlife... be it in Africa or other corners of the world...
Read More11 April 2014
This Week at Atta HQ
Welcome to the Friday round up! Time is simply flying by, and London is fully gripped in the depths of spring now. We are sad to say even the hosts of golden daffodils have faded, and it is truly no longer the dawning of a new season. We have been incredibly busy this week, with just two weeks to go until WTM Latin America kicks off – and we will then be full steam ahead until May the 12th at Indaba. Lina has been finalising all of the marketing materials for the shows, and arranged meet…
Read More11 April 2014
Webinar Recording: Turtle Bay
Over 55 people registered to view Turtle Bay's webinar yesterday which was very informative and interesting. If you missed it, here is Webinar Recording: Turtle Bay, Kenya.
Read More11 April 2014
Cape Town records bumper summer season
International arrivals to Cape Town over the 2013/14 summer season were up by 15% compared to the previous year, the city's tourism director Anton Groenewald said. Arrivals from regional Africa by air also increased from October 2013, culminating in 17% more of these visitors in February this year. The top five countries of origin for tourists to Cape Town were South Africa itself, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands. Three-quarters of tourism busine…
Read More10 April 2014
Atta Events April - July 2014
Atta is extremely busy in the next few months organising and attending travel exhibitions, networking events and seminars for our members. We hope to meet each and every member in at least one of these events… Exhibitions WTM Latin America, Sao Paulo 23-25 April 2014 &nbs…
Read More10 April 2014
Uganda's policy on EAC integration ready
Uganda has crafted a national policy on integration, which officials say would be used to guide its cooperation with member states - Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. According to Lawrence Mujuni, an official at the Ministry of East African Affairs, the objective of the policy is for Uganda to identify and exploit opportunities presented by the East African Community, mainstream the integration agenda in government policies, define roles of various stakeholders and create awareness of the i…
Read More10 April 2014
Angola Airlines puts inflight Wi-Fi and mobile phone services
TAAG Angola Airlines has become OnAir’s first Sub-Saharan African customer – line fitting its new B777-300ER fleet with Internet OnAir and Mobile OnAir. The airline will use Thales’ TopConnect to access OnAir’s inflight Wi-Fi and mobile phone services on its new fleet, to be delivered from May 2014. OnAir connectivity, in the form of inflight Wi-Fi and GSM, gives passengers the freedom to stay in touch with the world outside the aircraft, strongly enhancing their experi…
Read More09 April 2014
Photo Competition II for Atta Members - Win Tickets to Atta's Functions
Last week Atta has announced our second Photo Competition for members which is adopting Atta’s slogan of the year Saving Wildlife to Save Our Industry and supporting our events carrying the theme. Members have until this Friday, April 11, to submit photographs that in your opinion best reflect the theme Saving Wildlife to Save Our Industry. The photographs will be posted on Atta’s Facebook page and will collect ‘Likes’ in order to win free tickets to one of…
Read More09 April 2014
Commercial News from Africa
Key commercial and political activity in Africa for private equity investors by DCE Partners, UK Private Equity advisors to Atta. Rwanda's growing aid. The EU announced a US$632m support package to Rwanda for the period 2014-2020 as part of a wider Central African package approaching US$4.1b. DR Congo is another big winner with US$851m of support as part of the package. US$1bn deal to boost Kenyan economy. The Africa Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a five-year KSh79.2bn (US$1bn)…
Read More08 April 2014
BA opens a luxury lounge at Cape Town International
British Airways opened a R19.8-million luxury lounge at Cape Town International Airport last week, a month ahead of the airline's increased schedule of flights to the city. The lounge, which can accommodate 148 people, is modelled on the Galleries Lounges concept at England's Heathrow Airport. In December, British Airways announced that it would add three Cape Town flights a week to its (Northern Hemisphere) summer schedule, taking it from a daily service to 10 flights a week.
