Competition for the Nairobi- US route has taken on a new dimension after US-based, Delta Airlines announced direct flights from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, via Dakar, Senegal.

The airline, which is the only major US carrier that flies to Africa becomes the first to fly direct to the US from East Africa. Currently, Virgin Atlantic, KLM, British Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways and SN Brussels are some of the airlines that offer links to the US.

Delta operates its largest hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airline also maintains hubs at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, and Salt Lake City International Airport.

In May 2008, the Kenyan and US government signed an open skies agreement that will enable the expansion and liberalisation of the bilateral civil aviation relations between the two countries, with tourism being one of the major winners. Inaugural flights start on June 3. Passengers will not only save on money but on time as well. Travellers depart Nairobi at 20.10 and arrive in Atlanta at 08.00 in time for breakfast.

The airline is offering limited-time special introductory return economy fares from Nairobi to Atlanta, via Dakar, from $1,789 inclusive of taxes and surcharges. However, tickets must be purchased no later than April 28 for travel between June 3 and September 15.

Swiss International Airlines, flying via Zurich to Chicago and Atlanta, US charges $2,183 for the air ticket, while Emirates connecting through Dubai to Houston, US charges $2,561. According to Bobby Bryan, Delta’s commercial manager for West and East Africa, the new four-times weekly flight will be the only direct service to the US from Kenya and will offer passengers convenient connections via Delta’s Atlanta hub to over 150 business and leisure destinations throughout the US including Washington, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, as well as throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

In addition, this new flight will provide connections between Kenya and Senegal. Via Nairobi, passengers can also take advantage of several good connections to other East African cities such as Kigali, Entebbe, Dar es Salaam and Mombasa operated by SkyTeam partner, Kenya Airways.

KENYA TOURISM DELEGATION IN TALKS WITH CONDOR(GERMAN) AIRLINES & TUI AG IN INTERNATIONAL TOURISM BOURSE

The government on Sunday offered a 50 percent cut in visa fees for tourists coming to Kenya beginning April through to December this year.

Visa fees for children less than 16 years visiting the country as tourists were also scrapped in a move aimed at stimulating demand for family travel.“With the above stimulus package among other measures, we expect that tourism will grow at between 10 - 15 percent in 2009 despite the global financial crisis,” Tourism Minister Najib Balala said at the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) in Berlin, Germany.

Recently, the government gave an extra budgetary allocation of Sh250 million to the Kenya Tourist Board for enhanced marketing efforts. Earlier, at the ITB, the Minister and his South African counterpart Marthinus Van Schalkwyk agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) where Kenya would begin taking part in the INDABA Trade fair, which is the largest tourism fair on the African continent held in South Africa.

The MOU would be signed by end of May this year in Nairobi. The Minister is leading a Kenyan delegation to the ITB where there are 26 industry players that include hoteliers as well as tour and travel operators. ITB is the biggest tourism trade show in the world with about 180,000 participants. Kenya’s participation in this tourism expo was aimed at cementing trade relationships, establishing international business contacts, reviewing old acquaintances and identifying possible areas of co-operation in the tourism industry.

Mr Balala also held consultation with the management of Condor Airline, Germans largest charter airline currently operating three weekly flights to Kenya. The other meeting was with TUI AG, the world’s largest tourism group. The talks centered on Kenyan tourism products especially luxury travel and the need to keep improving the tourism products in Kenya as a way of ensuring steady growth of tourism.Those accompanying the Minister included KTB Chairman, Jake Grieves-Cook and Acting Managing Director Maryanne Ndegwa.

KENYAN BUSINESS CAN TRAVEL TO TURKEY WITHOUT VISAS

Kenya and Turkey have abolished visa requirements for business executives.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who hosted a Turkey-Kenya business forum in Nairobi said the partnership would facilitate realisation of Millennium Development Goals. The PM urged the Turkish Government to establish an employment exchange programme to facilitate sharing of skills and ideas.


"Kenya boasts of a strong human resource pool and bilateral relations should assist tap these opportunities for our people," Raila said.

Briefing the Press on Saturday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said he had signed a visa management protocol with President Kibaki.

"The agreement will see Kenyan and Turkish citizens with diplomatic, official and service passports enter the two countries without visa. This will spur and strengthen trade relations," Gul said.
Other benefits include launch of direct flights from Istanbul to Nairobi and healthcare.

"Connecting the two cities will enhance and facilitate our business communication and promote tourism as well," Turkish Counsel Ceren Cerciler told The Standard on Sunday.

Within the framework of the agreement signed between Turkish Airlines and Kenya Airways, Nairobi-İstanbul-Nairobi flights. Flights started on August 1st, 2006 and operated by Kenya Airways.

