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.
The past two years have been difficult ones. As we come to the end of 2021, it only reminds us of all the importance of family, friends, and the need to be leisured with our loved ones and most importantly, the need to get out of our homes and enjoy our beautiful country, Uganda.
We continue to reflect on how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected tourism, the tourism industry and the associated businesses. Some new approaches to tourism have emerged and presented new opportunities to diversify and even look further inward for its sustainability. This can help us avoid international travel restrictions, optimally utilize our time and enable us to get along on a limited resource envelope/budget. Hence, during this holiday season, it pays to explore and experience domestic tourism plus the associated investment opportunities in the different parts of the country.
Hon. Daudi Migereko and Prof. Katende. M. Suleyman
02. Uganda in advance stages to launch its first satellite
The government of Uganda is in advanced stages towards having its first satellite by August 2022. The satellite, PearlAfricaSat-1, is the latest mission from the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project. The project, first announced in 2019, took a major step forward recently with the approval of funding for a ground station at Mpoma near Kampala.
Mpoma facility was chosen as the base because it already has some ground technology being used for international telecommunication, a thing that would complement the satellite project. The facility already has two antennas, which will serve as the operations and communications center for satellites launched by the government and universities. The existing antennas are associated with Intelsat’s Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean satellites.
03. Kenya Airways simplifies connectivity between Juba and Khartoum with weekly flights
“Kenya Airways is steadfast on creating free flows of trade and tourism across Africa and in other key markets because we believe our wide network and reliable services will aid in opening up opportunities across the region, ” said Kenya Airways CEO, Allan Kilavuka.
Kilavuka says the move comes as the region continues to enhance economic cooperation to drive sustainable growth across a range of sectors.
04. British Airways signs sustainable aviation fuel agreement
Thousands of tonnes of SAF will be manufactured in the UK for the first time at the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery near Immingham. They will power several British Airways aircraft starting in early 2022. The airline, aiming for nett zero carbon emissions by 2050, will buy enough sustainable fuel to cut lifecycle CO2 emissions by over 100,000 tonnes, which is the equivalent of flying 700 nett zero CO2 emissions flights between London and New York on its fuel-efficient Boeing 787 aircraft.
The African Nature-Based Tourism Platform seeks to connect funders to communities and small and medium enterprises involved in nature-based tourism in 11 African countries.
Africa witnessed an estimated 90% drop in international tourism arrivals between April and December of 2020 (UNWTO, 2020). This translated into an estimated loss of $87 billion in revenue, 12.4 million jobs, and between 70-90% of conservation funding (WTTC, 2020).
06. ”Business travellers cancelling over Omicron” says London’s Heathrow
London’s Heathrow Airport said it was seeing high levels of business travellers cancelling over concerns they could be trapped overseas by travel restrictions triggered by the new Omicron variant of coronavirus.
The figures released show that the start of a gradual recovery seen in October, when demand was down 56%, had petered out. Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye called on the British government to reduce restrictions as soon as it was safe to do so, including allowing UK nationals arriving from red list countries to isolate at home.
07. Qatar unveils new tourism projects at ILTM Cannes 2021
In a bid to profile the new tourism projects and luxury offerings in the country, Qatar Tourism attended ILTM Cannes 2021 with a strong Qatari delegation.
Its tourism strategy puts the visitor at the heart of all new programmes and initiatives. As part of the ‘Qatar Tourism Strategy 2030’, the country has added a variety of exciting experiences, including a wave of new luxury hotels, theme parks, shops, and major leisure projects, that have recently opened, or are set to open in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
08. Omicron spreads faster and weakens jabs – World Health Organization
The Omicron coronavirus variant is more transmissible than the Delta strain and reduces vaccine efficacy but causes less severe symptoms according to early data, the World Health Organization said Sunday.
The WHO said Omicron had spread to 63 countries as of December 9. Faster transmission was noted in South Africa, where Delta is less prevalent, and in Britain, where Delta is the dominant strain.
09. Uganda Tourism Board, Kampala Capital City Authority to position Kampala as top tourist destination
Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop and promote tourism in Kampala through tourism product development, quality assurance of hotel and accommodation facilities and promotion of tourism awareness in the City.
The partnership agreement signed at the Kampala Capital City Authority Head Offices in Kampala; will promote Kampala City as a top tier tourism destination and gateway to Uganda’s premium tourism products.
L-R: KCCA ED, Dorothy Kisaaka together with UTB CEO, Lilly Ajarova exchange copies of the MoU after placing signatures to position Kampala a top tourism spot at KCCA Head Offices on Thursday afternoon
10. Global tourism to lose about $2.0 trillion in 2021 due to Pandemic – Report
The revelation comes at a time when European countries are being faced with a surge in infections and as a new heavily mutated Covid-19 variant, dubbed Omicron, spreads across the globe.
The global tourism sector already lost $2.0 trillion (1.78 trillion euros) in revenues last year due to the pandemic, according to the UNWTO, making it one of sectors hit hardest by the health crisis.
According to the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization that announced the finding, tourist arrivals will this year remain 70-75 percent below the 1.5 billion arrivals recorded in 2019 before the pandemic hit, a similar decline as in 2020, according to the body.
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