British Airways Suspends Flights to Uganda
British Airways has confirmed its flight suspension from Heathrow to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. The Airline Regional manager Edward Frost has announced that the airline will have its last flight to Entebbe on 2nd October, 2015 and out of Entebbe to Heathrow on 3rd October 2015. The airline suspension is due to commercial reasons with some sources reporting low profitability on this route.
Frost while announcing the chances said that “Looking at the plans British Airways had for Uganda in the past six years a lot has changed”. The airline was committed to serve the travel market that was a main factor to host more flights between Entebbe and Heathrow.
The Discovery of Oil in Uganda is one of them, the 2010 world cup in South Africa, and the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The airline flights increased from three to five a week due to the high demand. However after the World cup, the Uganda Oil production delays by years made British airways to weigh the Uganda market as not viable to sustain its operations making it cut its flights back to three.
Come 2014 the Airline grow prospects where high with plans of looking at East Africa as a region instead of a single destination. The airways announced to increase its flights from 3-4 times a week a plan which failed in some months later due to the increase of the ground handling rates by the Civil Aviation Authority something it had never done for a period of 20years. The authority believed that the older rates did not make business sense. Tariffs for a Boeing 737 (B737) aircraft, for example, initially used to be $1,100 per turnaround. However, the tariff was increased to $1,200. Depending on the category of the aircraft, tariffs can go up to $2,500 per turnaround. The increase made Entebbe airport lose some bit of its competitive edge, although the rates were still lower than those at the busier and bigger Jomo Kenyatta airport in neighboring Kenya.
Also the escalating volumes of trade between Uganda and countries in the Middle East have recently attracted several airlines offering services to countries like UAE, China and Turkey among others. There is now a record five Middle East based airlines operating in Uganda, including Fly Emirates, Fly Dubai, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, Brussels airlines and Etihad Airways. Besides the best option airlines to London and USA.All customers who booked with British airways after 3 October 2015 will be given a full refund or can alternatively be re-booked, says Edward Frost, the airline’s commercial manager for East and Southern Africa though he wasn’t clear how many staff will be affected by the decision.
Read MoreInternational Birders Praise Uganda
Uganda receive the three prominent international birders recently, one is the organizer of the world’s largest bird fair in the UK called Tim Appleton, the other is Bill Thompson, the editor and co-publisher of Bird Watcher’s Digest, one of the most read North America’s birding magazines, and Dominic Mitchell, who is the founder and managing editor of Bird Watch, Europe’s leading monthly magazine. These three prominent international birders roomed the country, a first ever since the Big Birding Week started 11 years ago and paid glowing tribute to Uganda’s nature and proved that Uganda is really a pearl of Africa.
As he was speaking on the event, Appleton said that Uganda has the possibility to attract ten of thousand traveler’s whole over the world because Uganda is proved as a bird’s paradise with all most all types of birds. These entire where said during the launch of the big birding week at forest resort in Kasenge, Mukono district. He also noted that, ‘’Uganda has the highest population of birds not only in the east Africa but also in Africa, and not only seeing birds but birders also have the chance of seeing other mammals and primates like the gorillas on a gorilla safari and chimpanzees among others,’’. Appleton, however, noted that Uganda needs to improve its infrastructure if it is to attract more birdwatchers. He also added that Uganda needs more nice wide trails for better viewing of birds because there is no point in having small trails where if some in front of you sees a bird, the one behind misses it,” he said’’. He also asked the Uganda tourism board (UTB) to get involved in the UK Bird Fair, which, he said, attracted more than 22,000 people from 68 different countries annually.
Uganda is a God gifted country with very many species of birds and Uganda is considered the best safari destination for birders and it boosts of more than 1,057 species accounting for 11%of the globe’s total and 50%of Africa’s. The African bird club ranking Uganda as home to two of the top 10 birding sites on the continent. Bwindi impenetrable national park is ranked number one birding destination and Murchison falls national park in the ninth position. Nature Uganda in 2003 started the concept of the birding week which is developed into the big birding day, this came after seeing the potential that lies in birds. This year the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and Uganda Bird Guides’ Club, among others, partnered with Nature Uganda to organize the event which was so colorful.
