• Home
  • Post a press-release
  • Visibility packages
  • Subscribe email updates
  • Event Calendar
  • Contact

For Immediate Release | Official News Wire for the Travel Industry

Where press releases are breaking news

  • Home
  • Post a press-release
  • Visibility packages
  • Subscribe email updates
  • Event Calendar
  • Contact

SriLankan Airlines’ new plan to be like Emirates

April 16, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

In a bid to turn the loss making airline into a profitable venture, SriLankan Airlines has come up with a five-year strategic plan. Part of the plan will see them emulating industry leader Emirates, with a new hub and spoke network model.

In a statement SriLankan Airlines said:

“SriLankan Airlines has formulated a new five-year Strategic Business Plan for the period 2019-24 with the objective of transforming itself into a financially viable organization airline group with high brand visibility and a global reputation for excellence,”

They went on to say that the national carrier had an ‘enormous contribution’ to make to the GDP of Sri Lanka, including import, export and tourism.

What is SriLankan Airlines planning?

Their latest five year strategic business plan includes major development of the Colombo hub to make it a key connecting point for a variety of markets. SriLankan are targeting passengers connecting through Africa, Asia and the Middle East, in a bid to grow as big as rival airline Emirates.

As a member of Oneworld, SriLankan are hoping to leverage their membership to develop their network for the future. In contrast to their current point to point model, they plan to work on more of a hub and spoke model to develop new opportunities.

The plan is to be presented to the Government of Sri Lanka for approval shortly.

New routes and fleet

Currently, SriLankan Airlines operate with a fleet of 27 Airbus aircraft. Specifically, these are 13 A320 family aircraft and 14 A330s. As part of the five year plan, the carrier intends to select new fleet inclusions which match the requirement of their developing route network. They have also said they want to reconfigure their existing fleet to offer an enhanced business class service.

Already, the airline has announced a fifth weekly service between Colombo and Tokyo from July onwards, using its Airbus A330-300s. If the plan is formalized by the government, we expect to see many more new route announcements over the coming weeks.

As well as routes and fleet, the plan specifies that it will:

  • Enhance the customer experience by improving customer-centricity throughout the airline
  • Adopt best practices to improve productivity
  • Grow online sales to reach a wider market in a more cost effective manner
  • Improve employee engagement
  • Implement a competitive cost structure through a greater cost consciousness throughout the company

The plan is being headed up by Group Chief Executive Officer Vipula Gunatilleka, who was appointed to the airline in mid-2018. Prior to joining SriLankan, Gunatilleka was a board member and CFO of TAAG Angola. There, he worked closely with Emirates while they were managing TAAG, so no doubt knows his hub and spoke business very well already.

A loss-making airline

The airline is undergoing a major shakeup with a view to turning a profit. Over the last nine months, the carrier’s net loss more than doubled to a total loss of $135m. It is hoped that the five year strategic plan being tabled today will transform the airline by 2024.

 

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, Angola, announced, announcements, appointed, approval, Asia, Aviation News, aviation-website, best, best practices, bid, big, board, brand, Business, business class, business plan, carrier, CFO, chief, chief executive, chief executive officer, class, Colombo, come, coming, company, competitive, connecting, consciousness, contribution, cost, current, currently, customer, Customer Experience, development, doubt, East, Emirates, employee, engagement, excellence, executive, existing, expect, experience, export, Family, Family aircraft, fleet, future, GDP, Global, government, greater, Group, Group Chief Executive Officer, grow, high, hub, import, improve, in, includes, including, Industry, IT, joining, key, Lanka, last, LATEST, leader, like, loss, major, Make, Managing, Market, markets, match, member, membership, Middle, Middle East, model, months, national, national carrier, nbsp, net, net loss, network, New, new fleet, new plan, new route, new routes, News articles, offer, officer, Oneworld, online, operate, opportunities, organization, over, passengers, period, plan, planning, practices, productivity, profit, profitable, reputation, rival, route, route network, routes, s, said, Sales, see, service, Sri, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka travel news, Sri Lankan, Srilanka, SriLankan, SriLankan Airlines, statement, strategic, strategic plan, structure, TAAG, targeting, The National, through, to, TO BE, today, Tokyo, total, tourism, transform, Transportation News, Travel Destination News, Travelwire News, turn, UAE travel news, up, using, variety, venture, view, We, weekly, weeks, went, were, WHO, work, worked, year

Oxford Economics: Brand USA’s marketing initiatives drove record international visitor spending

April 11, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Today, Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, announced that a study by Oxford Economics shows Brand USA’s marketing efforts are generating a high return on investment (ROI) and driving significant incremental international visitation and spend, which is helping to fuel the nation’s economy. The report shows Brand USA has consistently driven strong results over the past six years, including record results in Fiscal Year 2018 (FY2018) for incremental international visitor spending, tax revenues generated, and total economic impact.

