First global tourism destination alliance launched

The IIPT Peace Through Tourism conference in Zambia was the venue for the pre-launch for the International Council of Tourism Partners (ICTP) first global travel and tourism destination alliance.

The CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Alain St.Ange and chairman of the International Council of Tourism Partners eTN Publisher Juergen Thomas Steinmetz used Lusaka, Zambia IIPT conference "Meeting the Challenges of Climate Change to Tourism" to make a pre-launch announcement for the new International Council of Tourism Partners destination alliance.

ICTP members will actively support national Green Growth strategies and Carbon Targets and: they will be identified as committed to sustainable Travel & Tourism.
They will receive on line Sustainability Support from greenearth.travel and marketing support by a world class team of marketing professionals.

Greenearth will help them understand the issues and opportunities in Green Growth – economic / climate / social / environment linkages and balance.
Through the Live the Deal program they will be able to understand in simple terms, their governments’ carbon reduction targets as well as best global techniques and technologies for their own programs. It will also provide a source of information and guidance for employees.

ICTP alliance members will benefit from joint marketing and branding opportunities in primary and secondary markets. It may be ideal for smaller to medium size destinations whenever one destination is not able to do it alone. It will include trade shows, road shows, telephone and virtual meetings with tourism stake holders, joint media outreach on a global scale.

The global travel alliance is:
• Ideal for small to medium size destination
• A joint marketing effort. When one destination is unable to do it alone (i.e. provide representation at trade shows, organize/present electronic and virtual conferences, public relations, publicity, advertising and sales promotions projects), the synergy of the alliance will enable even the smallest destination to have representation
• Joint media outreach through the organization of media conferences in primary and secondary markets
• Strategic alliances for public – private partnership development
• Shared market research projects
• Development of a domestic /international Smart Card reward system for trade professionals and leisure travelers

Board of Directors
The alliance initial board members include Geoffrey Lipman, director of Greenearth, former assistance secretary General for the UNWTO, and first president of the WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council)

Feisol Hashim, owner of the Alam Hotel Group in Indonesia and former head of ASEAN Tourism, and former member of the PATA industry board. Feisol is also the Hon. Consul for Malaysia in Bali, Indonesia.

Alain St.Ange: Head of the Seychelles Tourism Board and pioneer of the world famous Seychelles Carnival.

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz: Publisher of eTurboNews, member of the UNWTO Task Group against exploitation of children through tourism, member of the
US Department of Commerce Export Council, member of the PATA industry board.

Besides the Seychelles and Zimbabwe additional founding members in various parts of the world are interested to join as founding members before the official launch at the World Travel Market in London in November. They include cities, regions and countries on all continents. Their goal is to increase business for alliance member destinations.

The International Institute for Peace Through Tourism and the Africa Travel Association pledged their willingness to cooperate with this new alliance.

The secretariat will be operated in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, Brussels, Belgium and Victoria, Seychelles. A new web portal will be introduced before the World Travel Market.

Iberia Offers Destinations in Africa and The Middle East

Iberia's customers can now book to new destinations in Africa and the Middle East. 

Since today, under code shares with British Airways, the Spanish airline is offering flights to Accra (Ghana), Lusaka (Zambia), Riyadh and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). Meanwhile, British Airways has added its code to Iberia flights to Santiago de Chile, Guatemala and San Salvador.

The new code-sharing arrangements are a consequence of the merger of Iberia and British on January 24 of this year. Since then, more and more flights have both airlines’ codes. British Airways is placing its code in Iberia’s Latin American destinations, while Iberia is placing its code in British Airways flights to Africa, Asia and the Middle East. More destinations will be added to this code-share agreement in the coming months, so customers from both airlines will have access to a broader network.

 

Flights operated by each airline are progressively becoming available on the other's web site and telephone reservations lines. It is also possible in certain routes to combine fares of the two airlines, and to choose the most suitable. Other advantages to passengers include access to more than 120 VIP lounges in Airport s around the world.

Air Zimbabwe crisis deepens

THE Air Zimbabwe board has decided to keep a low profile until the expiry of its term of office as it is allegedly being bypassed by the parent ministry of Transport and Communication in making crucial decisions.
The board is chaired by farmer-cum- businessman Jonathan Kadzura and its term of office ends in August.

Standardbusiness understands that at one time board members contemplated resigning en masse but chickened out fearing a backlash from government.

What has irked the board is that a senior transport ministry official had allegedly become a de-facto executive chairman of the airline making decisions without consulting the board.

“He has made sure he does not consult the board. Honestly, how can you have a ministry official entering into an agreement with striking pilots without the involvement of either the board or management?” asked one board member.

“What he is saying is that we are irrelevant so we have decided to wait until our term of office expires then leave the airline for good.”

