Bikingi Gorilla Group on Track

By Geoffrey Baluku

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has in the past few months been habituating another group of Mountain Gorillas (Bikingi) for tourism. This arose from an earlier public outcry where industry stake holders questioned the rationale of UWA awarding monopoly rights of Nkuringo gorillas to a private investor under the disguise of doing it for the local community.

Bikingi group which is in the southern sector of Bwindi Forest National Park will be the 8th group to be habituated. Other groups include Nshongi that was officially opened for Tourism in September 2009, Bitukura Group in Ruhija, Nkuringo, Mubare, Habinyanja, Rushegura and Kyaguriro that is currently being used for research. The eight habituated gorilla groups constitute about 25% of the total gorilla population in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Gorilla tracking contributes over 60 % of tourism revenue to the coffers of the Ugandan government.

According to researchers, "overall, the gorilla population has been increasing at an approximate annual growth rate of 1%, which is indicative of a healthy population".

The director of conservation, Sam Mwandha, said, “It is too early to say when they will be able to accept human presence for the Bikingi group. We will probably be able to establish this in the next few months.”

The total Mountain Gorilla population in the whole world is estimated to be about 760 with about 340 in the jungles of Bwindi Forest as the rest straddle through Mgahinga, Rwanda and DR Congo.

RwandAir to fly Johannesburg direct

Hardly two months after taking delivery of its new aircraft, RwandAir has released a new schedule effective February 2010 announcing direct flights into Johannesburg every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The four weekly flights which beginning February 3, 2010 will maintain the daylight operation with departures from Kigali set at 1430HRS (Local Kigali Time).

Kigali bound flights will depart from Johannesburg at 1900HRS (Johannesburg Time). Prior to the temporary suspension last year, RwandAir Kigali-Johannesburg direct flights had gained popularity as being the most affordable and direct way of accessing east and central Africa from Johannesburg especially for travelers from the Americas, Australia and South East Asia.

The national carrier has also announced the launch of flights to the Tanzanian port city of Dar es Salaam via Bujumbura beginning February 2, 2010. The early morning flights will depart from Kigali International Airport at 0700HRS (Local Kigali Time) every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday while the direct to Kigali return flights will depart from Julius Nyerere International Airport Dar es Salaam at 1100HRS (Dar es Salaam Time).

While announcing these additions to the schedule, the Chief Operating Officer Capt. Jack Ekl said that the airline is keen on deploying more capacity and increasing its frequencies to these destinations with the expected acquisition of Boeing 767 and 737-800 in March 2010. “We will soon be communicating our 2010 World Cup offers with the resumption of the Jo’Burg Direct” he added. RwandAir recently announced its plans to operate scheduled flights to Goma and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo - DRC in the first quarter of 2010.

Tanzania tourist arrivals reduce

By TEA Correpondent
Tanzania is likely to miss out on millions of dollars usually expected from the tourism industry following the decline of international tourists' arrivals which is due to the global financial crisis. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, Tanzania suffered a 10 percent decline in foreign tourist arrivals in its wildlife-rich national parks in the first ten months of 2009.

The WTO's 2009 comprehensive report shows that the country had received about 576,643 travelers, down from 641,951 international tourists in 2008. The UN body goes on to note that the negative trends in international tourism surfaced in the second half of 2008 and intensified in 2009 due to the global economic downturn.

As a result, Tanzania, East Africa's second largest economy after Kenya, is currently struggling to promote domestic tourism in a bid to fill the gap in foreign tourism. Mr. Ibrahim Mussa, Assistant Director Research, Training and Statistics in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism observed that government had opted to concentrate on domestic tourism due to its potential.

"We have decided to increase efforts to woo domestic tourists as a counter to the effects of the global financial crisis because we found that it is paying off," said Mr. Mussa. He added that findings revealed that an endeavor to pursue local tourists is paying off with a 19.3% increase in activity.

Mr. Donatius Kamamba, Director of Antiquities in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, said that a preliminary analysis conducted by his Ministry, shows that the number of visitors coming to the country for leisure had dropped due to the consequences of the financial crisis.

More bidders required for Air Tanzania

Even as the government enters the final stages of two-year negotiations with China Sonangol International Holdings to buy a controlling stake in Air Tanzania Corporation Ltd, it has now decided to invite more international firms to vie for a stake in the ailing airline.