Highlights of the study show Brand USA’s marketing efforts in FY2018 alone (October 1, 2017 – September 30, 2018) helped drive:

• 1.13 million incremental international visitors to the USA who spent
• $4.1 billion on travel and fare receipts with U.S. carriers, and generated
• $1.17 billion in federal, state, and local taxes and
• $8.9 billion in total economic impact, and supported
• 52,305 incremental U.S. jobs

The resulting FY2018 marketing ROI was 32:1—meaning that every $1 Brand USA spent on marketing generated $32 in spend by international visitors.

The study also shows that the cumulative results of Brand USA’s marketing efforts over the past six years (FY2013 through FY018) has helped bring:

• 6.6 million incremental visitors to the USA who spent
• $21.8 billion on travel and fare receipts with U.S. carriers, and generated
• $6.2 billion in federal, state, and local taxes, and
• $47.7 billion in total economic impact, which has supported, on average,
• Nearly 52,000 incremental U.S. jobs each year

The six-year results equate to an average marketing ROI of 28:1.

“International visitation is an important driver for the nation’s economy—benefiting a wide range of industries well beyond travel and tourism,” said Christopher L. Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, international travel to the United States is the nation’s top services export and represents 11 percent of all U.S. exports, contributing a $77.4 billion trade surplus.

“The FY2018 ROI study reinforces the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns and how our efforts are supporting communities and employment throughout the country. The United States provides international travelers more value in its diversity of experiences than any other place in the world, and we look forward to continuing to work with our partners to market the USA as the ultimate travel destination,” added Thompson.

Each year, Brand USA deploys a number of market-driven platforms and programs as part of its mission to increase incremental international visitation, spend, and market share for the United States in order to fuel the U.S. economy and enhance the image of the USA with worldwide travelers.

Brand USA also collaborates with federal partners to communicate U.S. visa and entry policies and correct misperceptions about those policies as required by the Travel Promotion Act.

The Oxford Economics study includes an analysis of Brand USA’s work in nine markets – Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and the United Kingdom—and also considers the organization’s total impact in other international markets where Brand USA’s marketing was active during the year via consumer, trade outreach, and cooperative marketing programs.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: American Travel News, and, announced, Australia, average, billion, brand, Brand USA, Brazil, Breaking Travel News, campaigns, Canada, carriers, CEO, China, commerce, communities, contributing, cooperative, country, department, department of commerce, Destination, Destination marketing, diversity, drive, driver, driving, economic, economic impact, economics, Economy, efforts, employment, entry, experiences, export, exports, federal, fiscal year, Forward, free, fuel, Germany, Government Affairs, Helping, high, highlights, Hospitality News, image, impact, important, in, includes, including, increase, Industries, initiatives, International, international markets, international travel, international travelers, international visitors, Investment, japan, Jobs, Kingdom, Korea, l, local, Market, Market Share, Marketing, marketing initiatives, markets, meaning, Mexico, million, mission, nation, nearly, News articles, number, October, order, organization, over, Oxford, Oxford Economics, partners, past, percent, Place, platforms, policies, president, president and CEO, programs, promotion, promotion act, provides, range, receipts, record, record results, report, represents, results, return, revenues, ROI, s, said, September, services, Share, show, shows, significant, South, South Korea, spending, State, states, strong, study, supported, supporting, surplus, tax, taxes, the United States, The World, Thompson, through, to, today, top, total, tourism, Trade, Travel, Travel & Tourism Organizations News, travel and tourism, travel destination, Travel Destination News, Travel Promotion, Travel Promotion Act, travelers, Travelwire News, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. visa, United, United Kingdom, United States, USA, value, visa, visitor, visitor spending, visitors, We, WHO, work, World, worldwide, year, years

U.S. Travel honors its 2019 Travel Champions

April 10, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

The U.S. Travel Association on Wednesday announced the recipients of the sixth annual Distinguished Travel Champion Award: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Sen. Rob Portman (D-OH), Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) and Acting Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Manisha Singh
Each is being honored for his or her exceptional leadership in advancing and protecting policies that strengthen travel to and within the United States.

