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India Outbound has the pleasure to present you a unique section on its flagship website dedicated to Africa travel news and a monthly B2B newsletter focusing on the promotion of travel & tourism development in African countries for the Indian travel trade. This initiative is the first of its kind in the Indian market and we look forward to provide timely and accurate information on Africa and contribute to a better understanding and knowledge of the continent that is often a victim of bias, clichés and other false information.

WTM Africa & IGLTA take initiatives to make it an inclusive event in 2020

WTM Africa (WTMA) in partnership with the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) will see the introduction of an LGBTQ+ travel event named EQUAL Africa in 2020. EQUAL Africa stands for equal love, rights, experiences & opportunities and will have a full-day conference at WTMA, taking place on April 6, 2020.

Megan Oberholzer, portfolio director, travel, tourism & sports portfolio for Reed Exhibitions says that the partnership with IGLTA is another way that WTM Africa continues to track the latest international travel & tourism industry trends. “LGBTQ+ Travel is on the rise globally, and facilitating safe, comfortable travel for LGBTQ+ travellers to Africa’s wonderful destinations are the focus of EQUAL Africa in partnership with IGLTA,” she says.

Air India starts flight services on Mumbai-Nairobi route

Air India resumed its direct flights between Mumbai and Nairobi on November 27 after a two-month delay, as it was supposed to begin on September 27 but was delayed until this month due to technical issues.

“The planning for flights usually takes time and that is why there were operational delays. But all is now set for the flights this month with air tickets currently being sold...The maiden flight is scheduled to depart Mumbai for Nairobi at 6.25 am (IST),” said Indian High Commission in Kenya in a statement.

It is scheduled to fly four times a week between Nairobi and Mumbai and will cut travel time from between 10 and 11 hours to six hours. This will save travellers’ hours spent on flights that usually involve long layovers in Dubai. The commission notes that the flights are expected to shore up trade between India and Kenya as well as other East African countries.

Seychelles Tourism highlights its three main islands to Indian tour operators

Seychelles Tourism Board conducted a FAM trip for the Indian tour operators to showcase the beauty of its three main islands - Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. The week-long educational trip gave the tour operators an opportunity to experience the paradise islands partake in various activities and get inspired by the local culture and cuisine.

The FAM trip aimed to showcase various aspects that cater to the requirements of segments like family holidays, adventure travel and celebrations. Senior management from Madhura Travel Service, Flamingo Transworld, Travel Triangle, FCM Travel Solutions, Ambition Travels and Orion Holidays were a part of this educational trip and the entire experience helped to enhance their knowledge to better promote and sell the destination.

During their visit, these Indian travel agents received a warm Seychellois welcome from various hotel partners and experienced services of the main destination management companies along with Air Seychelles who came on board as an airline partner. The group also interacted with Seychelles Tourism Board team to learn about the changing trends and positioning of Seychelles in the India market.

Victoria’s clock tower chimes again after repair in Seychelles

Victoria, the capital city of Seychelles is often referred to as the world’s smallest capital and equally often as the Capital of the Kreol World. In the centre of Victoria stands a landmark. A clock tower, which every visitor to the islands comes to see, during a stroll through the city centre or passing it en route to or from their hotels. It is a miniature replica of the clock tower in London and was installed in 1903 to commemorate the passing of the late Queen Victoria in 1901.

For quite a time being, the clock tower was out of service, following a fault which had developed in the mechanism. Following a public outcry, this was swiftly remedied. The clock tower is back in working order after repairs and as the 250th anniversary year starts, commemorating the first-ever settlement of the islands, visitors to Seychelles can once again check the correct time.

Madagascar Tourism organises four-city roadshow in India

Madagascar National Tourism Board in collaboration with Air Madagascar, Air Austral, Tsaradia and Air Mauritius held their first sales mission in India, organised by KSA Enterprise with its four-city roadshow in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.

The president and chairman of Madagascar National Tourism Board, Narijao Boda highlighted the destination’s unique features to educate travel trade in attracting a large number of Indian travellers to the fourth-largest island country in the world.