Read More08 April 2014
The 'Google Glasses' Will Become A Virtual Travel Agent
Google is preparing to launch a travel app that will use 3G as well as work with artificial intelligence. At the moment, 3G is an excellent way to access enormous amounts of data. Everything is accessible through Google Glasses. They are an explosive cocktail, tested in the greatest secrecy, and a device which worries travel agencies across the United States. This happens to be released in France by the end of the year. Google with its developments in the field of robotics, its big data, and G…
Read More08 April 2014
Webinar: Turtle Bay, Kenya
14:00 GMT on 10th April 2014 Set away from the hustle and bustle of Mombasa, and overlooking the beautiful white sands of Watamu beach, Turtle Bay, the winning member of Atta's first photo competition, provides the backdrop to the perfect Kenyan beach holiday. This sustainably run hotel is the first property of its kind in Kenya to be awarded the prestigious Gold standard by EcoTourism Kenya. Register now for the live webinar or to receive the recording. Click here to register and receive…
Read More04 April 2014
Survey: Wildlife Watching Tourism in Africa
In support of the global efforts against wildlife poaching on the African continent, UNWTO is conducting a survey to evaluate the value of wildlife watching tourism in Africa. The World Tourism Organization is mobilizing the international tourism community to gather further insight into the importance of wildlife for the sector. The results of the survey will be presented at the forthcoming UNWTO Regional Commission for Africa in April 2014 (Angola) and will be integrated into an extensive st…
Read More04 April 2014
EAC Single Tourist Visa Launched in Washington
The East African single tourist visa was launched in Washington D.C by the ambassadors of Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda to US, in a bid to attract more tourists to the region. The launch was attended by officials from the US Department of State and visa agencies in Washington DC. Others present included members of the US business community and civil society organisations. Since its introduction, tour agents say the document has eased movement of tourists by eliminating bureaucratic tendencies.
Read More03 April 2014
Investment critical for growth in tourism: AAT
There is need to invest in human capital and property development as a means of refining the country’s tourism sector to match international standards, says the Chief Executive of Africa Albida Tourism and Atta's Director Ross Kennedy in his recent communication. Zimbabwe has received much positive press in the United Kingdom recently. What impact does this have on the Zimbabwe brand? This growth in positive press in both consumer media and trade media has a significantly positive i…
Read More02 April 2014
New route to Lokichoggio
Fly-SAX is launching a new route to Lokichoggio, with flights having commenced on 24 February 2014. With three return flights each week, Fly-SAX is significantly increasing the connectivity between Nairobi and the Turkana region of northwest Kenya.
Read More02 April 2014
Poll: Tourism bosses call for WTM to be cut to three days
Atta would like to add our support to campaign for WTM to be cut to three days. Tourist offices worldwide are lobbying the organisers of World Travel Market to cut it from four days to three next year. Their lobbying body, ANTOR, said over half of its members have voted to put pressure on Reed Exhibitions to shorten the event, based on a poll last week and a survey carried out just after last year's show. ANTOR said Reed has "worked hard to try and reinvent the final day of the show, …
Read More02 April 2014
Commercial News from Africa
UAE-based hospitality firm looking to set up shops in Nairobi. Caramel Group wants to set up shops in Nairobi - Caramel is poised to open up a new Caramel Restaurant & Lounge in the east-African city towards the middle of this year. Rwanda identified as the fastest place for multinational retailers to grow their businesses. Nigeria was ranked second - because of the peculiar nature of its markets due to unavailability of land and import regulations and restrictions. South Africa, ran…
Read More01 April 2014
Zimbabwe Endorses African Records Expedition
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has endorsed the African Records World Expedition that would go across 47 countries in five continents and covering 52 000km in 14 months. This shall be the first such road attempt by an African, led by Kwame Tapiwa Muzawazi, who himself was the first African to cross the African continent by road travel in 2010 and a world record holder with the Guinness World Records. The expedition is expected to commence on January 1, 2015. "This great history and pedigr…
Read More01 April 2014
More flights to key destinations across Eastern Africa
Air Uganda announced an increase in flights to a number of their East African destinations effective April 14. New is that Mombasa will now be served five times a week directly up from previously four flights a week, cutting out the en-route stop at Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro will for now be served three times a week, likely to go to four soon in a joint code share operation with Tanzania’s Precision Air while under a similar deal Dar es Salaam will be served twice a day compared to the pr…
Read More01 April 2014
Media Request: Health and Wellbeing Retreats
Deadline: 01 Apr 2014 London 05:00:00 pm Contact Name: Hannah Dunn Contact Title: Editorial Assistant Contact Publication: Red Magazine A writer is looking for new openings or new retreats with a focus on health and wellbeing for May/June time. Whether its meditation retreats, new spas or solo breaks. Please send links, images and rates to Hannah.dunn@redmagazine.co.uk by 5pm Tuesday 1st April.
Read More01 April 2014
Webinar: Turtle Bay, Kenya
A webinar by the winners of Atta's first photo competition! 14:00 GMT on 10th April 2014 Set away from the hustle and bustle of Mombasa, and overlooking the beautiful white sands of Watamu beach, Turtle Bay, the winning member of Atta's first photo competition, provides the backdrop to the perfect Kenyan beach holiday. This sustainably run hotel is the first property of its kind in Kenya to be awarded the prestigious Gold standard by EcoTourism Kenya. Register now for the live webinar …
Read More