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. Dubai Airshow to help push-start Aerospace Industry, Says Board
Dubai Airshow has held the first meeting of its Advisory Board for 2021, where members analysed industry trends and discussed future strategies that will drive growth for the aerospace sector.
The goal of the board is to help shape the 2021 programme and agenda for the Dubai Airshow, in order to elevate the event to a new level of success.
02. Lilly Ajarova urges tourism stakeholders to get involved in POATE
Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) has urged all sector players to get involved as the country seeks to chat a way through which it can reboot the tourism sector.
Speaking ahead of the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) slated for April 27 and 29, Ms Lily Ajarova, the UTB chief executive officer, said it was important that all tourism stakeholders and Ugandans at large push in the same direction to establish a sustainable way through which tourism will be rebuild.
The call comes at a time when tourism has been recovering from Covid-19-related disruptions that had threatened to decimate the entire value chain, especially when the country had to about three months of a complete lockdown.
Lilly Ajarova, UTB Chief Executive Officer
03. From a Tourist to a Philanthropist, Gina’s first visit to Uganda influenced her into Charity
It is unpopular seeing a tourist who visits a destination, comes back frequently, and finally finds themselves lending a hand to the extremely vulnerable children from severely poor families.
To the assisted Children in Kanungu district, Bwindi National Park communities and surrounding communities in South Western Uganda, Norgard is more than just an Angel and a life saver. With the new development and trends in the ever growing world composed by challenges and facilitated by education and proper healthcare is something not to skip an eye but an utmost point to ground on.
04. Etihad launches IATA travel pass on Abu Dhabi-North America Routes
IATA Travel Pass will enable Etihad’s guests to create a ‘digital passport’ to receive Covid test results.
Guests travelling with Etihad Airways from now until 31 May from Abu Dhabi to Chicago, New York, Washington and Toronto, will be the first to trial the IATA Travel Pass app to manage their travel health credentials.
The IATA Travel Pass will enable Etihad’s guests to create a ‘digital passport’ to receive Covid test results and verify they are eligible to undertake their journey. IATA Travel Pass will keep passengers in control of their data and facilitate the sharing of their test with airlines and authorities for travel.
05. POATE 2021- Let’s go and close that deal and revive the tourism sector
Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), in conjunction with the mother ministry, the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities will from 27th to 29th of April 2021 host the 5th Edition of the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) 2021.
The theme for this critical event on Uganda’s tourism calendar is running under the theme- “Restarting Tourism for Regional Economic Development.”
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 related restrictions on travel and meetings, as well as the logistical challenges, again, associated with Covid-19 related safety precautions, as well as the necessity to ensure safety for all participants, POATE 2021 will exclusively be held online.
Susan Muhwezi – Vice-Chairperson of Uganda Tourism Board, President of the Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UHOA) and Senior Presidential Advisor on AGOA & Trade.
06. IATA Travel Pass first tried on the Ethiopian in Africa
With airlines grumpling with the covid-19 after effects, more airlines are conforming to new regulations to effectively stay in business and move along with the recovery process.
The Ethiopian, an African Airlines Group has become the first African airline to conduct a trial of the IATA Travel Pass, a digital travel mobile app to enhance efficiency in testing or vaccine verifications.
Tourism and travel exhibitions and as such, POATE is such a great opportunity for us, as Uganda because, it is a cost-effective way of attracting wholesale tourism buyers. Wholesale buyers are people/companies who sell many tourism destinations to several buyers across the world. They run the show, so to speak. When such wholesale buyers get to know and or put your country on their catalogues big business starts flowing. When they eventually come to visit your country destination and meet potential ground handlers such as local tour operators; when they fall in love with your country, and trust me Uganda has in the past charmed so many wholesale buyers, then you are in things- as Ugandans like to say. When individual tourism players start getting big business, they expand, they hire more people, buy more things locally, pay more taxes and the country grows.
Amos Wekesa, Tourism Proprietor under Uganda Lodges Ltd and Great Lakes Safaris
08. Flydubai adds Batumi to summer schedule
The flights will operate three times a week between 12 May and 1 September
Flydubai has added Batumi to its seasonal summer flight schedule. The carrier currently operates flights to Tbilisi International Airport (TBS) in Georgia, while it will also operate three flights per week to Batumi International Airport (BUS) between 12 May and 1 September.
Jehun Effendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and Ecommerce at flydubai, said: “We are delighted to re-launch our flights to Batumi, which have been a favourite summer destination for our travelers in previous years.
Batumi Sea Port, Georgia USA
09. How meals are cooked onboard an Aircraft?
Meals onboard can be one of the best or the worst parts of a flight – depending on the airline and your cabin class. Whether they are good or bad, there is still a lot of organization and preparation that has gone into most airline meals.
10. Grading and Classification sensitization exercise for Hotels, Accommodation facilities kick-starts
Government through the Uganda Tourism Board has activated this year’ Grading and Classification Exercise for Hotels and Accommodation facilities in Uganda. The exercise which started on Thursday yesterday will be ongoing till this Friday at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel.
Bringing together all industry key stakeholders for a refresher training and sensitization exercise in Uganda, so as the knowledge acquired from the exercise is implemented into their Accommodation businesses, this exercise follows a field implementation plan, assessment and quality verification practice by certified assessing officers who this time around are from across the East African regional countries of; Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and South Sudan as they will traveling the whole Country from May to August assessing hotels before star rating them after the exercise.
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