Transport ministry permanent secretary Partson Mbiriri’s mobile phone was unavailable while Kadzura’s phone went unanswered on Friday.

In January, Mbiriri allegedly struck an agreement with the striking pilots to resume work after they had downed tools.

The board recommended that the pilots be fired since the strike was illegal but the resolution was overruled by the ministry.

The January agreement could not be honoured by the ministry triggering another industrial action in March by the pilots which grounded the airline.
The ministry intervened again after it availed US$3,8 million to pay salaries and buy fuel among other expenses.

In 2009, Transport and Communication minister Nicholas Goche promised to rectify the problem.

While the board and the ministry are poles apart, the airline is deteriorating by the day. Air Zimbabwe has over the years degenerated into a museum of mismanagement attributed to government interference.

Analysts say government has to move out of the airline to stop the financial haemorrhage.

Board blames government

Board members said on Friday the decline at the airline could be attributed to government which made sure that AirZim had no competition.
Despite opening up the skies, government continued to stop airlines that wanted to compete with AirZim.

Fly Kumba was denied permission to fly the Harare-Johannesburg route because it would compete with AirZim.

AirZim’s decline comes at a time when airlines flying into Zimbabwe have increased frequencies citing growing passenger volumes.

South African Airways, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and Zambezi have all enjoyed flying into Zimbabwe due to increased passenger volumes.

Amid a roaring rainbow: viewing the impressive Victoria Falls

Livingstone/Victoria Falls - The merchants outside the park are selling rain capes, even though there's not a cloud in the sky.
The forest is a deep green and a hot sun is brightly beating down. Nothing is moving and the landscape is flat. And this is where there's supposed to be a gigantic waterfall?
There is very little to indicate that, barely a stone's throw away, there is a 108-metre-deep gorge, through which the waters of the 1,700-metre-wide Zambesi River will go plunging down. The only giveaway is a roaring noise.
Just one further turn in the road - and suddenly, the trees give way to reveal a view of the mighty Victoria Falls.
Beyond the barrier, the river plunges over the edge. The walls of the gorge fall away vertically and yet they are overgrown with lush vegetation. Both sides of the gorge are connected by the spectral colours of a rainbow. Depending on the angle of the light, there might even be two rainbows there together.
Whether it is the backpack traveller or the package tourist, what brings them here to the centre of southern Africa, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, is a setting which could be the model for a romantic painting.
It was Scottish explorer David Livingstone, the first European to discover the falls in the year 1855, who spoke of the most marvellous view that Africa had ever offered him.
The sunlight is broken up virtually everywhere by the water's spray and converted into a rainbow. In order to view this spectacle, it is worth trying out different angles - one of them being a bird's-eye view.
The ultra-light airplane, actually just a motorised paraglider, lifts off from the runway, its steering controlled by a joystick. The pilot says he used to fly combat planes for the Zimbabwean army. Now, he flies tourists up over the waterfalls.
Some 200 metres below one's feet flows the Zambesi River. It separates Zambia from Zimbabwe and, at the Victoria Falls, slices deeply into the land. From the air, one can see the gigantic ledge of the falls all at once.
The light plane sails back over the Zambian national park Mosi-oa-Tunya, which means 'thundering smoke.' Close to the shore, elephants are grazing in the afternoon light. From the air they are hard to make out, but the silhouette of a crocodile, by contrast, is clearly to be seen in the river bed.
Then the plane lands again on the bumpy runway, located not far away from Livingstone on the Zambia side of the waterfalls. Most of the organized excursions start here. In the city, there are numerous banks and lodgings -- the good infrastructure is what attracts people.
In the Seven-Eleven in Victoria Falls Town, across the border in Zimbabwe, the offering of goods is more sparse. But the town's tourism sector has been able to recover somewhat after the political crisis of 2008.
Here and there, concealed behind the bushes on the edge of town, there are a few upmarket lodges. But there are scarcely any people to be seen on the streets. With a one-day visa for trips across the border, it is above all worthwhile to visit the national park in Zimbabwe.
In order to get over to the other side, moving from 'Zam' to 'Zim', the route leads across the Victoria Falls Bridge, 128 metres above the river. A few hundred metres back is the entrance to Victoria Falls National Park.
The air, always moist so close to the falls, helps a tropical rainforest to thrive here. The trail to the notorious Danger Point leads out of the forest and onto a field. A warning sign alerts walkers to the slippery stones along the way to the lookout point which is located directly next to the gorge.

Zimbabwe: NCA & MISA commemorate Africa Day

Harare- The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) and the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe Chapter commemorated the Africa Day in style by hosting two events on Tuesday 24 May 2011.

The commemorations which were part of the NCA’s ‘ Act Now Against Political Violence Targeting women Campaign’ kicked off with a Quill discussion  held at the Press Club and had several speakers who spoke on the significance of the day. The event was attended by scores of journalists, diplomats and various civic society activists.

