• 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

eTN becomes a SUNx SDG 17 Partner calling for Climate Sanity in Tourism on Earth Day

April 23, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

In nature, nothing exists alone is the message for Earth Day 2019. Announcing the public launch of its “SDG17 Partners Program” on Earth Day 2019, Professor Geoffrey Lipman co-founder SUNx, calls and president of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) asks the Travel & Tourism sector to join its “Plan For Our Kids” and take the “Climate Sanity” Pledge.

Professor Lipman, former Executive Director at IATA, President of WTTC and Assistant Secretary-General UNWTO, said:

“I’m confident that Travel & Tourism will play a leadership role in the global shift to a New Climate Economy: we just need a pathway for change and that lies in our faith in the next generation”

SUNx a legacy for Planetary Champion Maurice Strong has created a “Plan For Our Kids”, aiming to recruit 100,000 STRONG Climate Champions to advance its vision of a no Carbon 2050 sector totally compliant with the evolving goals of the Paris Accords.

He added “During the past year we have seen a welcome intensification of the pressures for a new commitment to Climate Sanity, which stops discussing whether climate change is existential and just gets on with solutions. That’s the common message from Greta Thunberg’s Friday’s for Futures and AOC’s Green New Deal: it’s the message from Earth Scientists and Nobel Economists: it’s the plea from Sir David Attenborough.

”Lipman concluded “SDG 17 Partners will share our long-term vision on the fact that Climate Change is eXistential and that we have to act NOW, as if this Earth Day is the first day of the rest of our lives. We all have different starting positions, based on our separate realities: but we have a shared goal of meeting the Paris Agenda and together taking a “No Carbon 2050 moonshot”. We can deliver Climate Friendly Travel ~ measured plans: green growth: 2050 no carbon proof “

Juergen Steinmetz president of the eTN Corporation said “We are proud to become a SUNx SDG 17 Partner and provide preferential support for this great cause. As long as I have known Geoffrey Lipman, he has been drumming home the message that Climate Change is eXistential and that if we don’t fix it now, it will fix us. We are in, and will use all our links, like ICTP and the African Tourism Board to support Climate Friendly Travel. going forward”.

For more on SUNx and its SDG 17 Partnership Program please contact: go to www.thesunprogram.com

What is Earth Day?

The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement. The passage of the landmark Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and many other groundbreaking environmental laws soon followed. Twenty years later, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in more than 190 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage.

On April 22, 1970, millions of people took to the streets to protest the negative impacts of 150 years of industrial development.

In the U.S. and around the world, smog was becoming deadly and evidence was growing that pollution led to developmental delays in children. Biodiversity was in decline as a result of the heavy use of pesticides and other pollutants.

The global ecological awareness was growing, and the US Congress and President Nixon responded quickly. In July of the same year, they created the Environmental Protection Agency, and robust environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, among many.

One billion people

Earth Day is now a global event each year, and more than 1 billion people in 192 countries now take part in what is the largest civic-focused day of action in the world.

It is a day of political action and civic participation. People march, sign petitions, meet with their elected officials, plant trees, clean up their towns and roads. Corporations and governments use it to make pledges and announce sustainability measures. Faith leaders, including Pope Francis, connect Earth Day with protecting God’s greatest creations, humans, biodiversity and the planet that we all live on.

Earth Day Network, the organization that leads Earth Day worldwide, has chosen as the theme for 2018 to End Plastic Pollution, including creating support for a global effort to eliminate primarily single-use plastics along with global regulation for the disposal of plastics.  EDN is educating millions of people about the health and other risks associated with the use and disposal of plastics, including pollution of our oceans, water, and wildlife, and about the growing body of evidence that plastic waste is creating serious global problems.

