Uganda has ramped up its tourism campaign by dedicating this year’s annual Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo to the continent, under the theme “Promoting intra-African Travel.”

The expo runs February 4 to 6 at Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort in Kampala.

Uganda Tourism Board chief executive officer Lilly Ajarova told the media in Kampala, that the expo seeks to penetrate further into the African market, while consolidating the already existing outlets.

“Africa is one of the fastest growing tourism markets just behind Asia and this market is what we are positioning ourselves to tap into,” Ms Ajarova said.

The UTB is hosting 57 tour operators and journalists drawn from Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Botswana, Tanzania, Nigeria, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; and from the emerging markets of Thailand, Philippines, Russia, and Malaysia—on a countrywide tour to sell “Destination Uganda”.

The UTB has identified Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria as its key regional and African tourist sources.

Kenya accounted for the biggest percentage of regional tourists to Uganda at 29 per cent of the total 1.5 million arrivals in 2018. Rwanda came second at 26 per cent while Tanzania was third at seven per cent. With an estimated market of over 433 million people, East African countries hope to land more visitors from the region.

According to Ms Ajarova, the branding of the region’s major destinations makes it easier for the bloc’s inbound tourist.

Kenya has branded itself as beach and safari country, Tanzania for adventure at Kilimanjaro and island tourism in Zanzibar; Rwanda is the hub of gorilla trekking, while Uganda offers a cocktail of attractions.

Regional tourism too, has been boosted by the revival of Uganda Airlines, Tanzania Airlines and the growth of RwandAir and expansion of regional routes by Kenya Airways through its subsidiary, Jambojet.

Tourism is Uganda’s highest foreign exchange earner raking in $1.6 billion in 2018.

Our Source: https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Kampala-picks-African-travel-theme-for-2020/2560-5443426-12g79sx/index.html

South Africa’s ailing national airline on Thursday announced plans to close almost all its domestic services and some international flights, the latest bid to save cash after a spree of cancellations.

Flag carrier South African Airways (SAA) has failed to make a profit for more than a decade and gets by on government bailouts.

Debt-ridden and strapped for cash, it was placed under a state-approved rescue plan in December following a week-long strike that pushed it to the verge of collapse.

The business administrators have since cancelled more than one hundred flights in an attempt to streamline services and conserve funds.

In their latest announcement, they detailed plans to definitively shut down some of those routes. 

They said in a statement that they “have identified which routes will be retained to drive the restructured national carrier towards profitability”.

The cull targeted mainly domestic routes, with services to almost all South African destinations set to be cut on February 29.

Domestically, only the Cape Town-Johannesburg route will continue to be served on a “reduced basis”.

International flights will also be affected, including links to Abidjan, Hong Kong, Munich and Sao Paulo.

Customers will either be accommodated on other airlines or fully refunded.

Some travel agents have stopped providing cancellation insurance for SAA flights.

South Africa’s government has admitted it is still seeking a solution to finance the airline, which has a fleet of more than 50 planes and employs more than 5,000 workers.

A state-owned bank stepped in with a state-guaranteed loan of 3.5 billion rand ($2.4 million, 2.2 million euros) last month.

Despite the efforts, administrators warned that restructuring measures would also lead to job cuts.

“A reduction in the number of employees will unfortunately be necessary,” they said, pledging to “retain as many jobs as possible”. 

Meanwhile, SAA subsidiary SA Express appealed a judgement that placed the company under business rescue.

“It is clear that the court went over and above what it was required,” said the airline on Thursday in a statement.

Our Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/News/World/South-African-Airways-axes-more-domestic-international-routes/688340-5446966-tvj999z/index.html

Kenya and the United States on Thursday signed an important Amendment to the U.S.-Kenya Air Transport Agreement.

Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Manisha Singh and Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure James Macharia signed the deal in Washinton DC.

The Amendment adds seventh-freedom traffic rights for all-cargo operations to the bilateral Air Transport Agreement and will enter into force following an exchange of diplomatic notes.

“It has been applied on the basis of comity and reciprocity since it was negotiated on December 4, 2019,” read part of a statement from the U.S State Department.

