This brand new week, we bring you our fresh new weekly Top Ten (10) digest for the most important things in Uganda’s Tourism, the world of Aviation and Travel that have trending especially in this COVID-19 Era. As always, we will be giving you highlights that make News rounds all through from start of the week. Below is our Weekly Newsletter for your readership.
01. Uganda Gov’t sets regulations guiding on taking food through Entebbe Airport
Travellers carrying unprocessed foods through Entebbe International Airport will be required to acquire phytosanitary certificates, according to new directives by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF).
The new directive applies to unprocessed agricultural imports and exports for personal cargo. Many Ugandan passengers have been freely exporting food stuffs as passenger cargo, with no standards being enforced.
02. How travel will look like in 2022 and what will change
On March 2, four new occurrences of the virus were announced, two of which were the first cases of community transmission. These two cases were acquired in Australia, although all previous cases were imported from outside. Both cases were reported in New South Wales, with one obtained from a close family and the other from a health care worker in Western Sydney.
The federal government announced on March 25 that Australian citizens and permanent residents would be required to seek exemptions to leave the country.
03. Where are travellers staying on New Year Eve?
Travelers are looking for new experiences to celebrate the start of 2022. Agoda data shows that travellers across Asia are showing their ongoing desire to get out, to getaway and to escape the constrictions and controls of Covid impacted regions, venturing into the big cities and the traditional, celebration destinations.
Famous cities remain hot destinations but the travel trend to ‘escape’ to more off-beat nature or beach destinations dominates this year’s New Year’s Eve plans, according to data from digital travel platform, Agoda. Furthermore, travelers are choosing luxury to ring in the New Year this year too.
04. Vumbula Uganda takes the fun to Kabale
The travellers were treated to thrilling activities such as the visit at the Equator, ziplining, island hopping, boat cruise, nature walks, games, amongst others. And as if that wasn’t enough, the journey was also spiced up by the charming Mc Africa who was onboard, and ofcourse some surprise performances from the dancehall act, Coco Finger and Dj Ciza who made the nightlife experience quite memorable.
While speaking exclusively to this newspaper, the CEO Vumbula Uganda, Mr Sebulime Peter alias Demo Riley asserted that their unmatched travel experiences are made possible because of the incredible support from their sponsors, and thus promised to throw much better experiences next year.
05. Africa’s International Powerhouse: 76 Years of Ethiopian Airlines
First starting its operations with former military Douglas C-47 transports, Ethiopian Airlines has grown to become Africa’s largest airline. Founded on December 21st, 1946, the carrier now has a fleet of 130 aircraft, operating a particularly diverse fleet of widebody twinjets. Having already covered the airline’s history in previous articles, let’s specifically take a look back at the carrier’s past year.
Now 76 years old, Ethiopian’s 75th year as an airline wasn’t an easy one considering the ongoing challenges presented by the global health crisis. Sadly, the airline’s 73rd and 74th years had their own issues, too, of course. Indeed, 2021 has been a continuation of problems that began in 2019- with the carrier being one of two airlines at the center of the Boeing 737 MAX crisis.
06. Brussels Airlines synergizes on growing its offering in Africa next summer
Brussels Airlines is resuming some of its previously canceled routes to Africa due to the COVID-19 crisis. For its 2022 summer schedule, the Belgian flag carrier will add West-African destinations Conakry (Guinea) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) from June 11th. The airline credits its expansion to an additional Airbus A330 that will join its fleet some months from now.
Brussels Airlines is ready to increase its presence in West and East Africa by restarting flights to two destinations and increasing frequencies to five others.
Two West-African destinations – Conakry and Ouagadougou – that were dropped from the carrier’s schedule in 2020 will make a comeback in June 2022.
07. World-wide Aviation Giant: The History of Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines boasts an immensely diverse route network, serving more destinations than any other carrier internationally. Flying out of its hub at the new Istanbul Airport, it has nearly 400 aircraft at its disposal which reach all corners of the world. A member of the Star Alliance since 2008, it uses its strategic location to offer key connections to and from Europe.
Turkish Airlines is fast approaching 90 years old, having been established in May 1933 as Turkish State Airlines. Initially an arm of the Ministry of National Defence that operated domestic services, the post-war era saw the carrier expand internationally. In the years since, it has amassed the largest route network globally by countries and destinations served.
08. Emirates SkyCargo transports 600 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, more than 27M doses to Uganda
“Emirates SkyCargo remains committed to the rapid distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to vulnerable communities around the world. When we formulated our COVID-19 distribution strategy in 2020, Emirates SkyCargo prioritised the movement of COVID-19 vaccines through our Dubai hub to developing countries. I’m happy to announce that nearly two thirds of the total vaccines we transported were headed to destinations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
With our extensive reach across six continents, our wide-body capacity and expertise in cool chain logistics, Emirates SkyCargo will continue to be a reliable partner for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the months to come,” said Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo.
09. How Internet of Things can create seamless stay for hotel guests and maintain worker safety
While there is still some uncertainty about the pandemic, with vaccinations widely available many people are eager to travel. Travel bookings are through the roof – with hotels the busiest they’ve been since prior to the pandemic. Among all this chaos, it’s important for hotel owners to protect their two most important assets: their guests and their employees.
For hoteliers looking to create efficiencies and a safe, comfortable experience for both employees and guests traveling for the first time in over a year, the Internet of Things (IoT) can help them do so. In fact, according to PwC, 70% of hospitality executives report that they already have active IoT projects in the works.
The aviation industry is split on what to do with the Airbus A380 now that travel is rebounding and flyers are expecting the luxuries offered prior to the COVID-19 pandemic on their flights.
Once a status symbol for the world’s airlines, the world’s largest passenger jet was a drain on passenger-deprived airlines in the pandemic’s early days. But the grim outlook in the early days of the pandemic turned into a comeback story as airlines started reviving their A380s.
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