From poisoning and injuring marine life to the ubiquitous presence of plastics in our food to disrupting human hormones and causing major life-threatening diseases and early puberty, the exponential growth of plastics is threatening our planet’s survival.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: American Travel News, Americans, amp, and, announce, April, around the world, Assistant, Awareness, based, Belgium travel news, billion, biodiversity, board, body, Breaking Travel News, carbon, Cause, champion, change, children, chosen, clean up, clean water, climate, Climate Change, co-founder, coalition, commitment, compliant, concluded, Congress, connect, contact, Corporation, countries, created, day, deadly, deal, decline, delays, deliver, development, different, director, diseases, early, Earth, earth day, ecological, economists, Economy, effort, elected, end, endangered, endangered species, environmental, environmental issues, environmental movement, environmental protection, Environmental Protection Agency, eTN, event, evidence, executive, Executive Director, faith, Feature, first, fix, followed, food, Forward, founder, Francis, friendly, futures, general, Geoffrey Lipman, Global, global event, global shift, GO!, goal, governments, greatest, green, green growth, Greta Thunberg, groundbreaking, Growing, Growth, HEALTH, home, Human, IATA, ICTP, impacts, in, including, industrial, International, International Coalition of Tourism Partners, International Travel News, issues, IT, join, Juergen, just, kids, known, landmark, largest, later, launch, launching, laws, leaders, leadership, leads, LED, legacy, lies, life, lifting, like, links, Lipman, live, M, major, Make, march, marine, marine life, maurice strong, measures, meet, meeting, million, million people, millions, modern, movement, nature, need, negative, network, New, News articles, next generation, oceans, officials, one billion, organization, Paris, participation, partner, partners, partnership, past, People, People in Travel, plan, planet, plans, plant, plastic, plastics, play, plea, pledge, poisoning, political, pollution, Pope, Pope Francis, positions, presence, president, problems, Professor, program, protecting, protection, protest, proud, public, regulation, responded, risks, Roads, role, s, said, scientists, SDG, Secretary, secretary general, sector, separate, serious, Share, shift, sign, single, Sir, smog, solutions, soon, species, Steinmetz, stops, strong, support, survival, Sustainability, taking, term, The World, theme, to, tourism, tourism board, tourism partners, tourism sector, towns, Travel, Travel & Tourism Organizations News, Travel Destination News, Travelwire News, trees, UNWTO, up, US, US Congress, use, vision, waste, water, We, welcome, went, wildlife, World, worldwide, WTTC, year, years

Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, U.S. and British Authorities warn in response to terror attacks

April 21, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority in a statement released urges hotels in Sri Lanka to take maximum measures to strengthen security as Hotels have been one of the main targets. Please assist us in spreading the word and let us not forget to help tourists who are currently in Sri Lanka.”

The Sri Lanka travel industry is bracing for the impact of the horrific attack Easter Sunday in the nation’s capital Colombo and in Negombo, where the airport is located.

Sri Lanka received 2.1 million tourists in 2017 and had set a target to double that number this year. Free visas to visitors from 30 countries including the U.S.,UK, EU and Thailand are part of this strategy.

Currently, Sri Lanka is quiet. It’s a curfew and all roads are closed.

The U.S. embassy raised the level of travel advisory for Sri Lanka to level 2: The embassy warned terrorist groups to continue plotting possible attacks in Sri Lanka. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas.

The White House issued a statement, that the United States condemns in the strongest terms the outrageous terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka that have claimed so many precious lives on this Easter Sunday. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families of the more than 200 killed and hundreds of others wounded. We stand with the Sri Lankan government and people as they bring to justice the perpetrators of these despicable and senseless acts.

In the meantime, Sri Lanka arrested 13 alleged suspects. Another attack on the airport was prevented. 215 people including foreign tourists were killed, more than 500 injured in a series of planned and coordinated attacks on Easter Sunday.

The UK Foreign Department is telling British Citizens:

On 21 April 2019 bombs were used to attack three churches and three hotels in Sri Lanka, in central Colombo; in the northern suburb of Colombo Kochchikade, and in Negombo roughly twenty miles north of Colombo; and in the east of the country in Batticaloa. There have been significant casualties. If you are in Sri Lanka and you are safe, we advise that you contact family and friends to let them know that you are safe.

If you are in Sri Lanka and have been directly affected by the attacks, please call the British High Commission in Colombo: +94 11 5390639, and select the emergency option from where you will be connected to one of our consular staff. If you’re in the UK and worried about British friends or family in Sri Lanka caught up in the incidents, please call the FCO switchboard number: 020 7008 1500 and follow the same steps.

Security has been stepped up across the island and there are reports of ongoing security operations. if you are in Sri Lanka, please follow the advice of local security authorities, hotel security staff or your tour company. The airport is operating, but with increased security checks. Some airlines are advising their passengers to arrive early for check-in, in light of increased security screening.

The Sri Lankan authorities have declared a nationwide curfew. You should limit movements until this has been lifted, following the instructions of the local authorities and your hotel/tour operator.

