News from ATTA
News from ATTA consists of a combination of news from the African continent with relevance to African Tourism along with news about ATTA for the benefit of our members.
23 December 2021
Happy holidays to one and all
All of us at ATTA HQ send our very best wishes to you for a happy, healthy and safe festive season. It has been a very bumpy journey but together, we will be able to ride it out. Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year to you all. Nigel, Chris, Kate, Katie and Angela
Read More22 December 2021
Dubai extends Kenya flights ban to Christmas eve
ATTA®Dubai has extended the ban for all inbound and transit passenger flights from Kenya till December 24 amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in the country.
Read More22 December 2021
BBC HARDTalk Paula Kahumbu: Saving Africa's wild spaces
ATTA®Stephen Sackur speaks to Paula Kahumbu, CEO for WildlifeDirect, Kenya. Her campaign to protect elephants and other endangered species asks Kenyans to prioritise protection of the country’s wild spaces – is it working?
Read More21 December 2021
Mozambique records largest sighting of dugongs since the 1990s
ATTA®Bazaruto Archipelago National Park in Mozambique has recently documented the largest herd of dugongs seen along the East African coast since the 1990s.
Read More21 December 2021
Uber and Opibus to roll out 3,000 electric motorcycles by 2022
ATTA®Swedish-Kenyan electric vehicle developer Opibus will deploy 3,000 of its electric motorcycles in collaboration with U.S. mobility giant Uber. The project aims to create a sustainable ecosystem for transportation in Africa by 2022.
Read More20 December 2021
Kenya Tourism Number Records 40% Increase
ATTA®Kenya has recorded a 40.8% growth in tourism numbers with 663,036 visitors in the period (January-October, 2021) compared to same period last year of 470,971 arrivals .
Read More20 December 2021
Dubai bans flights from Kenya for 48 hours
As per directive from Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), all air transport services with inbound and transit passenger movements to the emirate of Dubai from any point in the Republic of Kenya are temporarily suspended for 48 hours effective from 20 December 2021 at 10.30hrs Local Time Dubai. Customers will not be accepted for travel on Emirates flights at Nairobi during this time. Outbound passenger operations from Dubai to Nairobi remain unaffected.
Read More17 December 2021
ATTA HQ Christmas Operations
ATTA®ATTA HQ Office Hours: Closed: 24 December 2021 - 3 January 2022 inclusive Open: 04 January, 2022 ATTA News: 22 December 2021 - Last day for members to post news items 23 December 2021 - Last ATTA News for 2022 04 January 2022 - Members may submit news items 05 January 2022 - First ATTA News for the New Year Emergency Contacts: Office phone and leave message: +44 (0) 207 9374408 Kate Kenward +44 (0) 7501 680017 kate@atta.travel Chris Mears +44 (0) 7710 306286 chris@atta.travel
Read More17 December 2021
10 tech trends set to transform travel in 2022
ATTA®According to FCM general manager Bonnie Smith, as business travel recovers, more and more companies are embracing technology to help them get back on the road with confidence.
Read More16 December 2021
Turkish resumes SA ops
ATTA®Turkish Airlines will resume flights to South Africa on December 18. The airline says it may add flights to the following schedule:
Read More16 December 2021
BA updates SA schedule
ATTA®British Airways has notified the trade of an update to its schedule from Johannesburg and Cape Town to the UK.
Read More15 December 2021
Rwanda New Quarantine Travel Restrictions due to Omicron Spread
ATTA®After many Africans celebrated the reversal of the no travel to the UK rule, Rwanda announced new restrictions due to the enormous spread of the Omicron variant in the country.
Read More15 December 2021
Australia ends Omicron border rules
ATTA®Australia’s Chief Medical Officer has announced that with effect from today, December 15, Australia’s border measures (created in response to the COVID-19 Omicron variant, which restricted travellers who have been in eight Southern African countries) have now ceased.
Read More15 December 2021
UK red list decision celebrated – others urged to follow
ATTA®As champagne corks popped throughout Southern Africa this afternoon when the UK Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, announced that all 11 countries would be removed from Britain’s red list, there were renewed calls for other major source markets to follow suit.
Read More14 December 2021
Rhino sanctuary rescues 12-hour old rhino calf
ATTA®The Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary has taken in a 12-hour old rhino calf on Thursday afternoon, 9 December.
Read More14 December 2021
A new Zambia Airways takes flight
ATTA®The new version of Zambia Airways has taken to the skies and the airline has ambitions to fly to Johannesburg and to service at least two routes in Zimbabwe.
Read More14 December 2021
South Africa to Launch New eVisa System in March 2022
ATTA®This month, South Africa’s Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, has announced that the government will launch its new eVisa (Electronic Visa) system in March 2022. The system will simplify international visitors’ visa applications to South Africa, and thereby invigorate both South Africa’s tourism sector and the wider economy.
Read More13 December 2021
Backtrack! SAs blocked from departing on QR
ATTA®In a shock reversal, Qatar Airways posted a notice on its website on Saturday, December 11, saying that with immediate effect, the carrier would no longer accept passengers travelling from five Southern African countries into its global network.