Air Madagascar announced the news that direct flights connecting Mumbai to Madagascar is expected to start from June 2020. Madagascar offers a wealth of unique biodiversity along with abundances of adventure activities like bird watching, trekking, hiking, scuba diving, sport fishing, kite surfing, sailing, whale watching, motorbike, quad and mountain bike trekking.

Freddie Mercury Museum opens in Zanzibar

A museum dedicated to the world music legend Freddie Mercury has been opened on the island of Zanzibar and is located in Shangani in the heart of Zanzibar Stone Town. The new tourism facility was officially inaugurated on November 24, 2019, in order to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the passing of the rock music legend Freddie Mercury.

This project aims to showcase a detailed accord of the birth town of Farrokh Bulsara, his roots with the Zoroastrian religion, his childhood and upbringing in Zanzibar, followed by his schooling in Panchgani, India and then the rest of his journey to becoming one of the greatest stars of all time. Founders Andrea Boero and Javed Jafferji paid tribute with the Freddie Mercury Museum to this Zanzibar-born legend who has touched the hearts of millions around the world. The museum is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm.

BLS International becomes a partner for Libya visa services in India

BLS International, an outsourcing service provider in visa, passport, consular and citizen has become exclusive visa service partner for Embassy of Libya in India, to regale Indian travellers to Libya. Embassy of Libya in India along with BLS International went live from November 4, 2019, where BLS International will impart help for visa and attestation of documents in India.

Travellers from India will be able to apply for Libya visas from the visa application centre in Delhi.

Shikhar Aggarwal, joint managing director, BLS International said, “It is an honour to work with the Embassy of Libya to ensure a more convenient and faster service for travellers, while maintaining the security and integrity of the visa process. With our experience and reliability in providing seamless visa application services across the world, and with technological advancement, the service will further enhance the ease of travel to Libya.”

UNWTO focuses on rural tourism in Africa

A workshop on ‘Digitalisation of Rural Services’ was organised by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)in Johannesburg on November 6-8. World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) at the event shared with experts and international development stakeholders, its vision and action plan for the tourism sector in Africa.

The deputy director of the Africa department at UNWTO, Jaime Mayaki, mentioned how tourism is one of the major drivers of sustainable development in the continent and what UNWTO is doing to support this inclusive and economic transformation. He also highlighted the crucial link between innovation and the promotion of rural tourism and how it can help open up and smartly market the access to rural areas.

In line with this aspect, Mayaki introduced to the public two tourism tech startups selected through the UNWTO /NEPAD Tourism Tech Adventure initiative.

Uber begins water transport in Lagos

Uber has begun to offer water-based shared transport in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. They had some time ago announced that they would sooner or later begin to use pilotless gyrocopters, once the technology for the equipment and the infrastructure has been put into place, besides the added layer of air traffic control.

While airborne transport in Lagos will no doubt be welcome, as and when it arrives, but for now Uber has started to offer water-based transport between various landing sites not only across Victoria Island but also to the mainland.

The new venture, a cooperation between the Texas Connection Ferries and the Lagos State Waterways Authority will now operate on workdays only and a one way the trip costs almost INR 100. Uber had already launched a similar venture in Cairo two years ago, using the Nile to transport people.

Coastal Aviation to increase ticket prices to Kigali due to revised fee rise

Coastal Aviation, a charter airline has advised passengers intending to book on their flights to Kigali, that effective December 1 onwards ticket prices must be revised upwards. This appears to be the result of a whopping 233 pc increase in flight clearance charges by the Rwandan authorities, which is reminiscent of their doubling of gorilla permit prices some time ago.

“We are already struggling a bit with these high tariffs and this latest increase in fares will only make the challenge even harder. We are competing on a tilted level with Kenya and Uganda which also offers flights from the Masai Mara via Kisumu to Entebbe and from there to Bwindi.