NCA Chairperson Professor Lovemore Madhuku spoke strongly against political violence especially that targeted at women. He said that the NCA has experienced a lot of brutality against its members mainly  women who continue to be on the receiving end every time the nation goes to polls.

‘’We call upon our society to be very much alive to that level of abuse that we have experienced as a country. This is an occasion for us the NCA to showcase our determination and continue conscientising the public against political violence, ‘’said Professor Madhuku.

The NCA leader lambasted ZANU PF for using violence as a weapon to impose certain positions in trying to entrench themselves in power. Madhuku said that the NCA, through the Act now Against Political Violence Campaign  has lined up activities across the country encouraging communities to guard against these forms of violence. ‘’The best form of defence against violence is to create a democratic society were leaders respect the rights of citizens,’’ he lamented.

Speaking at the same meeting Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) President Lovemore Matombo said that Zimbabwe needs a leadership with a clear ideological standing in the mould of great Africa leaders like Julius Nyerere and Kwame Nkrumah.

Matombo also took the opportunity to castigate violence saying it is bad to society. ‘’We have witnessed our government institutionalizing violence  and this is not in line with the spirit of the liberation struggle,’’ he said.

Sharing the same platform Tsitsi Mhlanga from  Women in Politics Support Unity  (WiPSU) told the gathering that women are not adequately represented in the current constitutional making process. She called for the full implementation of the domestic violence Bill which she argues the authorities are not implementing.

After the Quill Speakers delegates to the meeting were treated to a thrilling performance by Zimbabwe’s oldest and popular reggae group the Transit Crew at a show held at the Mannernburg later that night. The gig dubbed ‘Afrika Day Special Gig’ started with messages of solidarity from representatives of the hosting organisations NCA and MISA Zimbabwe.

The group belted out conscious tunes with specific relevance to Africa playing songs like Are we a warrior-Ijahman Levi,  Africa Unite-Bob Marley, Addis Ababa –Joseph Hill among other tunes and they kept revellers to their feet all through the night.

Miss Zim embarks on water, sanitation project

Reigning Miss Zimbabwe, Malaika Mushandu, has embarked on a water and sanitation project which will see her training schoolchildren on hygiene issues and also facilitating drilling of water pumps to assist the water situation in the country.

Mushandu told NewsDay that she was trying to help improve the water and sanitation situation in Zimbabwe.

“It is my aim as Miss Zimbabwe to see to the well-being of Zimbabweans therefore I am going to drill boreholes around the country so as to assist those without water in their areas,” said Mushandu.

She has already been given three bush pumps by V&W Engineering, a local manufacturer of bush pumps, to help kick-start her project.

Vino Solanki, owner of V&W Engineering, said his company was also going to drill the bush pumps for free to assist the national beauty queen.

“Our company has always been involved in charity work. Once in a while we identify places such as rural areas, schools and clinics that are in need of water which we visit and drill the pumps for them,” said Solanki.

He added that they were going to assist Mushandu as sanitation was critical to human life.

“Statistics show that mortality improves if people have proper water and sanitation. We are going to work with Malaika to try and reduce the country’s mortality rates,” said Solanki.

Mushandu said she was driven to work on the water and sanitation project as it was no secret that at a certain stage, cholera, dysentery and water-borne diseases hindered the growth of the tourism sector in Zimbabwe.