According to US government spokesperson, the rights in the Amendment will facilitate the movement of goods throughout the world by providing air carriers greater flexibility to meet their cargo and express delivery customers’ needs more efficiently.

“Specifically, the Amendment allows U.S. all-cargo airlines to fly between Kenya and a third nation without needing to stop in the United States, an important right if operating a cargo hub,” the statement said.

Kenyan all-cargo carriers will have reciprocal rights to serve the United States.

“This Amendment further expands our strong economic and commercial partnership, while creating new opportunities for all-cargo airlines, exporters, and consumers,” the statement noted.

It added, “It will fully open the Kenyan air cargo services market to U.S. carriers, and represents one way in which the U.S. Government is delivering for U.S. all-cargo carriers and American workers”.

The Amendment between the United States and Kenya is also a step forward in liberalizing the international civil aviation sector in Africa – a region that has the potential to be one of the fastest-growing in the world.

In October 2018, Kenya Airways made history with its debut Nairobi-New York nonstop flight.

Covering a distance of more than 13,713km, and taking 15 hours 25 minutes on the outbound trip, the new flight was not only the first commercially scheduled non-stop service between Kenya and the US but also ranked as one of the longest flights in the world at seventh place.

The route is also KQ’s longest flight.

Onboard were 234 passengers – 30 in business class and 204 on economy class.

So far Kenya Airways has completed 594 flights to and from New York since the launch of inaugural flight on October 28 last year. 

Speaking during a one-year anniversary celebration in New York last year, KQ chairman Michael Joseph said at least 105,084 passengers had been flown on the route.

For 594 flights made in the year, KQ could have ferried a full 138,998 passengers on full capacity. This means the airline managed 75 per cent capacity since launch. 

“Currently as we speak all our business class is fully booked on a daily basis and the economy is currently between 65 and 85 per cent full daily,” Joseph said.

KQ which had aimed a daily flight on the route but this was cut a few weeks later to five days a week, citing low demand during the winter season.

It, however, resumed daily flight in June on the Summer holiday peak especially for American tourists visiting East Africa.

“Beginning June, Kenya Airways will increase its frequency to New York from five days a week to seven days a week. This is expected to open more opportunities for travelers to take advantage of this route during this high season,” KQ said in a statement.

The non-stop flight to the US was billed as a key in Kenya’s quest to boost the arrival of American tourists as well as deepen commercial activity between the two countries that have been trading partners since Kenya’s independence in 1963.

KQ had hoped to ride on high tourist numbers from the US  to increase its revenues by 10 per cent.

 According to Joseph, a codeshare with Delta, all their passengers can fly from Nairobi to all the destinations without changing flights but they are seeking to expand the same this year.

 KQ’s  Nairobi New York Route serves 34 Africa destinations with Nigeria leading at 16.3 per cent of connecting Africa traffic with 1753 passengers.

South Africa is second at 15 per cent with 1613 passengers followed by Uganda at 14.7 per cent with 1581 passengers.

Tanzania has 11 per cent of the connecting traffic with 1259 passengers while Congo has eight per cent traffic with 856 passengers.

Our Source: https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2020-02-06-us-kenya-add-all-cargo-rights-to-air-transport-agreement/

The Kenya Association of Travel Agents has warned travellers against engaging agents that are not accredited by any authority.

KATA CEO Ms. Agnes Mucuha stated that this will ensure that travellers are not conned of their hard-earned money by unscrupulous people posing as legitimate travel agents.

This comes in the wake of a case where a tour operator is accused of obtaining Ksh 426,000 from a businessman by promising five air tickets to South Africa.

It is alleged that on the day of travel, the travellers presented the tickets at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in order to be presented with boarding passes and instead they were informed that the tickets were not valid.

The agent denied the charges before a senior principal magistrate and was released on a cash bail of Ksh 200, 000.

Many such cases, Ms. Mucuha stated, have been reported but the Association’s hands are tied since they are not KATA members and we have no avenue to seek redress for the victims. The best they can do is report the matter to the police for action to be taken.

