Kenya tourism news – Magical Kenya Travel Expo another success story

MAGICAL KENYA TOURISM SHOW A TOTAL SUCCESS

First feedback from Nairobi tells the story of the tourism industrys delight with the KTB brainchild Magical Kenya Travel Show which showcased the countrys tourism attractions from the coast to the lake and all the national parks, game reserves and monuments in between. Aimed at the regional and international tourism trade Magical Kenya is the inaugural edition of what is expected to become an annual event where buyers and sellers can meet and do business, while the open day will showcase the countrys highlights and lesser known attractions to Kenyans at large. Here it is notable that KTB has launched a twitter campaign hashtagged #TembeaKenya, loosely translated into Travel across Kenya where special domestic tourism packages are attracting locals to see the country and tweet in their experience for all to follow, retweeted of course in full by @MagicalKenya.
The country is still on course to reach new record arrivals and revenues in 2011, inspite of a slowing of the world economy and recent events near the border with Somalia and it is expected that the tourism industry will reclaim the top spot as the economys foreign exchange earner from the tea sector.
Kenya Airways and a large number of international airlines are connecting visitors from the region, the continent and the big wide world to Nairobi and domestic flights to the coast resorts of Malindi and Mombasa, as well as to the national parks make visits easy and hassle free. Adds this correspondent in closing: Come and enjoy #TembeaKenya, be it Kenyans, East Africans or the proverbial wagenis which is a Kiswahili expression for foreign tourists. Find more information on the Kenya Tourist Board website via www.magicalkenya.com

Rwanda tourism news update – Congo Nile Trail to be formally launched on November 04

FORMAL LAUNCH OF CONGO NILE TRAIL ON 04TH NOVEMBER

(Picture courtesy of RDB Tourism and Conservation)

The latest kid on the block by Rwanda Tourism, the Congo Nile Trail, is set to be formally launched on the 04th of November in the resort town of Gisenyi on Lake Kivu where the Rwanda Development Board Tourism and Conservation will make detailed announcements as to the countrys latest tourism attraction. Located across from Goma, the border city in the Congo DR, Gisenyi has become a springboard to explore the lake through launch trips along the shores for bird watching and to see the awesome scenery unfold in front of a visitors eyes. Nearby forests are now earmarked for bird watching routes tourists can take and first class accommodation, like the Lake Kivu Serena, have attracted a great deal of more attention to the destination than has been the case before. Overshadowed by Mt. Nyiragongo, an active volcano across the border in the Congo DR, the lake side location makes for a stunning back drop and setting.
Located just over an hours drive from the countrys best known national park, the Parc de Volcanoes, a visit to Gisenyi makes a vacation and safari in Rwanda complete and tourists can now easily fly back on RwandAirs daily domestic flights from Gisenyi to Kigali, allowing for more time on the ground to explore The Land of a Thousand Hills. Watch this space for live updates from Gisenyi on the day of the trail launch or follow the author on Twitter via @whthome for regular tweets sent from location.

Mauritius news update – CCTV installations launched by Prime Minister to improve safety and security

CCTV CAMERAS TO MAKE PORT LOUIS AND GRAND BAIE SAFER FOR TOURISTS
None other than the Mauritius Prime Minister Dr. Navin Ramgoolan launched the islands latest innovation of CCTV surveillance yesterday, which will considerably improve safety and security for both locals but also for tourists visiting the island. The capital Port Louis will have 272 cameras, stationary and rotating while the tourist resort of Grand Baie will have 68 cameras operating on a 24 / 7 basis, covering the most popular areas and roads leading to the tourist resorts, all feeding into the respective police control rooms.
The security drive is supported by the tourism industry of Mauritius as well as local communities set to benefit from this crime watch facility and is expected to expand further across the island to cover other crucial traffic spots, installations and areas frequented by tourist visitors. Well done indeed.

Kenya news – Classic Safari Rally set for November 18th to 28th.

EAST AFRICAN SAFARI CLASSIC RALLY 2011 ALL SET TO ROAR

The classic version of the Safari Rally will take off from underneath the world famous tusks along Moi Avenue in Mombasa on the 19th November at 3 p.m. in a ceremonial start aimed to attract local and global media attention while the start proper will follow the next morning from the Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort and Spa at 6 a.m. when the cars will be flagged off from the parking area of the resort.
This years edition will end on the 28th November, again at the Sarova Whitesands from around mid day onwards, when the winners will roar back to the finishing line while others may just about limp over it.
The classic edition once again brings together winning rally car models from those great days in the 70s when The Safari was the most grueling event of the annual rallying calendar, which tested the mettles of drivers and the durability of the machines they drove. Held in those days over the Easter weekend it permitted motor sports fans to be part of a team by helping in various capacities and such volunteers really made the world championship rally happen, and had their tales to tell in the process as this correspondent well remembers.
The 10 day event is bringing 52 entries to Kenya, led by former World Champion Bjorn Waldegaard in a Porsche 911 and local legend Ian Duncan who has entered in a Ford Capri, amongst many other well known rallying and motorsport names and car types. The route this year again leaves out Uganda, which was on the route map of the inaugural version of the Classic Safari Rally but will again traverse scenic parts in Tanzania during race days two, three and four, before after the day 5 rest day moving into the Great African Rift Valley along the UNESCO World Heritage Site lakes between Naivasha and Baringo. Some of the most scenic night stops along the route will be at Amboseli National Park at Kilima, Kibo and Sentrim safari camps but also the Amboseli Serena and Ol Tukai safari lodges, with the back drop of Mt. Kilimanjaro, then in Arusha in the shadow of Mt. Meru at the Mt. Meru Hotel and later at Lake Naivashas Sopa and Simba lodges before making the penultimate night stop at the doorsteps of Tsavo East National Park at the Voi Wildlife Lodge.
Key sponsor is once more Kenya Airways, The Pride of Africa, doing Kenya proud by being at the forefront to promote such an eye catching sporting event and promoting the country as a sporting and tourism destination. Extensive television reporting is expected and footage will be aired around the world with fans who cannot make it to Kenya being able to watch the 2011 Classic Safari Rally from the comfort of their armchairs. Vrooom, Vrooom time to floor those pedals again in Kenya and Tanzania.