Airlines lose N7.2bn to aviation fuel scarcity

The un-abating scarcity of aviation fuel, known as JET-A1, which is an essential commodity in flight operations is hitting airlines harder by the day, as many of them are now cutting their flight schedules, out-rightly canceling them or delaying flights to enable them take full advantage of the meager supply from marketers.
The airlines are said to have lost in two weeks N7.2 billion to aviation fuel scarcity.
The product sells for N160 per litre from N98 which it hitherto sold for.
As a result of the scarcity, oil marketers are unable to supply enough JET-A1 to airlines. The price of the commodity in Nigeria is regarded as the highest in the world, leaving operators to groan under heavy operational costs, of which aviation fuel alone, accounts for over 50 percent.
Currently, some of the major airlines like Arik Air, Aero and Air Nigeria are finding it difficult to cope with the situation which has refused to abate.
Two weeks ago, when the scarcity again became noticeable, Arik Air and Air Nigeria’s flights that were scheduled to depart Enugu at 10.30a.m could not do so until 5.30p.m, leading to protests from passengers.
By the following Tuesday, an Aero flight scheduled to depart Lagos for Abuja at 9.50p.m did not depart the airport until well past midnight. The passengers only arrived at their destinations at 2a.m the next day.
One of the passengers on the flight said the flight was originally scheduled to depart at 5.55pm, but was asked to reschedule for 9.50p.m.
According to an Arik Air passenger, “The excuse they gave us was that they have not been able to get fuel from oil marketers due to its scarcity, but they have kept us in the dark since morning. The only thing I want from them now is the refund of my money.”
Another passenger of the airline to Port Harcourt who refused to disclose her identity said she was billed to sit for an exam in Port Harcourt penultimate Tuesday at 2p.m, but as at 5:30p.m, she was still stranded at the Lagos airport.
This development has put virtually all the airlines in a tight corner, leading to massive cut on their scheduled routes, amid serious competition for the few available seats offered to travellers.
Arik for instance, does an estimated 120 flights per day, but could only do 80 flights leading to a loss of 40 flights as a result of delays and cancellations, thus losing N269 million a day. Arik spends N400 million on fuel every week.
As for Aero Contractors which is second largest domestic carrier, and ordinarily operates about 80 flights per day, it has been operating between 40 and 45 flights per day leaving it with a short fall of about 15 to 20 flights per day. The airline by calculation has been losing close to N119 million per day.
Also lamenting the loss which his airline has had to endure, a senior official with IRS said the airline operates 15 flights daily, but has had to scale down flight operations. The airline operates with Fokker 100 which carries at least 100 passengers at once. For having to slow down on its operations, it is losing well over N25 million a day to the biting cost of aviation fuel.
And for Air Nigeria, the third largest airline, BusinessDay investigations show that the airline is losing about N100 million a day. “We have had to cope with the crippling effect of this aviation gas for operations. You can see we can’t fly as well as we should and have had to ration our routes,” an official of the airline said.
As a result of the high cost of the commodity in the country, both local and international airlines say they prefer to refuel their aircraft in neighboring countries like Ghana, Togo and elsewhere, thereby depriving the country from milking from the huge businesses that abound.
Lamenting the situation, Harold Demuren, director general, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), said while marketers have raised the price of their product over time, the carriers have only marginally increased air fares and thus stressed: “We cannot operate this way.”
Demuren noted that, “The price of aviation fuel in Nigeria is ridiculously too high. We need to knock this down. We are working on it and I believe we will be able to do this. We can’t continue this way.”
The marketers have however attributed the cost of the product to high cost of import, maintaining that crude oil is not refined in Nigeria.
While they say they regretted that the cost of refining and importation to Nigeria were on the high side, they added that only when these are solved could the industry witness stability.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has set a 24-month target to carry out full rehabilitation work on the country’s three refineries for maximum efficiency.
The refineries are Port Harcourt Refining Company with an installed capacity of 210, 000 barrels of crude oil per day; Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company with a production capacity of 110,000 barrels per day and Warri Refining and Petrochemicals Company with an installed capacity of 125,000 barrels per day, bringing the total national capacity to 445, 000 barrels per day.
BusinessDay gathered that when completed, the Federal Government is expected to save annual revenue of about N1.3 trillion currently spent on petroleum products importation and the associated subsidy, which has become a major cesspool for oil cartels in the country.
All these targets are coming on the heels of the ongoing negotiation with the Chinese for the construction of three new Greenfield Refineries to be sited in Lagos, Bayelsa and Kogi States.
A top presidency source told BusinessDay on Sunday that the nation’s carrier, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has already mobilised financial resources from its internally generated funds to handle the major rehabilitation works in the affected refineries.
BusinessDay investigations revealed that Austen Oniwon, Group Managing Director (GMD), NNPC, under the directives of Diezani Alison-Madueke, minister of petroleum resources, has begun ordering long lead items ahead of the conclusion of negotiations between NNPC and JGC/Tecnimont Consortium, the original contractors that built the refinery, by August this year, for the commencement of the rehabilitation works at the Port Harcourt refinery, the first on the line of rehabilitation, which is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2012.
Kaduna Refinery is expected to follow immediately, in the 24 months rehabilitation timetable of the Federal Government, while Warri, which is currently operating at over 65 percent installed capacity will end the rehabilitation programme before the end of 2013.
Though the source was reluctant to say how much NNPC will be spending in all for the rehabilitation of the three refineries, BusinessDay, however, gathered that the Port Harcourt refinery alone is expected to gulp not more than N1.5 billion ($150 million).
Once completed, the presidency source, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said the country will once again return to the part of sufficiency in kerosene and diesel production, thus ending the long years of sufferings of the ordinary Nigerian.
“This is going to save the Federal Government huge sums of money because in the first place, government is not going to spend a kobo to do the work. NNPC through its savings has been able to muster enough resources to carry out the work. This is not only a feat under the current minister of petroleum resources and the GMD of NNPC, but also for Nigeria as a country. This is the first time that NNPC is undertaking this type of exercise that it won’t be asking for Federal Government financial intervention,” the source said.