Maria Mutagamba the minister of tourism, wildlife and antiquities was represented by Rosemary Komutagi, the acting commissioner for tourism development in the ministry of Tourism. As she was speaking on the event, she said that very may bird species visiting Uganda had increased and this has resulted to the increase in the number of tourists who droop in to watch them in their natural habitat last year alone over 3,000 birders where registered in the country, according to Komutagi, spent $5,000 on average, bringing in $15 million. She urged tour operators to prioritize birds because they bring in more money than all the other tourism products. According to records she said, ‘’on approximation, each birder spends about 3 weeks on safari as compared to one week of a safari tourist’’
The executive director of nature Uganda Mr. Achilles Byaruhanga in his speech on the event said that despite the growing interest in birds and tourism in general, the number of birds is reducing, in the last 30 days over 90% that’s from 10,000 to 100,000 of the grey crown crane (crested crane), which is the country’s national symbol. “Although the interest is growing, we are losing the numbers. The challenge is matching the enthusiasm in bird watching to conservation,” he said. However he credited the decline to the fact that most of the birds are living outside the protected areas that’s on people’s private land, where they are easily killed. He said that there are over 34 birding areas according to the research carried out by Nature Uganda including Mabamba, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Murchison fall national park, queen Elizabeth National Park among others. He said also that some thing must be done to preserve birds because they can easily migrate since they don’t need visa to fly.
Read More
Uganda a Better Tourism Destination in Africa
When you plan your African Vacation, I know you got choices to take, these may refer to where you want to go, what you like to see, how long you would like to be there and this all base on to your budget. Amongst all the African regions, East Africa tends to be more friendly than any other part of the continent. But remember unless you got a big budget you will travel the whole region. For those people who have limited time for vacations and fund, a Uganda safari Vacation would be ultimate. Why? You got the whole Africa in it’s ” pearl”.
Starting with the people who live in the region with more than 50 tribes expect to have variations in the cultural set up of the people in Uganda and this will be interesting to see different people of different languages, community set ups, the dances and many more. They are not confined in one place but here you need to move from region to region to experience this.
Apart from the people, physical appearance to the country still differs from each region. In the eastern part of the country is where you will see the open flat lands extending many kilometers, and some few hilly places will be seen. This explains how much precipitation these areas will receive in terms of rain fall, and they are some of the dry areas in the country so they grow crops other than plantation. Unlike the western part of the country which is characterized with hilly areas where much of rains fall is received you will find plantation farming taking place.
Your visit to Uganda may not necessarily focus on the community set ups, you may read from several sites on the internet and look at the amazing creatures that are found in Africa, like the Rhinos, Cape Buffaloes, Forest Elephants, Giraffes, Hippos, Nile Crocodiles to mention. These are all found in Uganda, remember Uganda has got ten National Parks where these animals can be traced. So when you choose a Uganda Safari, you choose which animals you like to see and this will answer the question which parks you gonna visit and for how long you will be with us here in Uganda.
Read MoreUganda to Quadruple Tourist’s Numbers – new UTB boss
Uganda is one of the perfect destinations for budget and luxury gorilla safaris in Africa. Endowed with wildlife in national parks, birds, mountain gorillas and chimpanzee the primates, geographical features, the new executive director of Uganda Tourist Board (UTB) Steven Asiimwe has promised to take tourism to greater heights, boost the numbers of visitors, attract investors and brand Uganda across the globe.
“The onus is upon everyone to paint a rosy picture of Uganda as a destination,” said Asiimwe.
“I appreciate the outgoing team for attracting 1.2m visitor here annually. However, with the new team we intend to quadruple the figure.”
Asiimwe stressed that during his reign, he is going to engage the whole nation and work with regional partners, conservation groups, local government, cultural institutions and the media to implement the tourism master plan which is embedded in the country’s ambitious Vision2040.
Deputized by John Ssempebwa, Asiimwe has called upon private investors to exploit existing opportunities in tourism.
In his speech, Cuthbert Baguma thumped his chest with satisfaction while talking about his achievement and the hurdles he braved to earn numerous accolades from renowned tourism bibles.
“Somehow Uganda has stayed on the face of the world with source of the River Nile being declared one of the seven wonders of Africa, Kidepo Valley National Park was also named one of the best on the continent,” said Baguma.
“The Ishasha tree climbing lion won an award in the national geographic photo contest.”
“Besides that Uganda cannot be ignored when talking about 29, 200 available gorilla tracking permits per year,” stressed Baguma.
“This part of the world, endowed with 1050 different bird species was declared a bird watchers paradise.”
