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MASAI MARA MIGRATION – GETAWAYS
The Great Migration is one of the most spectacular natural events that can be witnessed in a life time. Millions of nomadic wildebeest migrate between the Masai Mara (Kenya) and the Serengeti National Park (Tanzania) along with thousands of zebras and antelopes. The sheer breath-taking size of this mass migrations has earned it a place as part of the wonders of the world. Do not miss this nature`s greatest show on earth!!!!!!!!
MIGRATION EXPRESS SAFARI
The Great Wildebeest Migration is here with us again. Don’t Miss out on our exclusive Migration Express Safari BOOK WITH USE BEFORE THE SEATS RUN OUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Book Now
KENYA HIGHLIGHTS SAFARI
Kenya Highlight Safari, design a short safari to gives you the opportunity to explore Kenya, where safari was born. One gets to enjoy Lake Bogoria, Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara Reserve, Lake Naivasha and Amboseli National Park in a total of 9 days 8 nights.
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BEST OF KENYA SAFARI
The Best of Kenya Safari will take you on an inspiring journey that will give you a chance to see the rare beauties of Kenya and overwhelm your senses by experiencing new places and different cultures from all sides through this custom-crafted itinerary.
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INDUSTRY NEWS – CHANGES IN VISA APPLICATION PROCEDURES
This is to inform that as from 1st July 2015 Visa Applications by Visitors to Kenya will be made via www.ecitizen.go.ke . This change is part of on-going Government efforts to enhance service delivery by moving various services to the on-line platform.
With effect from 1st July 2015, Visas can (not must) be applied for online before arrival to Kenya.
How to Apply
1. Click register on www.ecitizen.go.ke
2. Select Register as a Visitor
3. Once Logged in, select Department of Immigration Services
4. Select submit Application
5. Select Kenya Visa
6. Select the type of Visa and read instructions carefully
7. Fill in the application form
8. Pay using Visa card, MasterCard and other debit cards
9. Await approval via email, then download and print the eVisa from your eCitizen account
10. Present your printed eVisa to the immigration officer at the port of entry
Disclaimer
1. Visa processing Fee is non-refundable
2. Incomplete applications will be rejected
3. The possession of an eVisa is not the final authority to enter the Republic of Kenya
4. Engaging in any form of business or employment without a requisite permit or pass is an offence
5. A Visa is required prior to entry into the Republic of Kenya
6. The eVisa print out must be presented at the port of entry
Further enquiries have been made to the Immigration Department as follows: –
• The new service will go live from 2nd July 2015.
• Visitors can still get their visas on arrival at the Airports for the 1st two months i.e. up to end of August 2015. During this period, one will have the option to either apply online or get their visa on arrival.
• The email approval after application and payment will take about SEVEN Days hence visitors coming to Kenya w.e.f.1st September 2015 will need to lodge their Visa application well in advance.
• Any bookings for travel before 1st September needs to take into account the seven day time lag between the application and the approval.
• For arrivals after 1st September 2015, if there is no change to the policy all Visas MUST be applied online.
GERMAN AIRLINE LUFTHANSA TO RESUME NAIROBI FLIGHTS AFTER 18YRS
Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has welcomed the decision by the German airline Lufthansa to resume flights to Nairobi after 18 years of absence. The airline early this week announced its plans to fly its Airbus A340-300 to Nairobi four times a week from October 27 2015 four times a week to Nairobi from Frankfurt, Germany on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and five times a week from December 11. According to KTB Managing Director Muriithi Ndegwa, the launch of flights by Lufthansa will enhance Nairobi’s status as a regional hub.
“We are delighted that Lufthansa is making a comeback to Nairobi as one of its destinations. This is bound to have a positive impact on Kenya’s tourism sector considering Germany is one of our key source markets,” said Mr Muriithi. According to a statement from the carrier, the airline will leave Lufthansa’s Frankfurt hub at 1110 hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays (and on Fridays from December 11 to the end of January 2016). The aircraft will reach Nairobi in the evening after a journey of more than eight hours. The return aircraft will take off from Nairobi as a night flight in the late evening and lands the morning of the following day at Frankfurt Airport. “The flight times are thus optimally aligned to flights from Germany, Europe and the North Atlantic,” read the statement.
