TOURISM

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Japan on Monday started levying a 1,000 yen ($9.22) departure tax on each person leaving the country, a measure aimed at raising funds to further boost tourism. The International Tourist Tax will cover everyone regardless of nationality — from business people to holidaymakers older than …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Tourism is planning a big welcome for miss Uganda Quinn Abenakyo, who returns Wednesday after a stunning performance that saw finish in the top five at the 68th Miss World contest in China. Abenakyo emerged 2nd runner up in a global contest …

Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Fodor’s Travel, the internationally-recognized guidebook publisher and travel authority has featured Uganda on its annual Go List as one of the 52 destinations to visit in 2019, according to a press statement issued by Uganda Tourism Board on Dec.10. The Fodor’s website is published out …

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 …