News from ATTA
News from ATTA consists of a combination of news from the African continent with relevance to African Tourism along with news about ATTA for the benefit of our members.
25 January 2022
Application for Membership - James Hallam Ltd
ATTA®James Hallam Ltd 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 More24 January 2022
World Health Organisation calls for international travel bans to be lifted
ATTA®Since more knowledge of the Omicron variant has come to light, many countries have backtracked and lifted their travel bans imposed against several African countries, almost immediately after its discovery.
Read More24 January 2022
Covid travel tests to be axed in England for double vaccinated
ATTA®People arriving in England from abroad will no longer have to take Covid tests if they have been fully vaccinated, the prime minister has confirmed.
Read More21 January 2022
New ATTA Market Overview Series - Australia and New Zealand
ATTA®ATTA is pleased to bring you the first in our series of Market Overviews to help you make informed decisions about promoting your product or service in key source markets. Our Global Representatives around the world provide us with the latest information on doing business in their markets, their consumer buying and travel preferences and their favourite destinations.
Read More21 January 2022
South African Airways is Relaunching Johannesburg to Durban Service in March
ATTA®South African Airways (SAA), which returned from a pandemic pause in September 2021, continues to add to its route network.
Read More21 January 2022
The African Leadership University School of Wildlife Conservation appoints Richard Vigne as Executive Director
ATTA®The African Leadership University’s School of Wildlife Conservation and its Advisory Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Richard Anthony Vigne as the first-ever Executive Director of the School, effective January 24, 2022.
Read More20 January 2022
Survey shows business travellers will take to the skies in 2022
ATTA®In a recent travel trend survey conducted by FCM during the month of October 2021, 175 respondents from 26 countries, including South Africa, provided answers to burning issues such as the impact of vaccines on travel, how to tackle safety, what we can expect from travel costs, and many more.
Read More20 January 2022
Tourism Grows 4% in 2021 but Remains Far Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
ATTA®UNWTO reports 4% rise in international tourist arrivals in 2021; however, 2021 was another challenging year: arrivals still 72% down on pre-pandemic levels; recovery needs stronger coordination and increased vaccination rates.
Read More19 January 2022
Namibia tourism sector launches COVID-19 vaccination drive
ATTA®Namibia on Tuesday launched an initiative to encourage and mobilize Namibians from all walks of life to get vaccinated, and to debunk rumours and misinformation that are contributing to vaccination hesitancy.
Read More19 January 2022
Foreign tourism grows 53pc but remains below pre-pandemic levels
ATTA®International arrivals increased 53 percent in the 12 months to December last year compared to a similar period in 2020, mainly on the renewed marketing efforts as well as confidence in the country’s efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Read More18 January 2022
LIFT is flying!
ATTA®Despite the fourth wave of COVID in South Africa, LIFT had its best month ever in December, according to CEO, Jonathan Ayache.
Read More17 January 2022
Emirates is unlikely to fly out of South Africa before February
ATTA®Emirates won’t be flying out of South Africa until at least 1 February, according to a recent notice sent to travel trade partners.
Read More17 January 2022
German Airline to Fly Into Zim By March
ATTA®Eurowings Discover has become the latest airline to express interest in flying into Zimbabwe, in a move expected to boost local tourism.
Read More14 January 2022
Cape Town welcomes first cruise liner since the start of the pandemic
ATTA®There was much excitement on Thursday 13 January 2022 as the first cruise since the start of the pandemic arrived at Cape Town’s cruise terminal.
Read More14 January 2022
Rwanda fully vaccinates close to half its population
ATTA®Rwanda says it has fully vaccinated nearly half of its population, after announcing a major COVID-19 vaccination campaign late last year. Nearly 6 million people have received their jabs out of a population of nearly 13 million.
Read More13 January 2022
MADAGASCAR: South Korea’s Samsung to plant 2 million trees in 3 months
ATTA®Samsung Electronics America, a subsidiary of South Korea's Samsung Group, has announced the planting of two million trees in Madagascar by the end of the first quarter of 2022. The operation will be followed by the digital climate solutions platform Veritree.
Read More13 January 2022
Air travel to South Africa is slowly recovering
ATTA®Following the discovery of the Omicron variant on November 24 by South African scientists, 90 countries imposed travel bans on flights from South Africa, which saw bookings drop by 85%. But, with the easing of restrictions, travel to South Africa is slowly recovering.
