Electronic Visa (E-Visa) services are becoming the preferred mode of seeking travel approval by the modern traveler, industry trends indicate, as year-on-year overseas travelers continue to grow.

According to VFS Global (Visa Facilitation Services Global), breakthroughs in technology coupled with improved internet connectivity and speed are allowing ‘armchair booking’ of visas, flight and hotels at the click of a button.

Airports have been rushing to upgrade their technological solutions to ensure biometric check-ins of travelers in the near future.

E-Visa services allow customers to submit their visa applications using just a mobile phone as it does not require a visit in person to the application centre as part of the submission process.

“The Electronic Visa is emerging as a convenient and revolutionary service in the travel domain as it now offers the customers the unmatched convenience of applying for their visa from the location of their choice,” notes VFS Global notes in its report released yesterday.

The world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide, sees sees business and leisure tourism pushing uptake of e-Visa across 180 locations where it operates including Kenya.

“Travelers on short visits and trips will be the biggest drivers to uptake of E-Visa,” Regional Group COO Jiten Vyas said.

According to the firm, there is growing interest among governments across the world who aim to liberalise their visa regimes to make their respective countries both tourist friendly and business friendly destinations in this digital day and age.

Kenya has been enhancing issuance for visa’s on arrival to attract tourists and ease entry into the country, which includes leveraging on highly secure and smart solutions.

Today, 44 countries around the world offer E-Visas or some form of electronic visa solution for travelers with more expected to follow this year.

E-visas allow the secure management of the visa application process to take place entirely in an online environment, increasing time and cost efficiencies for the end customer and the concerned government as a convenient solution for a pre-travel authorisation.

“As improving technology continues to facilitate other newer applications in the travel and tourism industry, the potential for benefit to global traveler is extensive,” Vyas notes.

Some of the reasons why eVisa services are being preferred by the modern-day travelers include applying on the go with the globally accessible and user-friendly websites,simplified payment options(mostly online) and quicker turnaround time of decision making.

There is also no paper form filling or carrying copies of documents to be submitted on arrival while time is saved from visits to consulates or Embassy in person.

Travelers can also track application status online and reduced waiting time at airports for select categories.

Our Source: https://www.the-star.co.ke/business/kenya/2020-02-14-e-visa-emerging-top-choice-for-global-travelers/

Travel agents are here to stay! This is a statement that was made by the Chairman and Founder FCM Travel Solutions Mr. Charles Gikundi.

Mr Gikundi emphasised that only 20 percent of passengers buy their tickets directly or book travel through online travel agents. He was speaking during their 30^th anniversary celebrations of service.

“The travel industry is becoming digital and these makes people question how travel agents will survive when everybody is buying tickets online. Far from it, the principle has not changed. Only 20 per cent of passengers buy directly or online. The rest buy from travel agents. Travel agents are here to stay,” he stated.

KATA Chief Executive Officer Ms. Agnes Mucuha lauded the travel agency for their milestone.

She reiterated that passengers prefer to book travel with accredited travel agents who are trustworthy.

“KATA travel agents ensure that a passenger enjoys hustle free trips where the entire itinerary is organised for the traveller,” she said.

This, she added, ensures that travellers enjoy stress free holidays as the agents focuses on making the trip enjoyable and relaxing.

“One does not have to worry about visas, hotel bookings or even airport transfers as the KATA accredited agents focus on all the nitty gritty, leaving the client to have a happy vacation.

KATA travel agents are efficient, trustworthy and professional and abide by a strict code of conduct therefore ensuring that travellers get value for their money.

Our Source: Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA)

Dear Team,

Please be informed that following Upload has been processed.
Details on Countries and filenames can be find below.

Should you have any question please do not hesitate to contact us www.iata.org/cs.

We are pleased to inform you that the new Card Acceptance Chart feature is already available in BSPlink.

This feature enables you to query and download the Card Acceptance setups for the Airlines you have ticketing authority with, as well as to validate the type of credit card accepted from the customer – thus avoiding Agency Debit Memos (ADMs) related to the credit cards not accepted by the Airline.

In the meantime, we are committed to working towards service excellence, one step at a time…

Our Source: International Air Transport Association (IATA)

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/