The Sri Lankan authorities have confirmed that, if you need to catch a flight from Colombo airport, you are able to travel to the airport provided you have both passport and ticket valid for travel that day. They have also confirmed that arrangements have been put in place for arriving passengers.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, April, areas, arrangements, arrested, arriving, arriving passengers, assist, attack, attacks, authorities, authority, bombs, Breaking Travel News, British, British citizens, capital, casualties, catch, Central, check, check-in, checks, churches, citizens, closed, clubs, Colombo, commission, company, condolences, confirmed, contact, continue, countries, country, cultural, curfew, currently, day, department, development, directly, double, early, East, Easter, Educational, embassy, emergency, EU, Events, facilities, families, Family, fco, Feature, flight, follow, following, foreign, foreign tourists, free, friends, GO!, government, groups, help, high, hotel, hotel security, Hotels, house, hubs, impact, in, incidents, including, increased, Industry, injured, instructions, island, issued, IT, justice, killed, Lanka, Lankan, Let, lifted, light, limit, local, local government, located, locations, Main, major, markets, maximum, May, measures, miles, million, million tourists, nation, Nationwide, need, negombo, News articles, North, Northern, number, ongoing, Operating, operations, operator, option, out, parks, passengers, Passport, People, Place, places, planned, prevented, public, Quiet, raised, received, released, reports, response, restaurants, Roads, s, safe, screening, Security, security screening, series, Set, shopping, shopping malls, significant, Sri, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Tourism, Sri Lanka travel, Sri Lanka travel news, Sri Lankan, staff, statement, states, strategy, suspects, target, targeting, targets, terms, terror, terror attacks, terrorist, terrorist attacks, terrorists, thailand, The Island, the United States, ticket, to, tour, tour company, tour operator, tourism, Tourism Development, tourist, tourist locations, tourists, Transportation, Travel, travel advisory, Travel Destination News, Travel Industry, Travelwire News, UK, United, United States, up, US, used, visas, visitors, warning, We, were, white, White House, WHO, word, worried, wounded, year

A new Tourism potential in Tanzania: The Southern Circuit

April 21, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

A new Tourism potential is about to be unlocked In Tanzania. All roads and international air routes will in the near future, be leading to the Southern circuit, as the tour operators have major plans to open new tourism revenue streams.

Complimenting the Government’s drive to transform the Southern tourism circuit, the key tourism players are currently scouting for apt partners to invest heavily in accommodations as part of a strategy to open up the area for travel.

It is understood, the Fifth Government under President Dr John Pombe Magufuli is working overtime to put up hardware infrastructures as it seeks to unleash the full economic potential of the area.

Impressed by the government move to designate Iringa as the Southern circuit hub, Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO) last week deployed a delegation led by its Vice-Chairman, Mr Henry Kimambo to identify new potential members in its effort to establish a chapter in the area to cater for the entire Southern circuit.

“We want to replicate the best practices from the northern tourism circuit to Southern shred,” Mr Kimambo told the tour operators in Iringa during the engagement meeting.

He revealed that TATO plans to bring its services close to its members in Southern circuit, comprising Morogoro, Iringa, Njombe and Mbeya anytime soon.

This implies that the 36-year-old advocacy agency for a multi-billion dollar industry, with its base in northern safari capital of Arusha, will soon have a liaison office in Iringa to take care its Southern circuit members.

Mr Kimambo said that his association was aware that the Southern circuit based tour operators not only have their own different issues but also need strong ties with their northern tourism circuit peers if the tourism potential is to be unleashed.

Presenting the benefits before the Southern Circuit tour operators, TATO Chief Executive Officer, Mr Sirili Akko said lobbying and advocacy is a core service offered by his association.

“Members enjoy the conducive business environment as TATO represent a collective voice for private tour operators in lobbying and advocate towards the common goal of improving the business climate in Tanzania” Mr Akko explained.

TATO also provides unparalleled networking opportunities for its members, allowing individuals tour operators or company to connect with their peers, mentors, and other industry leaders and policymakers.

As a member, one is in the unique position to attend conventions, seminars, award dinners and other related events with like-minded professionals in the field. These events are attended by the brightest minds and are a hotbed of ideas and collaborative efforts.

“An association’s annual General meeting represents an incredible opportunity for members to meet and network with the largest gathering of their peers during the year” Mr Sirili explained.

TATO also trains its members on key issues such as labour laws, tax compliance, corporate social responsibility, conservation issues, among others, he noted.

As if that was not enough, TATO members also enjoy the service of having a platform where they channel their operational or policy related challenges to the government for a solution.

Members are also bonded together as they advocate for their peers and share their challenges and triumphs with one another, TATO CEO explained.

“Indeed, TATO provides members with a competitive advantage because they become active, informed members of their industry” Mr Sirili said, stressing that his members also get updates on all issues on tourism and related sectors by providing resources, information, and opportunities they might not have had otherwise.

Thanks to USAID PROTECT Project for building the capacity of TATO, an umbrella organization with over 300 members, for it to become an efficient advocacy agency for the tourism sector.

