TOURISM

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) is optimistic that foreign visitors to the country may hit the 1.7 million mark in 2018. This will be up from the 1.3 million foreign arrivals in 2017. According to UTB’s chief executive Stephen Asiimwe, the preliminary figures gleaned …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | “How many tourists actually visit Uganda?” is a question that many keep asking. According to Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), 1.3 million visitors came to Uganda, generating 1.4 billion dollars. Uganda Radio Network put this question to the chief executive of UTB, Stephen Asiimwe, on whether …

Niamey, Niger | AFP | Part of a group of a rare giraffes that has become a Niger tourist attraction is to be moved to a reserve 600 kilometres (400 miles) away owing to encroaching desert, farmland and increasing instances of them being struck by vehicles, officials said Wednesday. “It’s …

The big cats are horribly easy to kill with poisoned meat, allowing poachers to hack off their faces and paws Kampala, Uganda | DAMIAN CARRINGTON | That’s fresh, just a few hours old,” says Kris Everatt, pointing at a clear print of a lion’s paw in the hot dust. “It’s the …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The fin whale and mountain gorilla populations grew significantly due to efforts by conservationists to halt their descent towards extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said Wednesday. In an update of its “Red List” of threatened species, the IUCN said that a …

Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | More than 400 buffaloes believed to have been chased by lions drowned in a river in northern Bostwana this week, the government said. The mass drowning occurred in Chobe River near the border with Namibia. Early investigations by authorities in both countries “suggest that an …

Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Horst Schultze, the co-founder of Ritz Carlton Hotels, President and Chief Executive Officer of WP Hospitality has urged players in hotel and tourism sectors to put their customers at the centre of their service so they can post impressive growth numbers. Schultze was at the …

  Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ashely Brian, secretary of the Uganda Bird guiding club, has emerged second in the inter-continental birding competitions held recently in Singapore. The competition, which attracted participants from 78 countries, was aimed at testing birders on different bird species across the globe. Birdwatching, or …

Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Godfrey Kiwanda, the minister of state for tourism wildlife and antiquities has today launched Uganda’s latest tourism campaign dubbed ‘Christmas Tulambule Campaign’ which is geared towards attracting Ugandan travelers to local tourist attractions during the festive season. The campaign that started today will end …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | They have their hands full at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, where record numbers of orphaned chimps are being delivered to their care, victims of the relentless expansion of human activity. Poachers hunt them for their meat, farmers shoot them to protect their crops and …