East Africa Travel And Tourism News
East Africa Travel And Tourism News
Pride Inn Paradise In Shanzu Mombasa To Host Upcoming Skal Congress
The Pride Inn Paradise Beach and the recently acquired nearby sister hotel Flamingo Beach by Pride Inn will accommodate the bulk of the Skal Congress delegates expected to come to Mombasa from across Africa and from around the world.
Said Hasnain Noorani, CEO of the hotel group: ‘We have upgraded our equipment for the comfort of all guests. Skal is important not only for the Resort and the Coast as a destination but for Kenya as a leading tourist destination‘.
The 79th Skal Congress will take place in Mombasa from 17th to 21st of October 2018. Named the “Congress on the Beach” is the event expected to bring over 500 delegates drawn from Skal Clubs globally. The main congress proceedings will be held at Pride Inn Paradise Hotel in Shanzu. This is the first time that the organisation is holding the global event in Kenya.
First to take place at the Whitesands Hotel in Mombasa three years ago did SKAL then suddenly develop cold feet and pulled the congress from Kenya over security concerns which proved unfounded but in a gesture of remorse then returned the congress venue to the Kenya coast.
Kenya’s Aviation Safety Up Ahead of Direct US Flights
Kenya has significantly improved its aviation safety standard, solidifying its Category 1 status that allows for direct flights between Nairobi and New York, US.
The country scored 78 per cent on the safety audit conducted between July 2 and July 12 by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
This was an improvement from the previous score of 66 per cent in 2008.
An ICAO downgrade on the audit would see Nairobi lose its recently acquired Category 1 status, hence missing out on direct flights between Kenya and the US, slated for October 28.
“Traditionally, an ICAO downgrade would result in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cancelling the Category 1 status,” said Transport secretary James Macharia.
Implementation of more safety measures by Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) will see the score improve significantly, Mr Macharia added.
Some of the safety audits conducted by ICAO include inspection of Kenya Airways and other domestic airlines as well as aviation facilities in the country.
Others include audit on personnel training and operation, licensing and surveillance of air operators.
According to the KCAA, this audit was tougher than the one conducted by FAA given the parameters of issues involved.
“On this audit, a total of 990 protocol questions were asked compared with 330 that were examined during the FAA audit,” said KCAA director-general Gilbert Kibe, adding that the score makes Kenya number three in the continent after Togo and South Africa.
Kenya has been implementing a raft of recommendations by the US government to enhance security, among them separation of passenger arrival and departure terminals, clearing the flight path and fencing off the airport, a move that saw the country awarded Category 1 status last year
Courtesy of KATA
IATA Makes Changes in Africa, Middle East Operations
In an effort to accommodate the diversity in geographic distances and complex challenges of the region, IATA Africa & Middle East (IATA AME) has made internal re-organization to favour its members and stakeholders.
“We have reshaped our AME structure and delivery approach so that we are set up to overcome some of AME’s unique geographical and operational challenges to maximize our ability and capacity” said a statement from IATA.
Effective July 1st 2018, IATA AME has remodelled their structure and delivery approach with the aim of overcoming some of the AME’s unique geographical and operational challenges in order to maximize their ability and capacity to serve members and stakeholders. “The new structure will allow us to better utilize our resources and focus on driving IATA’s global and regional strategic objectives across all business areas. Furthermore, it will allow IATA AME to allocate more resources to matters that are important to the successes of your organization and help build a safe, efficient and secure aviation industry,” says Sidy Gueye, Relationship Manager, IATA East Africa.
Under this new reshaped structure, primary support and advice for the services provided by IATA will be managed from four strategically located IATA cluster and support offices as below. The Gulf and Near East Cluster will be managed from Abu Dhabi and supported by a team in Jeddah and Amman, while North Africa and Levant Cluster will be managed from Cairo and supported by a team in Casablanca. In sub-Saharan Africa, the West and Central Africa Cluster will be managed from Lagos and supported by a team in Dakar while the South and East Africa Cluster will be managed from Johannesburg and supported by a team in Nairobi.