The state-owned carrier last month cut 155 jobs amid talks of a partnership with China Sonangol. Only 182 employees remained. It cited overstaffing and accumulated staff wages as the reasons for the layoffs..

Ministry of Infrastructure Development Permanent Secretary Omar Chambo said talks between the government and officials from China Sonangol are at an “advanced stage,” without elaborating further.

Mr Chambo said the negotiations with the Chinese firm do not debar the government from looking for other investors, and that already several other companies have shown interest in the carrier. However, he declined to name the firms and their number, saying this could jeopardise the discussions.

According to Mr Chambo the government wants to see Air Tanzania revived and brought back to full strength to take advantage of growing markets like the Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Zambia and Malawi.

But critics say the government has not kept its word on giving Air Tanzania full support since the firm parted ways with South African Airways in 2006.

Air Tanzania Corporation Ltd, formerly known as Air Tanzania Corporation, was privatised on December 2, 2002 in a deal in which SAA acquired 49 per cent shares in the firm $20 million, which largely went into shareholding, with the rest going into capital and training accounts.

Last week, a US firm, Celtic Capital Corporation of Texas, said it was ready to take over the operations of Air Tanzania.

Five firms based in the US, the UK and the United Arab Emirates have also shown interest in running the cash-strapped airline.

In August 2008, the Tanzania government held secret talks with the Chinese Development Bank to sell the 49 per cent shares acquired back from SAA to a Hong Kong-based private firm with a view to reviving the ailing airline. In the deal, China Sonangol International Holdings was expected to fund the operations of the airline that is now struggling to regain its reputation and position in the regional and international market.

Sam Pal, chairman of Sonangol International said recently that China Development Bank would be funding the takeover of Air Tanzania, but bureaucracy within the government has delayed the takeover.

Terminal 3

Mr Pal said that Sonangol has already started construction of Terminal Three of JK Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam and is working on expansion of the airport.

Sonangol said that it has already bought an Embarer fleet for Air Tanzania. China Sonangol International Holdings Ltd, which was established in 2004, mainly engages in oil, gas and minerals investment and exploration, crude oil trading and large-scale national reconstruction projects.

Headquartered in Hong Kong, the company also has branch offices in mainland China, Africa and Latin America and operates the oil refinery in Angola as well as chartered airlines in Angola, the US and the UK.

The East African

Uganda's Tourism boosted by Global Hiking Challenge in the Wild

By Benard Busulwa

Uganda’s tourism sector received a boost recently when the country hosted its inaugural Hike4Life challenge. The annual event, which is organised by Focus, an international humanitarian relief organisation, seeks to mobilise resources through sponsorship of hiking or cycling challenges.

Participants who are drawn from around the globe help to boost the host country’s tourism. Focus works with its agencies in Europe, North America and South Asia.

Uganda’s hiking challenge around Mt Elgon — which is famed for mountain climbing and hiking safaris — brought together 41 participants from Europe, USA and Canada. Although the country has attractive rivers, lakes, game parks and cultural sites, the tourism sector is under exploited due to poor marketing strategies. The choice of Mt Elgon for the Hike4Life event was inspired by its intact natural beauty and highly challenging terrain.

“We wanted an environment that could dare contestants both mentally and physically. In consultation with our local partners, Mt Elgon emerged as the best venue” said Irfan Haji, vice chairman of Focus agency in Europe.

Uganda views the Hike4Life event as an opportunity to showcase some of its less exploited tourist attraction sites. Mt Elgon for instance, is a popular tourist site but a poor road network and inapt bridges discourages tourists, particularly budget travellers, from visiting the region.

Consequently, tourist arrivals in the country are lower than those of neighbouring countries. For instance, Uganda recorded an estimated 844,000 tourists in 2008 compared with 1.1 million registered by Kenya during the same period.

But organisers of the Hike4Life challenge expressed optimism about the impact the event had on the country’s tourism sector.

“We are delighted to have hosted this event in Uganda. Many of the participants had never travelled to this country; the hiking challenge offered them an opportunity to experience the hospitality and warmth of its people, as well as discover the magnificent countryside,” said Mahmood Ahmed, the Aga Khan Development Network resident representative in Uganda, during the event.

