Top Stories
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South Africa is seeing a tourism boom, with growth coming from China and Brazil
DestinationsTourist arrivals in South Africa rose 10 percent to a record 9.19 million last year, as the government boosted efforts to promote the country as a holiday destination and attracted more visitors from Asia. “A few years ago we took the decision to begin actively marketing South Africa in emerging markets, which has yielded extremely [...]
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Tanzanian low-cost carrier FastJet adds routes in South Africa
DestinationsFastJet Plc, seeking to become the first pan-African discount airline, said it will add flights in South Africa, backed by local investors and a 2 million-pound ($3 million) share placing with a London institution. FastJet will start offering tickets in a few weeks for the first flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg on May 31, [...]
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Eco-tourism blossoms out of conflict in Rwanda
DestinationsThe brainchild of Praveen Moman, a Ugandan native, [Kyambura Lodge] was built “to allow people to explore the area’s gifts.” Moman spearheaded ecotourism here in 1997. In the wake of the genocide, Moman saw an opportunity to not only share the region’s natural resources, but also give back. He essentially has funded an elementary school [...]
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Egypt restarts hot air balloon rides, weeks after deadly accident
DestinationsA senior civil aviation official says Egypt has resumed hot air balloon sightseeing flights in the ancient city of Luxor in southern Egypt, weeks after a fiery accident. Authorities suspended flights after 19 tourists were killed on Feb. 26 when their balloon caught fire and crashed in a sugar cane field. Mohammed Ibrahim Sherif, head [...]
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The local food and drink movement takes root in West Africa
DestinationsAt first glance Republic, a revolution-themed bar in one of Accra’s busiest nightlife districts, could be any of the Ghanaian capital’s hotspots. Artsy residents, office workers and expats sit on plastic chairs in front of its wooden façade as dusk turns to night, ordering caipirihnas or snacks like thick-cut chips and bowls of soup. But [...]
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How to run a luxe hotel when Central African Republic rebels have checked in
DestinationsRebel fighters in Central African Republic seized the presidential palace when they overtook the capital in March, though when it came to setting up shop they set their sights a bit loftier: the city’s sole luxury hotel. With no advance reservation, rebels armed with rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikov rifles have turned the five-star Ledger Plaza [...]
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China and Iceland sign trade pact to expand trade and tourism
DestinationsChina and Iceland signed a free trade agreement Monday, offering hope to the small North Atlantic country for its recession-battered economy and giving Beijing a leg up in its drive for expanded influence in the Arctic. The China-Iceland free trade pact will lower tariffs on a range of goods and is expected to boost seafood [...]
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Egypt tourism: Red Sea is surviving but cruises along Nile River are not
DestinationsThe Old Cataract hotel in Aswan that was used as a location for the film of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, and which underwent a multi-million pound refurbishment in 2011, stands almost empty. This year, the biggest casualty on the Nile is tourism. Easter is one of Egypt’s peak tourism weeks, along with Christmas [...]
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Traveling along Ethiopia’s coffee trail: These beans mean business
DestinationsThe first thing Azeb wanted to know about me was if I was on Facebook. After that she got to the less important stuff: Where I was from, if I was married, had kids, believed in God—and what was I doing in southern Ethiopia? Azeb, a 25-year-old business student with big glowing eyes and long [...]
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Airline industry leaders ask what can be done to improve aviation safety in Africa
DestinationsIATA CEO Tony Tyler wants to see airlines in Africa, the most aviation-safety-challenged region of the world, avoid the fate of Dana Air flight 992, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 that crashed in June in Lagos, Nigeria, killing all 153 passengers and crew on board, and about 10 people on the ground. While the cause of [...]
