TOURISM

One of the challenges that Uganda’s tourism sector continuously faces is poaching and illicit trafficking of its wildlife. To curb this, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has donated to the country 10 wildlife crime scene investigation (WCSI) kits to combat wildlife related crimes.  In addition to the kits, …

ATC News by Wolfgang H. Thome Kenya will become the first country in Africa to receive brand new long- distance passenger trains in February this year. The five passenger locomotives are part of the 56 locomotives expected in the country prior to the launch of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) …

Renowned American travel writer, speaker, and humourist Spud Hilton has listed Rwanda among the places he would recommend for tourist in 2017. Hilton, who is the Travel Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, listed Rwanda together with South Korea, Oman, Mozambique, Wales, and Japan. The San Francisco Chronicle is one …

Analysts say the government needs Shs800bn subsidy annually to keep national carrier in the air The good news is that if President Yoweri Museveni’s New Year 2017 pledge is implemented, Uganda could end this year with a revived national air carrier. The bad is that the revived Uganda Airlines could …

New Delhi, India | AFP |  India has the world’s fastest growing passenger airline industry, expanding at an annual rate of around 20 percent. Here are some facts and figures: – How many Indians fly – Nearly 90 million people in the financial year that ended in March 31 2016, …

Paris, France | AFP |  Baboons make sounds that are similar to the vowels a,e,i,o and u, researchers said Wednesday, suggesting that some monkeys have had the physical capacity for language for millions of years. The findings in the journal PLOS ONE add a new dimension to the long-running debate …

The Ministry of Tourism has appointed national chess champion Phiona Mutesi and her coach Robert Katende as ambassadors of Uganda’s tourism across the world. Unveiling the two at the ministry head quarters at Rwenzori House Kampala, State Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities Godfrey Kiwanda Ssuubi says the two helped …

Beijing, China | AFP |  China will ban all domestic ivory trade and processing by the end of 2017, state media reported Friday, in a move hailed by activists as a “game changer” for African elephants. African ivory is highly sought after in China where it is seen as a …

Burning ivory, waging war: world battles poaching in 2016 Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  It was one of the most momentous events in the battle against poaching: 11 giant pyres of elephant tusks going up in flames in Kenya as the world looked on. The largest-ever destruction of ivory, which …

Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories | AFP | Pilgrims on Saturday thronged Bethlehem for Christmas Eve as Europeans worked up some holiday spirit despite tight security in the shadow of the Berlin market attack. Crowds of Palestinians and tourists flocked to Bethlehem’s Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity, ahead of …