East Africa Safari news for March 2009

Posted at April 9, 2009

Kenya reduces Visa Fee
The Kenyan Government has announced that Kenya will reduce the cost of tourist visas by 50% beginning April 1, 2009 until end of 2010. Additionally Kenya will waive visa fees completely for children under the age of 16 years. Uganda was the first country in East Africa to lower its entry fees by 50 percent for tourists in December 2008 and reduced park entrance fees as well.

Health and Beauty Resort in Tsavo National Park in Kenya The director of Kenya Wildlife Service Julius Kipngetich officially opened Kenbali Spa at Severin Safari Camp at Tsavo West National Park. The Kenbali Spa offers a wellness area of 430 square meters with traditional African beauty treatments, body massages and a large Ying-Yang spring water pool. The spa sits alongside a luxurious camp run by Severin Touristik that was built in 2001 with 21 tents and six suites.

New Tourism Master Plan for Rwanda
The 10-year plan is intent to making Rwanda the leading destination in East Africa. The plan addresses such key components as institutional framework, human resource development, investments in the sector, research, and marketing. General infrastructural developments like roads and bridges will also be addressed alongside this, to ensure that the designated 7 areas for tourism developments can be reached with ease.

Brussels Airlines adds fourth Kigali flight
Brussels Airlines, a member of the Lufthansa family will operate an additional flight each week to Kigali between early June and the end of September this year. The airline will use their Airbus A330 for the operation, which also provides more cargo space on the route between the two countries. The extra flight will operate on Sundays from Brussels and will route via Nairobi on the way back to Belgium. Other traffic days are presently Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Turkish Airlines Non-stop service to Nairobi THY Turkish Airlines has started non-stop flights to Nairobi from Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport. Flights depart Istanbul on Mondays, Thursday and Saturday at 6.45pm. Return Flights from Nairobi operate on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays departing at 2.30am.

Nairobi City Hotels enjoy growing conference business.
Despite the general downturn in tourism conference business is growing. Hotels with conference facilities in Nairobi and Mombasa are enjoying good occupancy. Especially Hotel in Nairobi benefiting from the strategic position of the city.

Primates in Ngungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda
Ngungwe Forest National Park is the largest remaining stand-alone forest of its kind in East and Central Africa. It is located in Rwanda’s southern territory and extending into Burundi. The park is a mosaic of rain forest, bamboo, grassland, swamp and bog. Nestled in the Albertine Rift Valley, the forest is alive with primates, some of which are only found in this region. Nyungwe is also renowned as a birdwatchers’ haven.

Yellow Fever vaccination for Visitors to Kenya
Kenya Port Health have announced that they have stepped up efforts to check for compliance by arriving passengers for the Yellow Fever vaccination certificates. These certificates are required not only for passengers coming from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission but also those who may have transited through such countries. Incoming passengers who do not have the Certificate may get a vaccination at the Airport if they wish to enter the country. For more detailed information please visit Kenya Airways website.

Fire destroys two Beach Resort in Bagamoyo, Tanzania
A fire destroyed the Paradise Resort and the neighboring Oceanic Bay Resort in Bagamoyo. The fire started at Paradise Resort and spread due to the strong wind to the neighboring hotel.

Two More Black Rhinos for Lewa in Kenya Beginning of March 2009 two black rhinos were born in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. This brings our total number of black rhinos on the Conservancy to 64, which represents over 10 percent of the population in Kenya. The black rhino population on Lewa has now reached the maximum capacity for a habitat. Lewa is starting to look to close neighbors to expand the rhino habitat.

Forest reserves in Kenya open up for more hotels Kenya Forest Service has opened the country’s gazetted forests for investors to put up five-star hotels. The move is aimed at earning revenues for the State agency and boost the country’s chances of attracting more tourists. The investors will be required to put up low density Eco-tourism facilities that will attract the high-spending nature-loving tourists, which will be a boost to the local tourism industry.

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