Kenyan-based low-cost carrier Jambojet has announced plans to begin operations to North Kivu Capital, Goma in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as to the Kenyan coastal island of Lamu.

In a statement, the carrier says the move is part of its expansion program, at a time when the coronavirus pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on the aviation sector in the region as well as across the world.

The company said its inaugural flight to Goma will be on 10th September 2021, starting with 2 frequencies weekly, with flights expected to grow to 4 frequencies weekly, flying on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

The airline announced that it will be flying to Lamu 4 times weekly, starting 15th September 2021.

Commenting on the announcement, Jambojet Board of Directors Chairman Vincent Rague said the expansion plan has been in motion for 3 years.

“Three years ago, …

A plan seeking to revive tourism in East Africa has been approved, following the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the sector.

Dubbed ‘The EAC Regional COVID-19 Tourism Recovery Plan’, the map was approved by the East African Community Sectoral Council led by Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Najib Balala.

Tourism ministers from the East Africa Community noted that some partner states had already instituted measures such as the formulation of stimulus packages aimed at re-igniting the sector and supporting tourism investments including the Small and Micro Enterprises.

In his opening remarks, Balala underscored the importance of the Partner States working together especially in addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector and in joint tourism recovery efforts.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has taught all of some really important lessons. For instance, domestic and regional tourism markets are really important and they can help in making …

Investment in the diverse sectors of the blue economy will help create jobs for the youth in the East African Community.

This is according to the President of Zanzibar, Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi, who has called for foreign direct investment from East Africa and beyond in the island’s blue economy.

Dr. Mwinyi said that the island was open for investment in diverse sectors of the blue economy including deep-sea fishing, ports infrastructure, marine transport, petroleum and gas, and tourism.

“Zanzibar also requires heavy investment in modern agriculture, real estate and conference tourism,” said Dr. Mwinyi in a speech read on his behalf by the country’s 2nd Vice President, Hemed Suleiman Abdulla.

“Investment in these sectors will spur business within the East African Community in addition to increasing national revenue and improving the lives of the people of Zanzibar,” said Dr. Mwinyi.

According to the president, Zanzibar had been a centre …

Egypt’s tourism revenues fell by 67.2% due to COVID-19 in 2020 after recording $13 billion in 2019 when Egypt received 13 million international tourists; in 2020 it received 9.5 million. 

Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities minister Khaled Al-Anani said, “We witnessed a great year in 2019 in terms of numbers and revenues, and the first two months in 2020 were 8% higher, with 2.4 million tourists. The goal now is not to measure the number of tourists, but to say Egypt is a safe tourist destination even amid the coronavirus crisis.” 

He added that a total of 65% of tourists in 2020 did so in January and February.  

With the outbreak in March, Egypt closed its hotels but reopened them after two months with about 25% maximum occupancy later increasing it to 50%…

The tourism industry is one of the sectors that has been greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic which increased cancellations of hotels and travel bookings which resulted in revenue loss and unemployment situations, resulting to loss of substantial revenue to governments and increasing incidence of poverty among others.

Egypt’s tourism revenue recorded $9.9 billion in the fiscal year 2019/2020 a decrease of $2.7 billion from the previous year, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

The bank noted that the decline in travel caused a drop in the services surplus by 31.2 per cent to reach $9 billion in 2019/20 compared to $13 billion in the previous year.

According to the report, in the fiscal year 2019/2020, Egypt’s non-oil trade deficit decreased by $2 billion recording $36 billion compared to $38.03 billion recorded in the previous year. The bank said this was because of the hike in non-oil merchandise …

Tanzania became the first East African nation to reopen its schools, businesses and ports of entry, charting a new path in the management of the Corona Virus.

As of May 18, Tanzania reopened its airspace for international arrivals and the World is responding.

Only three days after it announced its reopening its airspace, local media reported that a chartered airplane landed at the Kilimanjaro International Airport on May 21. The plane had on board four Greek nationals.

Previously, the tourists would have had to go into a 14-day mandatory quarantine but not anymore. Now anyone entering the country only needs to go through a simple temperature check upon arrival. Other measures include having all arriving flights present an Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) so as to allow the Tanzania’s Immigration Department and Airport Authorities to identify high-risk passengers.

All non-APIS compliant flights will now be required to notify their passengers …