U.S. Travel will present the awards today at U.S. Travel’s Destination Capitol Hill—the travel and tourism industry’s premier legislative fly-in event dedicated to educating policymakers about the power of travel and showcasing the industry as one of America’s most vital economic sectors.

“We always say that travel is neither a red or blue issue,” said U.S. Travel President and CEO Roger Dow. “This year’s Distinguished Travel Champions have a deep understanding of travel’s contributions to the American economy, and have consistently reached across the aisle to advance sensible policies that grow travel, enhance security and trade, and keep our economy moving.

“Our winners’ dedication to securing Brand USA’s long-term reauthorization, overhauling America’s infrastructure systems, preserving our national parks, rebranding and expanding the Visa Waiver Program, and upholding our nation’s Open Skies aviation agreements strengthen travel’s role as job creator and economic engine.”

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)

Since entering Congress just two years ago, Cortez Masto has quickly become an advocate for the travel industry and a top congressional champion of Brand USA. Her tireless work and dedication to ensuring the reauthorization of Brand USA, a program crucial to the United States’ travel promotion and planning, is invaluable.

Said Cortez Masto: “I’m honored to receive the 2019 Distinguished Travel Champion Award. I say it all the time, Nevada is the gold standard for tourism and hospitality. We draw tourists to the Las Vegas Valley and from the pristine waters of Lake Tahoe to the scenic peaks of the Ruby Mountains. I’m so proud to support our $60 billion tourism economy and the jobs it supports in Nevada. As Senator, I’ll continue to fight for policies like Brand USA and those to increase efficient travel that strengthen our tourism industry for years to come.”

Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR)

DeFazio’s commitment to overhauling infrastructure systems within our country is crucial to increasing connectivity and facilitating travel growth across America. He has also undertaken laudable efforts to end the practice of diverting “9/11” security fees to other programs unrelated to air travel security.

DeFazio’s dedication to his home state’s $11.8 billion travel and tourism industry is commendable, as is his work to ensure local travel leaders have a voice in the state’s transportation planning.

Said DeFazio: “I am proud to be this year’s recipient of the U.S. Travel Association’s Distinguished Travel Champion Award. Travel and tourism promote economic prosperity, create jobs, and strengthen our national security through improved international relations. As Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am working hard to modernize our nation’s airports, increase federal investment in infrastructure, and ensure we remain on the cutting edge of innovation as it relates to transportation. All of these improvements will help encourage increased travel and tourism.”

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH):

Portman’s leadership on national parks issues, as well as many other important fiscal issues facing the country, is vital to the preservation of our public lands and the continued growth of the American economy.

Portman led efforts to pass the Restore Our Parks Act and to establish a dedicated source of funding for the $12 billion deferred maintenance backlog that will help ensure the viability of our parks for generations to come. Our national parks are some of the biggest draws for domestic and international travelers, and countless “gateway” communities across the country rely on well-maintained parks and robust visitation.

“It is an honor to receive the U.S. Travel Association’s 2019 Distinguished Travel Champion Award,” said Portman. “If we want our national parks to be here for generations of travelers to come we must address the nearly $12 billion backlog in long-delayed maintenance projects at the National Park Service. I’ve seen this maintenance backlog firsthand at national park sites in Ohio, and it underscores why we must pass my bipartisan Restore Our Parks Act to ensure that that the National Park Service has the resources to continue preserving American treasures. I look forward to working to get this legislation across the finish line.”

Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC):

Rice’s co-sponsorship of the JOLT Act and commitment to strengthening and expanding the Visa Waiver Program is crucial to enhancing U.S. security and economic competitiveness.

Rice’s efforts to support towns and cities in his district devastated by Hurricane Florence, including tourism-dependent communities such as Myrtle Beach, have been critical.