Given Lufthansa’s expansive destination network in Europe, North and South America, Mr Muriithi said, the latest move offered an opportunity for the tourism sector to scale up marketing efforts in these regions. “It’s not just the German market that we will be targeting but also countries where Lufthansa flies to. We are currently implementing a global marketing campaign as part of tourism sector recovery efforts and the decision by Lufthansa is therefore timely,” Mr Muriithi said.
Before this, Lufthansa has over time relied on partners — like Swissair and Brussels Airlines — which are code shared to connect their passengers to Nairobi. Last year, the airline launched direct cargo flights to Nairobi using Jambo Kenya freighter, with a total capacity of 103 tonnes.
GERMANY’S CONDOR ANNOUNCES THE RETURN OF MUNICH TO MOMBASA FLIGHTS
Condor, one of Germany’s main holiday charter airlines, has indicated that they will resume nonstop flights between Munich and Mombasa in July, over and above their existing flights from Frankfurt to Mombasa.
As the main German school summer vacations are now going underway is demand for travel expected to peak over the coming months. Kenya remained popular with German visitors while many other nationalities saw their market share drop. In particular did Britain halt charter flights last year in the wake of sharpish UK anti-travel advisories, something the German government did not copy, leaving Condor free to continue with their, albeit reduced flights.
Condor has a long history of flights to Mombasa, in the old days of the 1970’s using a Boeing B727 with several fuel stops enroute but also operating their Boeing B707’s, Boeing B747’s, McDonald Douglas DC10’s and more recently the Boeing B767’s.
Condor has over the past few years operated charter flights to Mombasa in conjunction with Zanzibar and it remains to be seen which of their services will continue to combine the two destinations and which will offer a straight nonstop turnaround flights to Mombasa.
Apart from charter flights from key European airports is Mombasa served by Turkish Airlines and Ethiopian, connecting from their respective hub airports in Istanbul and Addis Ababa, while from the region it is RwandAir which flies from Kigali three times a week to the Kenyan coast in conjunction with their daily services to Dubai. From Nairobi it is Kenya Airways, their LCC subsidiary Jambojet and one or two other airlines offering domestic flights to the coast’s main airport.
ZANZIBAR INTRODUCES NEW INFRASTRUCTURE TAX/ LEVY
The Government of Zanzibar has recently announced a new tax and levy which will affect all visitors to Zanzibar with effect from 01st July 2015 as follows:
Infrastructure Levy: USD 1 per person per night to be paid direct by guest at his / her hotel in Zanzibar.
Infrastructure Tax: TZS 2000 (USD 1) per person to be paid direct by passenger on departure at the airports / seaports in Zanzibar to any destination within the United Republic of Tanzania (domestic – e.g. to Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Selous etc.)
These taxes have to be collected at points of service i.e. at the hotels and airports / seaports, and cannot be paid to us in advance.
Should there be any further developments regarding this matter, we will be sure to keep you informed.
AFTER GENOCIDE LIONS ARE RETURNING TO RWANDA
Seven lions, two males and five females, are being transported from South Africa and will arrive by air in Rwanda , where they will be taken and released after a two-week quarantine into the eastern Akagera National Park. Lions will return to Rwanda for the first time in more than two decades after the endangered animal was wiped out in Rwanda’s human genocide. Lions in Rwanda were wiped out during the 1994 genocide, which left an estimated 800,000 people dead. Fleeing refugees and displaced people occupied part of the park, with the lion being driven out or killed as people tried to protect their livestock. As part of preparations for the re-introduction, the Akagera park team worked with nearby communities to promote harmonious co-existence with lions. The lions are coming from “relatively small, confined reserves where it is necessary to occasionally remove surplus lions” in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province. The western African lion subpopulation is listed as “critically endangered” due to over-hunting and dwindling prey.
To book or for further information contact Mel @ African Travel Solutions Ltd
Tele: + 44 1476 530927 / Mobile: + 44 7780 579306
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