Read More13 December 2021
St Helena Travel Update
ATTA®Like everywhere else St Helena’s tourism sector has been hard hit by the pandemic. While we have had no community spread, we have also not had any tourists due to travel restrictions for 18 months.
Read More10 December 2021
Seychelles International Airport launches biometric corridor for ‘contactless’ travel screening
ATTA®The Ministry of Transport has announced the launch of a biometric corridor for health travel screening at Seychelles International Airport, becoming the second country in the world after the UAE to leverage walk-through biometrics at its borders, guaranteeing contactless and secure travel and an unmatched customer experience for all travelers arriving by air.
Read More10 December 2021
Rhino Massacre In Western Cape As Festive Season Starts
ATTA®Searl Derman, owner of Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve, just outside of Cape Town in the Western Cape, South Africa, and his management and staff are left traumatised after four rhinos, (including one pregnant female) were found massacred last night (Wednesday 08 December 2021).
Read More09 December 2021
Omicron travel bans against Africa unjustifiable, says WHO regional chief
ATTA®The travel bans imposed on African countries because of the Omicron coronavirus variant are hard to justify and will injure Africa’s emergence from the negative impact of the pandemic, according to Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa.
Read More09 December 2021
Rwanda is accepting tourists
ATTA®Gorilla-watchers and other tourists arriving in Rwanda from any country other than Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe (or passengers who have been in those countries in the seven days prior to travelling to Rwanda) may enter Rwanda by simply quarantining for 24 hours at a designated hotel at their own cost.
Read More08 December 2021
South African Airways partners up with CemAir for additional routes
ATTA®National carrier South African Airways (SAA) has linked with fellow local and regional carrier CemAir to extend the air route network both operators use to offer customers using both airlines on multi-destination trips an easy check-in experience.
Read More08 December 2021
South African Tourism gets New Acting CEO
ATTA®The Board of South African Tourism (SAT) has appointed the organization’s Chief Marketing officer Themba Khumalo as SAT’s new Acting Chief Executive Officer.
Read More08 December 2021
How the pandemic accelerated digital transformation in the airline industry
ATTA®The Covid 19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the travel industry, with South Africa being one of the hardest-hit countries after further travel bans were recently imposed on the country due to the Omicron variant.
Read More07 December 2021
United Airlines resumes nonstop flights to Cape Town from New York
ATTA®United Airlines has resumed its three-times-weekly non-stop service between its New York/Newark hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and Cape Town. The Cape Town-New York/Newark route builds on United's existing service between Johannesburg and New York/Newark, launched in June this year.
Read More06 December 2021
France updates travel restrictions; SA on new ‘scarlet red list’
ATTA®The French authorities have created a new category of restricted countries, the so-called ‘scarlet red’ list to protect France ‘from the dissemination of the Omicron variant on our territory, until the risks attached to this variant are precisely established,’ according to the official French government website.
Read More06 December 2021
Application for Membership - Sanderson Phillips - Professional Partners - United Kingdom
ATTA®Sanderson Phillips has applied to join ATTA®. Their membership will be approved if there are not any objections lodged within the statutory 10-day period. (See objection procedure below).
Read More03 December 2021
Mozambique reiterates commitment to renewables
ATTA®The continuous commitment to the development of renewable energies in Mozambique is at the top of the Mozambican executive’s priorities, guaranteed by the Deputy National Director of Energy at the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, Marcelina Mataveia, on Tuesday during a conference on renewable energies in Mozambique.
Read More03 December 2021
VS – new departure time
ATTA®Virgin Atlantic has notified agents that it is currently operating three flights a week between Johannesburg and London Heathrow due to the red-list restrictions.
Read More03 December 2021
MSC restarts its SA cruises next week – and all passengers must now be fully vaccinated
ATTA®The MSC Orchestra is due to embark on a 5-day voyage on Monday after a prolonged absence from South African shores.
Read More03 December 2021
Application for Membership - Human Factor Hub - Professional Partners - South Africa
ATTA®Human Factor Hub has applied to join ATTA®. Their membership will be approved if there are not any objections lodged within the statutory 10-day period. (See objection procedure below).
Read More02 December 2021
Harare aims to reach 25 million trees planted by 2021
ATTA®The government of Zimbabwe is marking its commitment to the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration. This is reflected in the theme chosen for the 2021 National Tree Planting Day, "Trees and Forests for Ecosystem Restoration and Livelihood Improvement". In this vein, the southern African country wants to reach the milestone of 25 million trees planted by 2021.
Read More02 December 2021
Air France may fly to SA after Dec 4
ATTA®French media are reporting that the authorities have announced flights from South Africa and six other Southern African countries could resume after Saturday with "extremely reinforced protocol", and for French nationals only.
Read More01 December 2021
WTTC, ASTA Call on Governments to Drop Travel Bans Against the Omicron Variant
ATTA®The travel industry has been busy reacting to the new Omicron variant of COVID and government responses to the new virus strain. The goal is to stop governments from effectively shutting down travel and tourism, even though the World Health Organization has recommended against shutting borders again.
Read More