“I am honored to receive the U.S. Travel Association’s 2019 Distinguished Travel Champion Award,” said Rice. “I will continue to advocate for policies that will support American jobs, strengthen national security, and grow South Carolina’s tourism economy.”

Acting Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Manisha Singh:

Singh has undertaken crucial efforts to uphold our country’s vital Open Skies aviation agreements, increase financial transparency and protect the interests of all U.S. aviation stakeholders. She has worked hard to elevate the travel industry as an essential export and economic driver.

Said Singh: “I’m honored to receive U.S. Travel’s 2019 Distinguished Travel Champion Award. The U.S. State Department is pleased to support the U.S. travel industry and American jobs by negotiating and helping to enforce Open Skies aviation agreements that bring flights, travel, and business to the United States from around the world.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: American Travel News, and, announced, annual, around the world, association, aviation, aviation stakeholders, award, Awards, backlog, beach, biggest, billion, brand, Brand USA, Breaking Travel News, Business, Capitol, Capitol Hill, Carolina, CEO, Chairman, champion, cities, come, commitment, Committee, communities, competitiveness, Congress, congressional, connectivity, continue, continued, continued growth, Cortez Masto, country, create, critical, cutting, department, Destination, Distinguished, District, domestic, draw, driver, economic, economic growth, Economy, Edge, efforts, end, energy, engine, enhancing, ensuring, environment, essential, establish, event, expanding, export, federal, fees, fight, financial, flights, Florence, fly by, Forward, free, funding, gateway, generations, gold, grow, Growth, help, Helping, home, honor, honored, honors, hospitality, Hospitality News, hurricane, important, improved, improvements, in, including, increase, increased, increasing, Industry, infrastructure, innovation, International, international travelers, Investment, issues, IT, job, Jobs, JOLT, JOLT Act, just, keep, lands, las, Las Vegas, leaders, leadership, LED, legislation, like, line, local, M, maintenance, modernize, most, mountains, moving, Myrtle Beach, nation, national, national park, National Park Service, national parks, nearly, Nevada, News articles, Ohio, open, Open Skies, park, Park Service, parks, pass, People in Travel, planning, policies, policymakers, Portman, power, premier, present, preservation, president, president and CEO, program, programs, projects, promote, promotion, prosperity, protect, protecting, proud, public, rebranding, receive, Red, relations, resources, restore, rice, Roger Dow, role, s, said, scenic, Secretary, sectors, Security, senator, service, showcasing, Singh, sites, skies, Source, South, South Carolina, sponsorship, stakeholders, standard, State, State Department, states, support, supports, term, The Awards, The National, the United States, The World, through, time, to, TO BE, today, top, tourism, tourism and hospitality, tourism economy, Tourism Industry, tourism-dependent, tourists, towns, Trade, transparency, Transportation, Travel, Travel & Tourism Organizations News, travel and tourism, travel and tourism industry, travel association, Travel Award News, Travel Champion Award, travel growth, Travel Industry, travel leaders, Travel Promotion, travel security, travelers, Travelwire News, treasures, U.S. State, U.S. State Department, U.S. travel, U.S. Travel Association, United, United States, USA, valley, Vegas, visa, visa waiver, Visa Waiver Program, Vital, voice, Waiver, waters, We, Why, winners, work, worked, working, World, year, years

Air freight demand still spiraling down

April 3, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

For the fourth consecutive month, global air freight performance has reported a negative year-on-year growth and the worst performance in the last three years. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets showing that demand, measured in freight ton kilometers (FTKs), decreased 4.7% in February 2019, compared to the same period in 2018.

Freight capacity, measured in available freight ton kilometers (AFTKs), rose by 2.7% year-on-year in February 2019. This was the twelfth month in a row that capacity growth outstripped demand growth.

Demand for air cargo continues to face significant headwinds:

  • Trade tensions weigh on the industry;
  • Global economic activity and consumer confidence have weakened;
  • And the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for manufacturing and export orders has indicated falling global export orders since September 2018.

“Cargo is in the doldrums with smaller volumes being shipped over the last four months than a year ago. And with order books weakening, consumer confidence deteriorating and trade tensions hanging over the industry, it is difficult to see an early turnaround. The industry is adapting to new markets for e-commerce and special cargo shipments. But the bigger challenge is trade is slowing. Governments need to realize the damage being done by protectionist measures. Nobody wins a trade war. We all do better when borders are open to people and to trade,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

 

Regional Performance

All regions reported a contraction in year-on-year demand growth in February 2019 except for Latin America.