The affairs of the East Africa region will now be handled by Mr. Sidy Gueye who has been appointed the Relationship Manager, East Africa taking over from Ms. Sally Osure who served as the Area Manager, Eastern Africa. Reacting to the changes, KATA CEO Nicanor Sabula welcomed the changes and expressed his hopes that the changes would bring the much needed efficiencies and effectiveness in dealing with IATA matters. “We welcome Mr. Gueye to the region and hope that with his wide experience in the industry he will help us to speedily resolve issues that regularly emerge and require urgent attention. We will not have to rely to Amman anymore for our cases to be addressed.”
Courtesy of KATA
UNWTO / Chimelong Media Award on Wildlife and Sustainable Tourism
Media has a key role in promoting sustainable tourism.
The Media Award is a unique opportunity to share your work and showcase experiences and efforts to advance sustainable tourism for wildlife conservation in the African continent.
The call for submissions REMAINS OPEN – we have extended the deadline to 31 August to ensure you don’t miss the chance to highlight your work and raise awareness on the topic.
Our international jury is composed of Lonely Planet, UNEP and CITES.
Three finalists will be invited to the awards ceremony to be held in December. The winner will receive a professional photographic kit, an invitation to speak at a UNWTO event on Wildlife Conservation as well as promotion of their piece on all UNWTO communication channels.
Who can participate?
Any journalist who has published a written article, report and interview published in any of the five UNWTO Official languages (English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic) tackling the topic of Wildlife Conservation and tourism between January 2017 and June 2018.
Click here for more information and for the Terms & Conditions
AI to IoT: How Technology is Shaping The Future of Travel
From AI to cryptocurrency, the 2018 World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit has focused on the technology that will drive the future of travel.
A report from Deloittes notes that the industry has “reaches unprecedented size and momentum” as disposable income increases across the world.
Technology is seen as a key factor in this growth and the report pinpoints five major areas that will shape the future of travel:
Artificial Intelligence. “Touted as the new electricity, AI is the power behind many emerging technology platforms,” says the report. These range from the creation of smarter virtual assistants to big data techniques. Travel websites ‘learn’ how to give more personalised results while chat platforms improve service. Although AI has a long way to go, it will undoubtedly be a huge player in the future, says the WTTC.
IoT (Internet of Things). Connected sensors, devices and machines can create a new form of dialogue with the ‘real’ physical world. IoT has huge implications for airlines but also for hotels where smart home technology can provide some of the largest improvements to the travel experience of the future. On the downside, cost is still an issue, as are concerns around cyber-security.
Voice Technology. Close cousin to AI, voice interactions are already being seen as the use of digital home assistants multiply. 2018 is the first year a major hotel installed AI assistants in each of its rooms. Meanwhile search-shop-buy behaviour will shift as travel booking brings in more conversational exchange. Although voice technology is still in its infancy, heavy investment will create large leaps forward.
Automation/Robots. A mix of hardware and software platforms will increasingly digitise tasks, eventually taking most humans out of the equation. This is mainly being seen in transportation with a widespread push towards driverless vehicle technology. Workforce automation could affect 1 in 10 of the global workforce.
Blockchain. The technology that lies behind cryptocurrency is of increasing interest to the travel industry, as companies look for solutions to streamlining online distribution. Blockchain was a priority topic at Davos World Economic Forum, say McKinsey, with an estimate that 10 percent of global GDP will be stored on blockchain by 2027. The WTTC sees blockchain as a possible disruptor in travel – speculating that, while it may not yet put travel brands out of business, it may well force many to adjust their business models.
Courtesy of KATA
Seychelles Tourism Academy Graduates 211 Students
Earlier in the week did 211 students of various courses offered by the Seychelles Tourism Academy graduate. The Academy’s long serving principal Mr. Flavien Joubert hosted the Designated Minister – Seychelles’ title for what elsewhere would be referred to as Prime Minister – Macsuzy Mondon, the Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine Didier Dogley and the Director of the Shannon College Dr. Philip Smyth, among other invited guests from government and the private sector at a ceremony which took place at the Seychelles International Conference Centre in Victoria.
The students, graduating from 10 different courses, had attended STA for between one and a half and three years.
Winner of the 2018 President’s Cup was Anil Esparon who had studied for food preparation and culinary arts and obtained his Advanced Diploma at the ceremony while the annual leadership award went to Stephanie Houreau who had studied for an Advanced Diploma in Hospitality Management.