The Uganda hiking challenge raised some $250,000 which is to be injected into the ongoing humanitarian activities in Afghanistan and India. This is in contrast to previous Hike4Life events that raised an average of $500,000 each.

Relief efforts

Focus was established in 1994 by the Ismaili Community and is an affiliate of the AKDN — a group of private and international agencies who foster social welfare activities in developing countries. Focus’ speciality is international crisis response and disaster management interventions particularly in Asia — Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. Interventions have also taken place in Madagascar and Mozambique.

So far, Focus has held eight Hike4Life events. The inaugural edition was held in Egypt in 2002 and involved a bikathon along the River Nile. Subsequent events included a climbing challenge hosted by Kenya in 2003 and a hiking event around Mt Kilimanjaro in 2007.

Through deeper outreach networks in various parts of Asia, Focus is able to supplement relief efforts of large international aid bodies such as the Red Cross, Oxfam and the World Food Program.However, officials are concerned that the need for humanitarian assistance is rising faster than they can mobilise ample resources.

Shahed Karim, board member of Focus Europe attributed the trend to the severe effects of climate change that are often blamed on industrial pollution prevalent in the developed world.

The East African

Mobile Internet generation targeted by Google's smart phone

By Miguel Helft

Google’s unveiling on Tuesday of a rival to the iPhone is part of its plan to try to do what few other technology companies have done — retain its leadership as computing shifts from one generation to the next.

The rapid emergence of the smartphone as a versatile computing device may be as much a challenge as it is an opportunity for Google, which built its multibillion-dollar empire largely on the sale of small text ads linked to search queries typed on PCs.

As people increasingly rely on powerful mobile phones instead of PCs to access the Web, their surfing habits are bound to change. What’s more, online advertising could lose its role as the Web’s primary economic engine, putting Google’s leadership role into question. “The new paradigm is mobile computing and mobility,” said David B. Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard Business School. “That has the potential to change the economics of Internet business and to redistribute profits yet again.”In recent decades, the power of industry giants like IBM and Microsoft, waned as computing shifted from big mainframes to PCs, and from PCs to the Internet.

Many analysts say it is now Google that is faced with a less certain future in the face of another shift. Still, they say Google saw this coming years ago and has been preparing for it. Google executives now say they are confident that the company will thrive as the mobile Internet grows.

“We are incredibly excited about the opportunities that we see in mobile,” Vic Gundotra, a vice president of engineering at Google who oversees mobile applications, said last week. “We have invested a considerable amount, and we can now really provide a compelling mobile experience.”Top Google executives, including Eric E. Schmidt, the chief executive, have long said the mobile Internet was Google’s biggest opportunity for new growth.

They orchestrated a string of acquisitions of companies with mobile-related technology, including Android, maker of a cell phone operating system; Grand Central, a service for making calls that can bypass telephone lines; and AdMob, an advertising network for mobile applications. The AdMob deal is awaiting approval from regulators. Google also invested far more aggressively than its competitors in mapping technologies and services tied to a user’s location, which are likely to become the vital underpinnings of new advertising systems on GPS-equipped mobile phones.

The unveiling of the Nexus One, a thin, touch-screen handset built to Google’s specifications and made by the Taiwanese company HTC, is a challenge to a newly minted industry power: Apple, whose iPhone dominates the high end of the smartphone market.

While the iPhone sends millions of people to Google’s search and other services, some of the company’s applications, like Google Voice, have not been allowed to run on the phone.Analysts say that with the Nexus One, which Google plans to sell to consumers directly, the company is trying to free itself from Apple’s growing influence. It also wants to broaden the appeal of Android’s technology.

The phone is expected to be sold unlocked, allowing consumers to buy service plans separately.Gundotra declined to discuss specifics of the Nexus One. But he said all of Google’s mobile moves were driven by one objective: Pushing the industry to open up in an attempt to replicate on mobile phones the environment that has allowed the PC-driven Web to grow at explosive rates.

Some of Google’s moves, like its bid for spectrum, confounded many in the industry. But analysts say Google’s actions proved shrewd and that the company has, to a large extent, helped open up the mobile Web and ensured that its services, and ads, will be accessible to all.“You could take a view that this is a very geeky company,” said Nicholas Carr, author of The Big Switch, a book about the shift to Internet computing. “That underestimates the strategy that underlies all these moves.”

New York Times