  • Asia-Pacific airlines saw demand for air freight contract by 11.6% in February 2019, compared to the same period in 2018. Weaker manufacturing conditions for exporters in the region, ongoing trade tensions and a slowing of the Chinese economy impacted the market. Capacity decreased by 3.7%.

 

  • North American airlines saw demand contract by 0.7% in February 2019, compared to the same period a year earlier. This was the first month of negative year-on-year growth recorded since mid-2016, reflecting the sharp fall in trade with China. North American carriers have benefited from the strength of the US economy and consumer spending over the past year. Capacity increased by 7.1%.

 

  • European airlines experienced a contraction in freight demand of 1.0% in February 2019 compared to a year ago. The decline is consistent with weaker manufacturing conditions for exporters in Germany, one of Europe’s major economies. Trade tensions and uncertainty over Brexit also contributed to a weakening in demand. Capacity increased by 4.0% year-on-year.

 

  • Middle Eastern airlines’ freight volumes contracted 1.6% in February 2019 compared to the year-ago period. Capacity increased by 3.1%. A clear downward trend in seasonally-adjusted international air cargo demand is now evident with weakening trade to/from North America contributing to the decrease.

 

  • Latin American airlines posted the fastest growth of any region in February 2019 versus last year with demand up 2.8%. Despite the economic uncertainty in the region, a number of key markets are performing strongly. Seasonally-adjusted international freight demand achieved growth for the first time in six months. Capacity increased by 14.1%.

 

  • African carriers saw freight demand decrease by 8.5% in February 2019, compared to the same month in 2018. Seasonally-adjusted international freight volumes are lower than their peak in mid-2017; despite this, they are still 25% higher than their most recent trough in late-2015. Capacity grew 6.8% year-on-year.

View full February freight results (pdf).

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, Asia, Asia Pacific, association, Aviation News, aviation-website, better, bigger, Books, Borders, Breaking Travel News, Brexit, capacity, capacity growth, cargo, carriers, CEO, challenge, China, Chinese, Clear, commerce, compared, conditions, confidence, consumer confidence, consumer spending, continues, contract, contributing, damage, Data, decline, decrease, decreased, demand, demand growth, deteriorating, director, director general, down, e-commerce, earlier, early, Eastern, Eastern Airlines, economic, economic uncertainty, economies, Economy, Europe, European, European airlines, evident, experienced, export, face, fall, falling, first, freight, freight demand, freight markets, full, general, Germany, Global, Global Air, global economic, governments, Growth, higher, IATA, in, In February, increased, index, Industry, International, International Air Transport Association, International Travel News, IT, Juniac, key markets, kilometers, last, late, Latin, Latin America, Latin American, lower, major, managers, Market, markets, measures, Middle, Middle Eastern, month, months, most, nbsp, need, negative, New, new markets, News articles, North, North America, North American, North American airlines, number, ongoing, open, order, orders, over, Pacific, past, peak, People, performance, performing, period, posted, Protectionist, purchasing, Purchasing Managers Index, recent, recorded, region, regional, regions, released, reported, results, rose, row, s, said, see, September, significant, slowing, smaller, Special, spending, strength, Switzerland travel news, tensions, The International Air Transport Association, The Region, time, to, Trade, trade war, transport, Transportation News, Travelwire News, trend, turnaround, uncertainty, up, US, US economy, view, volumes, war, We, worst, year, years

London to Chengdu now direct

April 2, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

panda

Heathrow today has welcomed Air China’s thrice-weekly service to Chengdu, home to the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base and Sichuan Cuisine.  The launch of the service comes as new CEBR research shows a remarkable rise in the value of Chinese exports via Heathrow.

Heathrow’s new route to Chengdu is the airport’s 12th direct connection to China. The number of Chinese connections via the UK’s hub airport has more than doubled since the start of 2018 when there were just five routes available. To fly to Chengdu, Air China will use an A330-200 aircraft facilitating the transport of 80,000 passengers a year and 3,744 tonnes of cargo between China and the UK.