The packages are much more affordable because the gorilla tracking permits are so much less in Uganda. Anyway, we shall see how this will impact us but for now, we are not very hopeful,” said one regular source in Arusha to ATCNews.

Marrakech – Africa’s top travel destination, says TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor, the American travel and restaurant website company has named Marrakech as Africa’s top travel destination, also making it into position nine of the global top ten rankings in a list recently published by the company.

In fact, even Morocco made three appearances in the top ten for Africa, with Essaouira claiming fifth spot and Fes claiming the third spot. Other destinations named were Zanzibar at number two, Cape Town at fourth place, Nairobi at number six, Arusha, Overstrand, Grand Baie and finally Victoria Falls placed chronologically from seventh to the tenth position.

Marrakech, a former imperial city in western Morocco is a major economic centre and home to beautiful mosques, palaces and gardens, as well as the famous Jemaa el-Fnaa square and souk market. It is one of the most popular cities for tourists in the Maghreb.

Uganda retains her reputation as one of Africa’s best birding destinations

Uganda, one of the global birding fraternity’s most sought after destinations, has an inventory of some 1,061 species on record. These comprise both resident birds and migratory species, which use Uganda’s extensive wetlands, lakeshores and riverbanks to rest while on their biannual journeys into and out of Africa.

Recently further 11 species have been identified which can be added to the inventory, making birding safaris to Uganda even more desirable. Among the newly identified species are crested barbet, red-fronted parrot, steppe gull, purple grenadier, blue capped cordon bleu, blue cuckoo shrike, black collared barbet and Eurasian sparrow hawk.

A dedicated bird fair will also be held between December 6-8, 2019, at the Botanical Gardens in Entebbe, with the purpose of further underscoring this segment of Uganda’s tourism offerings.

Malawi introduces e-visa services to help promote tourism

Effective November 1, 2019, the e-visa portal launched by Malawi will allow travellers to fill and submit an application, upload required documents including photos and pay for visa fees making it easier for them to get their Visa applications processed ahead of arriving in the country.

The e-visa applications will be processed within three working days and once approved the e-visa approval letter will be accessible through the applicant’s e-visa account. Also, an access link will be provided through an instant email notification sent to the applicant’s email address.

All border entry points, in particular, the international airports in Blantyre and Lilongwe, are said to be ready to process visitors with e-visa, which when paid in advance will shorten the time required to enter the country. To apply for a e-visa one should register and log in to the Malawi Immigration website.

Minors travelling to South Africa don’t need unabridged birth certificate anymore

According to a directive recently signed by home affairs minister Arron Motsoaledi, international minors travelling to South Africa no longer require unabridged birth certificates or consent letters when travelling with their parents. The minister of tourism, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane has welcomed this directive as a positive development for growth in the tourism sector.

“To completely rescind this requirement is a win for tourism and an upside for industry and travellers alike as this has been a real concern raised throughout my engagements with various stakeholders. This announcement couldn’t have come at a better time than now as we approach the festive season. It further shows collaborative efforts on priorities in the sixth administration will yield good result and in this instance it will undoubtedly ensure ease of access to South Africa, as the work continues to bring over 21 million targeted international visitors by 2030 to boost tourism and turn around our economy,” said Kubayi-Ngubane.

WTM Africa to celebrate African story telling with travel and tourism awards

WTM Africa has partnered with idea architects, idna, to unleash the power of storytelling at the inaugural WTM Africa Travel & Tourism Awards that will be held in April next year. The awards will recognise the work of individuals and businesses in sharing the tales of the African continent, with the world.

“We naturally connected with storytelling as the most organic way to celebrate the best in African travel and tourism. Storytelling is one of Africa’s richest traditions and is the only medium to do justice to the continent’s rich history, culture, natural beauty and people,” said Tamlynne Wilton-Gurney, chief ideas officer at idna.

Megan Oberholzer, portfolio director, travel, tourism & sports portfolio, Reed Exhibitions, said that the WTM Africa Travel & Tourism Awards’ focus on storytelling is geared entirely around sharing the African travel story with the world.

    
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