The Uganda Tourism Board chairman James Tumusiime said operating on a shoestring budget cripples any activity and leaves the staff without any motivation.
“Kenya put in sh74b to tell the world what they have. Tanzania comes close on their heels with sh12b. Rwanda trails with sh12b,” added the representative of Uganda tour operators.
“Uganda has stagnated at sh221m. The budget ought to be beefed up. And our products need a presence on the tourism maps.”
Cries are audible in the tourism circles for the $25b provided by the World Bank to be injected in marketing Uganda products.
A half of it has been allocated to renovating the Jinja School of tourism and human resources.
The weaknesses that were pointed out in tourism comprise; lack of a consistent global identity, double taxation of tourism facilities like hotels and community tourism packages.
Parading miss tourism, Harriet Nakito and Africa’s next top model Stacy Aamito, the minister of tourism and antiquities, Maria Mutagambwa observed that the new UTB team comes at a time when the continent is facing a crisis.
“Statistics have it that a rhino is killed by a poacher in every ten hours. This has left the continent with less than 3500. A whopping 25,000 elephants were poached in 2011 and 22,000 in 2012,” said Mutagambwa. “We have to jealously protect our wild life from this illicit trade.”
Meanwhile every effort is being done to check these extremes by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
They have trained rangers and equipped them with modern crime bursting skills and equipment. But the poachers are fast getting more sophisticated and better armed. More than seven rangers have lost their lives on duty.
Africa needs the rest of world’s support in the fight against extinction of the rhino and the elephant.
UK recently announced $16m to tackle poaching and illegal wildlife trade.
“If we cannot save our elephants now,” said Mutagambwa. “We simply cannot wait – because if we do-it will be too late to save these iconic species in Uganda National Parks.”
Read More
Fly 540 Lowers Fares Again for Regional Holidays
Information received from the Kampala office of Fly 540 confirms the buzz amongst travel agents and regular travelers to Nairobi that the fight for market share has just become a notch harsher and ‘specials’ are being put out by the airlines, and often superseded by yet better deals, just as soon as the ink on the promotional pamphlets has dried. Fly 540, which last week confirmed a fare of USD 268 return all inclusive has over the weekend lowered this to US Dollars 240, inclusive of all taxes and surcharges, applying pressure on their competitors Kenya Airways, which is facing renewed strike action if last ditch efforts to find a common basis with the Aviation and Allied Workers Union in Nairobi fail, but also vis a vis Air Uganda.
The latter recently introduced a third daily flight between Entebbe and Nairobi, going one up on Fly 540 – KQ operates 4 daily flights between the two airports – but from usually reliable sources it was learned that the flight occupancy was still needing more ‘work’ to meet expectations at this moment in time and U7 too was considering dropping fares in order to get extra passengers into their seats.
Air Uganda, according to another source, has offered a range of ‘specials’ for their flights between Entebbe, Mombasa and Zanzibar, indicating that market conditions are ‘tough’ and unless passengers can be found, and kept, the struggle for not just market share but also for financial viability is a steep uphill journey. To lure more passengers most especially leisure tourists who seek a safari in east Africa on this route they are presently offering a companion rebate of 50 percent on their US Dollars 319 fare (terms and conditions apply) for the second ticket, making this deal slightly cheaper than Fly 540 if traveling ‘in pairs’ and cheaper still with their ‘family fare’ which goes for US Dollars 959 for two adults and two children.
Meanwhile it was also learnt that Fly 540 had offered a special fare for weekend travelers from Uganda traveling to Nairobi for the African Cup of Nations qualifier at only US Dollars 210, to be also repeated again for the upcoming ‘half term’ holidays of local schools between 15th and 24th of October.
Uganda drew their match 0:0 with Kenya and presently tops their qualifying group to the joy of the ‘Cranes’ supporters who for long have waited to see Uganda return to the continental stages, leave alone of course making an appearance in a FIFA World Cup final for the first time ever.
Said one football fan traveler with 540 to this correspondent: ‘at 210 Dollars I could not refuse to fly with Fly 540 and instead of spending a hundred or so dollars more with others, that money saved I used for my tickets and transport in Nairobi. And they have a very good aircraft, very comfortable’.