Heathrow’s latest Trade Tracker, by economic analysts CEBR, shows that while China’s own exports have decreased, the exports to China from Heathrow are not showing any sign of slowing down. China is now the third most valuable export destination from the airport, following the US and the EU.  Exports via Heathrow to China have grown in value by 135% in 2018 compared to 2017, totaling over £7 billion. The same analysis shows that, on average, every operational hour at Heathrow sees nearly £10 million of exports fly out across the world.

An analysis of Heathrow cargo data value reveals the top exports flying via the airport to China in 2018. The top annual export, pharmaceuticals, was valued at an astounding US$461.05 million. Other top exports by value include:

1.      Aerospace materials –  US $334.24 million

2.      Art – US $151.9 million

3.      Computers – US $67.69 million

4.      Clothing and fashion accessories –  US $29.8 million

5.      Footwear – US $12.6 million

By identifying efficiencies and gaps in schedules, Heathrow has been able to accommodate new routes to China.  However, this is a limited and piecemeal approach.  Expansion of Heathrow, the UK’s only hub airport and biggest port by value, will allow Britain the opportunity to build and maintain the vitally important trade connections to China the country needs, especially with a future outside the EU.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, annual, art, average, Aviation News, aviation-website, base, biggest, billion, Breaking Travel News, breeding, Britain, build, cargo, CEBR, Chengdu, China, Chinese, clothing, compared, computers, connection, connections, Corporate News, country, cuisine, Data, decreased, Destination, direct, down, economic, EU, expansion, export, exports, Fashion, fly by, Flying, following, future, giant, Heathrow, home, hub, important, in, just, LATEST, launch, Limited, London, maintain, materials, million, most, nearly, needs, New, new route, new routes, News articles, number, only, operational, opportunity, out, outside, over, panda, passengers, port, research, rise, route, routes, s, service, shows, Sichuan, sign, slowing, start, The World, to, today, top, tourism, Tracker, Trade, transport, Travel Destination News, Travelwire News, UK, UK Travel News, up, US, use, value, valued, weekly, welcomed, were, World, year

Uganda travel and trafficking

March 23, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Sub-Saharan Africa has enormous tourism potential: leopards lounging in acacia trees, elephant herds drifting across vast savannah plains, gorillas and chimps rioting in deep forests, the earliest traces of human beings and their works. But according to the World Bank, the region receives a mere 3% of global tourism arrivals.

What scares tourists off may have something to do with an unfair, continent-wide reputation for lawlessness. There is a way around this. During the 1970s, entrepreneurs created the idea of eco-tourism as an alternative to the sun and sand package tours that wreaked havoc on the environment and local communities. Perhaps the eco-tourism concept could be expanded to encompass human rights more broadly, focusing not just on the ethical conduct of companies but on governments as well. Thus, travelers could be assured that their fees, taxes and entertainment dollars aren’t being used to support regimes engaged in grand corruption, human rights abuses, wildlife trafficking and the persecution of minorities.

Uganda’s new tourism push is a case in point. The government hopes to welcome four million visitors in 2020, more than double the current number. The Uganda Investment Authority is expediting bids from eco-tourism companies to develop ten sites in the nation’s national parks, including Queen Elizabeth, Masindi and Kidepo Valley. The World Bank has lent Uganda $25 million dollars to build a new hotel and tourism school, purchase equipment such as buses, game drive trucks, boats and binoculars and hire public relations firms to market Uganda in US, Europe, the Middle East and China. In October, Kanye West boosted the publicity effort by recording a music video in one of Uganda’s fine resorts and also visited Statehouse where he presented President Yoweri Museveni with a pair of his patented sneakers. Then in January, Tourism Minister Godfrey Kiwanda launched a beauty contest to identify Miss “Curvy” Uganda, whose zaftig figure will appear in tourism brochures.

The downside of Uganda’s tourism campaign is that every safari-goer it attracts will pay fees to government agencies such as the Uganda Wildlife Authority, which is currently engaged in a program of violent evictions that have left thousands of people in northern Uganda’s Acholi region destitute, and has also been implicated in trafficking in ivory, pangolin scales and other illegal wildlife products, both inside Uganda and in neighboring countries.