Project coordinator, Mr Jumapili Chenga said the scaling up membership base for TATO is one of his scheme’s components.

Iringa Region Tourism Officer, Ms Hawa Mwichaga was grateful that at the long last a strategy to unlock the Southern tourism circuit has stepped up a gear.

Tour operators from Iringa, Mbeya and other regions namely Ernest Luwala, Nancy Mfugale, Modestus Mdemu, Serafina Lanzi supported the idea of joining TATO as a concrete step to spur tourism in southern circuit.

Natural Resources and Tourism Ministry’s officer-in-charge for Southern Circuit, Ms Tully Kulanya said her zone has a great potential for tourism business.

“The Southern Parks are the perfect destinations for travelers looking for plentiful and rare wildlife in a remote area of Africa” Ms Kulanya noted.

The national parks namely Mikumi, Udzungwa, Kitulo Ruaha, as well as Selous Game Reserve, have fewer visitors and give the feeling of being all-alone. Activities include game drives in open vehicles, boat safaris, and walking safaris. These safaris include flights between the parks.

Tanzania’s earnings from tourism jumped 7.13 percent in 2018, helped by an increase in arrivals from foreign visitors, the government has said.

Tourism is the main source of hard currency in Tanzania, best known for its beaches, wildlife safaris and Mount Kilimanjaro.

Revenues from tourism fetched $2.43 billion for the year, up from $2.19 billion in 2017, Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa said in a presentation to parliament.

Tourist arrivals totaled 1.49 million in 2018, compared with 1.33 million a year ago, Majaliwa said.

President John Magufuli’s government said it wants to bring in 2 million visitors a year by 2020.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, annual, Annual General Meeting, area, arrivals, Arusha, association, attend, award, Aware, base, based, beaches, benefits, best, best practices, billion, boat, Breaking Travel News, building, Business, capacity, capital, cater, CEO, Chairman, challenges, Channel, Chapter, charge, chief, chief executive, chief executive officer, circuit, climate, close, collaborative, collective, company, compared, competitive, Compliance, connect, conservation, conventions, corporate, corporate social responsibility, Cultural Travel News, currency, currently, delegation, Destinations, different, dollar, Dr, drive, earnings, economic, effort, efforts, engagement, environment, establish, Events, executive, explained, fewer, fewer visitors, flights, foreign, foreign visitors, full, future, game, game reserve, gathering, general, general meeting, goal, government, great potential, Hard, Henry, hub, ideas, in, increase, increase in arrivals, Industry, industry leaders, information, informed, International, invest, issues, IT, John, joining, key, Kilimanjaro, known, largest, last, laws, leaders, leading, LED, liaison, liaison office, like, lobbying, looking, Main, major, meet, meeting, member, members, membership, million, million visitors, minister, ministry, Mount Kilimanjaro, move, Mr, Ms, national, national parks, natural, natural resources, need, network, networking, New, new tourism, Northern, office, officer, only, open, operational, operators, opportunities, opportunity, organization, over, parks, parliament, partners, percent, plans, platform, players, policy, policymakers, position, potential, practices, presentation, presenting, president, Prime, Prime Minister, private, professionals, project, protect, provides, region, regions, related, remote, represent, represents, reserve, resources, responsibility, revealed, Revenue, revenues, Roads, routes, s, safari, safaris, said, scheme, sector, sectors, selous, Selous Game Reserve, seminars, service, services, Share, social, social responsibility, Solution, soon, Source, Southern, strategy, strong, supported, Tanzania, Tanzania Association of Tour Operators, Tanzania travel news, TATO, tax, The National, ties, to, TO BE, told, tour, Tour Operators, tourism, tourism business, Tourism Investment News, Tourism Ministry, tourism potential, tourism revenue, tourism sector, tourist, tourist arrivals, trains, transform, Travel, travelers, Travelwire News, unique, up, updates, USAID, vice, visitors, voice, walking, We, week, wildlife, working, year

Sharjah Ruler Opens Historic Dh 6-Billion Khorfakkan Highway

April 15, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

HH Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, accompanied by HH Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, and HH Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, inaugurated on Saturday the new Khorfakkan highway. Extending 89 kilometers and with an estimated cost of Dh 6 billion, the new highway is the latest addition to the world-class roads network of Sharjah and the UAE, linking the arterial Emirates Road (E611) in Sharjah with Wadi Shi Square in Khorfakkan.
HH the Ruler of Sharjah and HH the Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah inspected the intersections, tunnels and underground crossings of the new highway that passes through deserts, plains and mountains. The highway includes 14 intersections, and 7 underground crossings along with five pairs of tunnels dug through high mountains. These include Al Sidra Tunnel (2700 metres), which is the longest covered mountain tunnel in the Middle East.