Read MoreParagliding Comes to Uganda
Exploring Uganda’s varied Landscapes By Tandem Paragliding
Fly Mami Afrika is the first renowned firm in the adventure business to launch Tandem Paragliding flights in Uganda. Managing director Adam Robinson found time in his hectic schedule to talk to the Uganda Tourist about his company’s latest activity on Uganda’s adventure itinerary. “Exploration is the spice of life”
After paragliding in 13 different countries, the search was on for a new location to introduce paragliding. So far there have only been a handful of people to fly in Uganda over the years.
Uganda has many varied landscapes, this makes for interesting flight characteristics. Beautiful wildlife is abundant, the vistas awe inspiring. We fell in love!
When looking for a viable location for Tandem Paragliding, many factors play a part. Like baking a cake, without the proper recipe and ingredients, the result will be lackluster. Mt Wanale (visible upon entering Mbale 2hrs East of Jinja) is the logical first site for Tandem Paragliding.
Highways between Iganga and Mbale are some of the best in the country, and there are passable roads to the summit. The flying has great distance potential, with elevation gains equal to cloud level on a good day.
Paragliding has evolved immensely in terms of passive safety and performance since it’s conception in the 1960s.
Unlike parasailing, a paraglider is not a parachute pulled up behind a boat. A paraglider doesn’t have a rigid frame like a hang glider. An aerodynamic airfoil creates lift using the same principles as an airplane.
A paraglider uses soaring and thermal techniques identical to a large bird to gain elevation while flying. Soaring is a reference to air blowing at a mountain ridge and jumping off the top like a skateboarding ramp. We fly along the edge of the ridge where that air compresses. Thermals refer to air heated by the sun that releases vertically due to variable topographical features (ie trees, rocks, water, even buildings). When a stork ascends making circles, it’s found a thermal.
Imagine no mobile phones, or work deadlines, and no traffic! Just woven kevlar lines, industry ripstop nylon and mylar in the canopy, safety parachute, a harness that reclines into a chair, the feeling of weightlessness, and wind in your hair. This is paragliding!
Our pilots have CPR/First Aid training, Wilderness First Responder certifications, and the U.S. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association’s T3 Tandem Instructor, Instructor, and P4 ratings.
The Package:
Fly Mami Afrika is currently offering combination packages including 2-3 night stay at the Sipi River Lodge after the tandem excursion in Mbale. FMA intends to expand by offering tandem flights in other locations throughout Uganda, individual paragliding instruction, and guided paragliding tours for established pilots.
The info:
To book a Paragliding flights with Fly Mami Afrika log on at www.flymamiAfrika.com | Call Tel: +256 (0)785 748719 |+256 (0)793 040238, email: info@flymamiafrika.com
Read MoreUganda’s Chimpanzee Population on the Rise
Our Guide said,”Jump here”. We stopped and had a look at the ground at the mass of bamboo twigs and leaves. “Why?”, I asked. After all it looked like any other part of the forest. “There may be a mine there”, was his reply. So we all obediently jumped at that point!! We were in the south of the Rwenzori Mountains surveying the forest for its chimpanzees.
This was the final forest in a four year census of the chimps of Uganda. The field teams had started in Bugoma Forest Reserve in June 1999 and walked over 4,600km through 20 forests in western Uganda, where chimps occur. Wherever we went we worked with people who knew the forest and could guide us through it particularly in places such as Rwenzoris and Semuliki Park.
This was the first effort to completely census the chimps population in Uganda. Previously scientists had guessed that there may be between 3000 – 4000 chimps but nobody knew for sure. The census was carried out by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Jane Goodall Institute in collaboration with the Uganda Wildlife Authority and Forest Department. It is important to know how many chimps are in each forest because then we monitor their population overtime to see if the numbers are increasing or decreasing.
Chimps build a nest each night to sleep in and these are used to count over a three month period. From this you can calculate the density of chimpanzees in the forest. The results produced a total of 4,950 chimpanzees in the whole country.
Chimpanzees are globally recognized as an endangered species as their numbers are declining rapidly across the continent. Chimpanzees are our closest living relative, sharing 98% of our genes and in many ways resemble us in their behaviours. It is important that the few that remain in Uganda are protected. Mountain gorillas are well known tourist attraction in Uganda but chimpanzees are not promoted as much. Yet Uganda is the best country in the world to view chimpanzees, coupled with the fact that there are mountain gorillas and 18 other species of primate; should make Uganda the premier primate destination for tourists in Africa if not the world.
Read More