Since 2010, thousands of huts in Apaa, northern Uganda have been burned to the ground, and animals and belongings stolen by UWA officials and members of other security agencies. The government claims the area is gazetted for a game reserve, but residents say their families have lived in the area for generations and have nowhere else to go. Sixteen people have been killed and thousands, mainly women and children are now homeless. Some of the raids appear to have been carried out by members of the neighboring Madi ethnic group, and government officials have characterized them as ethnically motivated. However, the Madi and Acholi have lived in peace for generations and some suspect that senior government officials may be inciting the attackers.

Meanwhile, CITES, the international body that tracks endangered species has named Uganda as a global hub for the illegal wildlife trade. After damning reports about the scale of poaching in Kenya and Tanzania revealed that elephant populations were plummeting in both countries, stricter laws and better enforcement resulted in a nearly 80 percent decline in poaching in Kenya since 2013. Tougher enforcement has also resulted in steep declines in poaching in Tanzania. But between 2009 and 2016 an estimated 20 tons of ivory were trafficked via Uganda, along with over 3000 kilograms of pangolin scales.

The trade in wildlife products appears to be organized by senior officers of the army and UWA. Ivory traffickers working along the Uganda-Congo border told Belgian political scientist Kristof Titeca that much of their loot came from Congo and the Central African Republic, where the Ugandan Army, with US support, unsuccessfully tried to track down the notorious warlord Joseph Kony between 2012 and 2017. Thus, US taxpayers may have inadvertently facilitated Uganda’s wildlife crimes.

Uganda’s recently established Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court, which is supposed to deal with trafficking crimes has begun prosecuting and convicting low level traffickers—the men who transport the goods to Kampala for export – but as yet there have been no prosecutions of those suspected of organizing the trade. When 1.35 metric tons of confiscated ivory disappeared from a Uganda Wildlife Authority storehouse in 2014, the director was suspended for two months and then reinstated. According to a 2017 Enough Project report, two senior Uganda Wildlife Authority officials quit the force in despair after apprehending traffickers and then being ordered by officials in President Yoweri Museveni’s office to drop the cases.

Uganda’s own elephants have largely been spared, and their numbers may even have increased in recent years. But other animals have not been so lucky. In 2014, the UWA granted a local company a license to collect thousands of pounds of scales from the shy, aardvark-like creatures known as pangolins. While officials claimed that the intention was to purchase the scales from people who’d collected them from animals who had died of natural causes, there’s little doubt that huge numbers of pangolins were killed as a result.

Unfortunately, the World Bank’s assistance to Uganda could be making things worse. It’s $25 million Tourism Sector Competitiveness and Labor Force Development loan, approved in 2013, is part of a larger $100 million Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project which, according to project documents, allocates 21% – or $21 million, to government agencies, including the Uganda Wildlife Authority. World Bank spokespersons declined say how much of that will go to the UWA, and what the money will spent on, other than “systems strengthening and procuring tourism assets.”

Before the World Bank launches any project, it commissions an environmental impact assessment, as well as a review of safeguards to protect habitats and indigenous people who might be affected by it. In this case, the safeguards and Impact Assessment documents don’t consider the risk that Ugandan security agencies, including the army and UWA, might use funds raised from the project to engage in human rights abuses and trafficking.

This matters because countless development groups, including the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the Red Cross and the World Bank itself– have seen millions of dollars in funding sink into Uganda’s swamp of corruption. Billions more have been siphoned out of the Treasury and the workers’ pension fund and or in inflated bids for infrastructure projects such as roads and dams.

In power for 33 years, Uganda’s leader Yoweri Museveni has hung on in part by spending funds looted from various development projects on voter bribery and harsh repression. In 2017, he sent Special Forces troops into Parliament to beat up MPs who were trying to block debate about a bill that would enable him to rule for life. One of the victims, MP Betty Nambooze, may never walk unaided again. Then in August, the same Special Forces arrested and tortured four other MPs and dozens of their supporters, including the famous pop star-politician Bobi Wine