Other Airlines including Emirates, Air Arabia and Qatar Airways have connections to Turkey Via their respective hubs.

Boosting growth

President Gul said bilateral trade agreements were still awaiting ratification. He pledged Turkey was committed to bridging the $250 million trade imbalance between Kenya and his country. He urged the Government to invest more in hotels and infrastructure to attract tourism.

My visit to the Nairobi National Park proves that Kenya is a very unique country and an African tourist destination," he said.

Gul also promised to open an African-Turkish regional co-operation office in Nairobi. Gul and his delegation were in the country following invitation by Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka during Turkey-Africa Heads of State Summit, last year.

Kalonzo, who represented President Kibaki at the summit, held talks with the Turkish President and the business community. Selahattin Esim, founder and managing director of Turkish Hospital Information Systems, said the partnership would boost the country’s growth.

Gul and his delegation wind up their state visit today and will proceed to Tanzania.

KENYA SLASHES COST OF TOURISM VISA


Kenya has cut visa cost for tourists into the country by 50 percent.

According to an ATTA Travel press release at the ITB Trade Show in Berlin tourists will from April 1 this year until 2010, pay US$25 each, rather than US$50 for visas to visit the country.
The move is an attempt to boost the tourism sector in the country.

Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (KAHC) Coast branch chairman, Mr. Mohamed Hersi, said a waiver of the fee would encourage more tourists to holiday in the country.

"Our competitors have offered incentives to holidaymakers and that is why they are getting good business. The government should borrow a leaf to uplift the industry," Hersi said.


The initiative could be the result of lobbying from tourism industry operators, who have reportedly called for a full visa-waiver for tourists to Kenya. Baobab Beach Resort director Bimal Thaker agreed that a full visa waiver fee would go a long way in restoring their tourism industry to its full potential and encouraging tourists from Europe during their recession.

"The number of tourists visiting the country has gone down owing to the global economic crisis. A visa fee waiver can play a part in attracting more holidaymakers," Mr. Thaker said.


The Kenyan tourism industry which is the country's number one foreign exchange earner has been adversely affected by the effects of the American and European recession apart from struggling to recapture a once strong and loyal tourist market following the post election violence early last year.

Kenya has seen some positive results this year, according to the UK Telegraph; in September, 25 per cent more British tourists arrived in the country than the month before, a number just 27 per cent less than the record number of September 2007.

JUST CONCLUDED DSF 2009 (DUBAI SHOPPING FESTIVAL) GETS MIXED FEELINGS

The Dubai Shopping Festival 2009 has evoked a mixed reaction from retailers and hoteliers with sales and revenues for some having dropped by 10 per cent while others recording an increase.

This year's shopping extravagance, unlike previous years, was held amid the general economic gloom. According to industry sources, consumer confidence levels hit a low this year, as many projects have been put on ice and an unprecedented number of people have lost jobs."It is tough to compare this year's DSF with the previous years'," a DSF official told Emirates Business.

"You have to compare this year's with sales and footfalls two months prior to the festival and one month after it.

The idea was to create an impact, and that it achieved. "However, there has been mixed reaction from malls. While some reported an increase of 40 per cent in sales, others said there is a 10-per cent decline," said the DSF official.

DSF Office said recently that this year's festival would aim to maintain the momentum of DSF 2008, which attracted 3.2 million visitors and revenues worth Dh10bn. "We don't have any expectations for this year's edition, but we aim to maintain the DSF 2008 momentum," a DSF official had said.V Nandakumar, Corporate Communications Manager, Lulu Hypermarket, said there was a 10 to 15 per cent increase in sales of electronics and IT products this DSF. "That is because the manufacturers had reduced the prices," he said. He added there was a 15-per cent increase in footfalls with an average of about 14,000 people visiting Lulu Hypermarket per day.

Commenting on the discounts, a manager at a shopping mall said more units had to be sold to achieve the same volumes as last year. On the other hand, many hotels launched campaigns and offered discounts of up to 60 per cent to attract customers. Deeksha Trivedi, Director of Sales and Marketing, Sheraton Dubai Creek & Towers said: "Occupancy picked up during the first week of February and we saw a rush of last minute visitors from the leisure segment.

There was an increase of 15 per cent in occupancy. "Hussein Hachem, General Manager, Al Murooj Rotana said: "During the DSF we had a special weekend rate for rooms with a discount up to 60 per cent and up to 20 per cent in our top restaurants. Overall the DSF had a rather good effect as we witnessed a 10-per cent increase in hotel occupancy."