“KATA members adhere to a strict code of conduct and professional standards. As the national umbrella body of travel agents in the country, we can assure travellers booking holidays and travel with our agents of utmost professionalism and integrity” she said.

Rogue travel agents who swindle unsuspecting travellers have raised the government’s concern. In August 2019, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Mr. Najib Balala put tours and travel firms offering fake packages to unsuspecting people on notice as they also pose a risk to the country’s image as a tourist destination.

Our Source: Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA)

Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi, Kenya’s second president passed away on February 2, 2020 at Nairobi Hospital. He was 95 years old.

The retired president who ruled the country for 24 years is currently the longest serving president Kenya has had.

He took over presidency after the death of the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta in 1978. Mr. Moi joined politics in 1955 after working as a teacher for almost 10 years.

He was Minister for Home Affairs in 1964 before becoming Vice President in 1967 a position he served in until he became president in 1978.

He also served as Mp Baringo North from 1963. He later served as MP Baringo Central from 1966 until his retirement from presidency in 2002.

The Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) joins Kenya and the rest of the world in mourning his demise.

Our Source: Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA)

Kenya Airways has signed with Alitalia an enhanced codeshare agreement creating additional connectivity to the networks of the two airlines.

This new partnership is bound to boost business travel and tourism between African points into Europe, the Far East and South America, giving tourists and businessmen additional travel options and better flight schedules when traveling to Central and Southern Africa to the other continents through the two airlines’ hubs in Rome and Nairobi.

Thanks to the codeshare agreement, Alitalia is widening its codeshare network in Africa, by placing its “AZ” flight code on Kenya Airways’ service to Malindi. Kenya Airways launched flights to Malindi in June 2019 specifically to connect with the Italian market.

Similarly, Kenya Airways will expand its offer by placing its ‘KQ’ flight code on Alitalia’s services from Rome to Tirana, Podgorica, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Seoul.

“The expansion of this partnership after such a short period reflects the opportunities that have been unlocked since the inception of the Nairobi to Rome flight and serves as a testament to our continued commitment to creating access for travelers to Africa,” said Kenya Airways Chief Commercial Officer, Ursula Silling.

Thanks to the codeshare agreement, customers can fly seamlessly to their desired destination with a single ‘unique’ ticket, checking-in at the airport of departure, and collecting their checked-through baggage at the end of their trip in the arrival airport.

Our Source: http://aviationtribune.com/airlines/europe/kenya-airways-and-alitalia-expand-codeshare-partnership/

Kenya’s national carrier has suspended flights to and from Guangzhou starting from Friday 31, 2020.

Kenya airways made the decision after the recent outbreak of the Corona Virus in China which has so far claimed over 130 lives.

The airline however clarified that their services between Nairobi and Bangkok remain operational.

“Our consultation with the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs will continue and we will provide updates as the situation develops.

Once again, our care and concern for our staff and customers remains at the centre of the decisions we are making about this situation and I would like to reiterate that the safety and security of our staff and passengers remains our highest priority.” 31st January 2020, the statement read.

Previously, KQ had issued waivers for passengers who had already booked tickets.

Following the Corona Virus Outbreak being experienced in China Kenya Airways Guests To

& From Guangzhou maybe offered the following options:

FOR WHOLLY UN-UTILIZED TICKETS:

• Full refund is allowed
• Refund penalties are waived
• Refund application should be submitted on or before 29th February 2020

FOR PARTIALLY UTILISED TICKETS:

• Refund less 70% of the return fare paid
• Refund penalties are waived
• Refund application should be submitted on or before 29th February 2020

REBOOKING:

• Change of Reservation Penalty waived.
• No show penalty waived.
• The new travel dates must be made, and tickets reissued by 29th February 2020
• Should the guest wish to make further changes, Normal ticket rules will apply.

Please Note:

This waiver applies to booked and ticketed guests travelling to/from Guangzhou between

17 th January – 31 st March, 2020. Rebooking must be complete by 29th February 2020.

Our Source: Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) and Kenya Airways (KQ)