Some of Museveni’s opposition-politician-victims, if allowed to govern, might – like the leaders of Tanzania and Kenya–do a better job of protecting Uganda’s people and its wildlife than he has. But as long as the World Bank and other donors keep allowing Museveni’s government to get away with corruption, human rights abuses and wildlife trafficking, these activities will only continue. While the World Bank continues to ignore this reality, Uganda’s prospective investors and tourists should steer their dollars towards less odious regimes.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, animals, approved, area, Army, arrested, arrivals, assessment, assets, assistance, attackers, August, authority, bank, beat up, beauty, beauty contest, Belgian, better, bids, bill, billions, block, boats, body, border, Breaking Travel News, brochures, build, buses, campaign, case, causes, Central, children, China, CITES, claims, collect, commissions, communities, companies, company, competitiveness, concept, Congo, contest, continent, continue, continues, corruption, countries, court, created, crimes, current, currently, deal, debate, decline, declined, declines, development, died, director, disappeared, documents, dollars, double, doubt, down, drive, drop, East, Eco Tourism, effort, elephant, elephants, endangered, endangered species, enforcement, enterprise, entertainment, entrepreneurs, environment, environmental, environmental impact, equipment, ethical, Europe, even, evictions, expanded, export, families, famous, Feature, fees, fine, firms, force, Forces, fund, funding, funds, game, game reserve, generations, Global, global alliance, global hub, global tourism, GO!, goods, gorillas, government, government officials, governments, Grand, ground, Group, groups, habitats, harsh, havoc, hire, homeless, hopes, hotel, hub, human rights, human rights abuses, Human Rights news, ignore, illegal, impact, in, including, increased, indigenous, infrastructure, inside, intention, International, Investment, investors, IT, Ivory, January, job, just, Kampala, keep, Kenya, Kidepo, killed, labor, launched, launches, lawlessness, laws, leader, leaders, less, license, life, like, Loan, local, low, Malaria, Market, May, members, men, Middle, Middle East, million, million visitors, millions, millions of dollars, minister, miss, money, months, MP, MPs, Museveni, music, music video, named, nation, national, national parks, natural, nearly, neighboring, neighboring countries, New, new hotel, new tourism, News articles, Northern, Northern Uganda, number, numbers, October, office, officers, officials, only, opposition, organizing, out, over, package, pangolin, pangolin scales, Pangolins, parks, parliament, pay, peace, pension, People, percent, Plains, plummeting, poaching, political, potential, power, president, products, program, project, projects, protect, protecting, public, Public Relations, publicity, purchase, push, Queen, Queen Elizabeth, quit, raised, reality, recent, Red, Red Cross, region, relations, report, reports, republic, reputation, reserve, residents, resorts, resulted, revealed, review, rights, rioting, Risk, Roads, rule, s, safari, sand, Savannah, scales, scares, school, sector, Security, senior, sink, sites, spared, Special, special forces, species, spending, standards, Star, stolen, Sub, sub-Saharan, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sun, support, suspended, Tanzania, taxes, taxpayers, TB, The Region, The Sun, The Treasury, The World, things, thousands, to, TO BE, TO DO, tourism, tourism arrivals, tourism assets, tourism campaign, tourism companies, tourism minister, tourism potential, tourism school, tourism sector, tourists, Tours, Trade, trafficking, transport, Travel, Travel Destination News, travelers, Travelwire News, trees, tried, troops, trying, Uganda, Uganda travel, Uganda travel news, Uganda wildlife, Uganda Wildlife Authority, Ugandan, Ugandas, up, US, use, used, UWA, Vaccines, valley, victims, video, violent, visited, visitors, way, welcome, were, West, WHO, wildlife, Wildlife Authority, wildlife trafficking, wine, women, workers, working, works, World, World Bank, years, Yoweri Museveni

Search




Recent Articles

  • Marriott International to Provide Associates Financial Award for COVID-19 Vaccination
  • New Austin Marriott Downtown Brings Inspiring Hospitality Experience to the Heart of the Texas Capital
  • Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation in Thailand as of 4 March 2021, 11.30 Hrs.
  • Uniglobe marks 40-year anniversary with optimism and future focus
  • Hyatt Announces Global Expansion of Independent Collection Brands with New Hotel Openings and Developments Slated Through 2025
  • Thailand successfully hosts first Golf Quarantine
  • Marriott International Signs Agreement with Core Hospitality to Bring Residence Inn By Marriott to The Nordics
  • Hyatt House Atlanta / Perimeter Center Celebrates Opening
  • Phuket and Phang Nga viewpoints are among the world’s best for good reason
  • Sukhothai Mini Light and Sound 2021 show starts 6 March

Copyright © 2021 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in