Read More12 January 2022
Zimbabwean president thanks China for additional donation of 10 mln COVID-19 vaccines
ATTA®Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday thanked the Chinese government for its donation of an additional 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the country.
Read More12 January 2022
Turkey reopens to South Africans
ATTA®Turkish Airlines’ Cape Town office has informed the trade that travellers from South Africa, or those who have been in South Africa in the 14 days prior to travel, may once again enter Turkey.
Read More11 January 2022
FlySafair instates twice-weekly flights to Mauritius
ATTA®Local airline FlySafair has announced it will launch flights from OR Tambo to Mauritius on 8 March 2022. Flights will be scheduled on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Read More11 January 2022
EU Ends Travel Ban on Arrivals From Southern African Countries
ATTA®The European Union has ended the travel ban that was imposed against flights from southern African countries over a month ago.
Read More10 January 2022
MK confirms flight schedule
ATTA®Air Mauritius has released information regarding its flights from South Africa to Mauritius, following the lifting of the ban on commercial passenger services to the island.
Read More10 January 2022
KENYA: WWF and DFCD call for applications for climate projects
ATTA®In Kenya, the Dutch branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) are launching a call for applications for water and sanitation, sustainable agriculture and forestry projects seeking funding and technical assistance.
Read More10 January 2022
Spain reopens to South Africans with no quarantine
ATTA®Spain has reopened all travel to vaccinated travellers from nine southern African countries, including South Africa, after it barred entry on November 30.
Read More07 January 2022
Mozambique to merge two reserves, forming new Maputo National Park
ATTA®Mozambique will merge the Maputo Special Reserve and Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve to form a new conservation area named the Maputo National Park.
Read More07 January 2022
Mauritius - Travel Ban Lifted
ATTA®As of Friday 7 January 2022, the Covid-19 travel ban imposed by the Republic of Mauritius on the Republic of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia will be lifted and commercial passenger flights from these countries to Mauritius can resume.
Read More06 January 2022
France is now open to all fully vaccinated South African travellers
ATTA®France has removed South Africa from its “scarlet red list”, allowing vaccinated visitors entry without needing to quarantine or provide pressing grounds to travel.
Read More06 January 2022
Zimbabwe game park to receive $15 mn from new wildlife fund
ATTA®One of Zimbabwe's biggest wildlife reserves is to receive US$1 million annually from a brand-new fund to help sustain its operations and fight poaching, German conservationists said on Wednesday.
Read More05 January 2022
UK Govt Confirms Pre-departure and Day 2 Testing Shake-up
ATTA®Pre-departure Covid tests for inbound travellers will be axed and the Day 2 testing standard lowered from PCR to lateral flow, the government has confirmed.
Read More05 January 2022
#BizTrends2022: 6 tech trends that will shake up the aviation sector
ATTA®2022 will be a year of fast and slow, bumpy and smooth as countries begin to welcome back travellers and start to rapidly rebuild destinations post-pandemic.
Read More05 January 2022
Qantas returns to South Africa after nearly two years
ATTA®Qantas returned to South African skies after a nearly two-year-long absence. The first commercial passenger flight from Sydney landed at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Tuesday, January 4.
Read More05 January 2022
Now Seychelles reopens
ATTA®Travellers from seven Southern African countries, who were previously banned from entering Seychelles are now again allowed entry with effect from January 6.
Read More04 January 2022
U.S. Travel Praises U.S. Lifting of Travel Ban on Southern African Nations
The U.S. Travel Association is praising the Biden administration’s move on Dec. 31 to rescind restrictions on travel from eight southern African nations because of concerns about spreading the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. South African medical researchers were the first to “discover” Omicron and a number of countries quickly moved to ban travel from South Africa.
Read More04 January 2022
Zambia Reduces Visa Fees
ATTA®Effective 01 January 2022 Zambia Visa Fees have been revised in line with the Immigration and Deportation (General) (Ammendment) regulations 2021.
Read More04 January 2022
ZIMBABWE: GEF Provides $71 Million for Reforestation Program
ATTA®The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is providing just over $71 million to Zimbabwe. The funding from the 7th replenishment of the GEF (GEF-7) is for land restoration and reforestation programs in Zimbabwe, a southern African country known for its spectacular scenery and diverse wildlife.
Read More04 January 2022
Germany lifts ban against eight African countries
ATTA®Germany’s federal government agency and research institute – Robert Koch Institute (RKI) – announced that it would lift the travel ban against several countries including South Africa on January 4.
Read More