Their Highnesses also inspected Al Rafisah Dam, one of the most important family tourism destinations in Khorfakkan. Spanning a total area of 10,684 square metres, it includes a mosque, outdoor seating area for 300 people, car parking for 45 vehicle, a walkway, and three playing areas spanning 410 sqm.

Foundation Stone
HH Ruler of Sharjah laid the foundation stone for the branch of Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport in Khorfakkan on this occasion. The Academy will grant students a bachelor’s degree in applied, theoretical and maritime sciences. He also inaugurated the Khorfakkan Lakes and Fountains Project at the entrance of Khorfakkan. It features 4 lagoons and a number of fountains. It is surrounded by cedar trees in all directions, transforming the place into a massive park.
He also unveiled the Resistance Monument, which bears a historical and symbolic significance for the city’s authentic heritage, and is a testament to the steadfastness of the Khorfakkan people in the face of the Portuguese invasion in the early 15th century.
The leaders also went up to the top of the mountain, where the unique Al Rabi Tower sits, which is distinguished by its unique architecture, to unveil the memorial plaque of the tower that introduces the tower and the history of its construction. He also inaugurated “Al Adwani Tower” located on a hilltop near the Khorfakkan Port besides unveiling a memorial plaque for the excavations of the ancient Khorfakkan wall.
“Khorfakkan 1507”
Later, the leaders attended the premiere of the film “Khorfakkan 1507” which is inspired by the book, “Khorfakkan’s resistance against the Portuguese invasion of September 1507” authored by HH Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohamed al Qasimi. The film has been produced by the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority in cooperation with Get Go Films Ltd.
More than 300 people, including Emirati and Arab artists and producers, took part in the making of the historical film. The film was shot on the shores of Khorfakkan and the ancient city. Through the film, HH Ruler of Sharjah aims to promote the idea of Khorfakkan’s resistance at that important era of the country’s history, and to introduce current generations to the hardship suffered by Khorfakkan and its rebels due to the Portuguese unlawful invasion and occupation.

Key Projects
On this occasion, HH Sharjah Ruler also announced that many more projects will continue to be developed in Khorfakkan to increase the beauty of the city, and provide it with all educational, sports and leisure facilities.

He also promised to develop Shis area along the lines of Al Rafisah besides establishing Khorfakkan Sports City. The projects at the entrance of Khorfakkan will also continue with a new Clock Tower being built along with the Cultural Palace which will include theatres, libraries and halls for all cultural activities, he added. HH Ruler of Sharjah also promised a new corniche project that will extend from Zubarah beach to Luluah areas, and will be named Al Sabihiyah Beach. Also he announced that the Khorfakkan branch of Sharjah University would be developed into the Khorfakkan University within 2 years.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: ancient, and, announced, Arab, Architecture, area, areas, artists, authentic, authority, Bachelor, beach, bears, beauty, billion, book, branch, Breaking Travel News, built, car, Century, city, class, Clock Tower, construction, continue, cooperation, cost, council, country, crown, Crown Prince, cultural, Cultural Travel News, current, dam, deputy, Destinations, directions, Distinguished, Dr, due, early, East, Educational, Emirates, entrance, excavations, extend, extending, face, facilities, Family, Features,, film, films, foundation, generations, GO!, Government Affairs, grant, hardship, heritage, HH, HH Ruler, HH Sharjah, high, highway, historic, historical, history, important, in, inaugurated, includes, including, increase, inspired, introduce, IT, key, Khorfakkan, Khorfakkan highway, Khorfakkan University, Khorfakkans, kilometers, later, LATEST, leaders, Leisure, lines, longest, maritime, massive, member, memorial, Middle, Middle East, Mohamed, monument, mosque, most, mountain, mountains, named, network, New, News articles, number, occupation, outdoor, Palace, park, parking, Passes, People, Place, Plains, port, portuguese, premiere, Prince, project, projects, promote, Ras, Ras Al, Ras Al Khaimah, rebels, road, Roads, Ruler, s, science, seating, September, Sharjah, Sheikh, shot, sports, Square, students, sultan, Supreme, Supreme Council, Technology, The World, theatres, through, to, TO BE, top, total, tourism, tourism destinations, Tourism Investment News, tower, transport, Travelwire News, trees, tunnel, tunnels, UAE, UAE travel news, unique, university, unlawful, unveil, unveiled, unveiling, up, Vehicle, wall, went, World, world-class, years

South East Asia Hotel Investors’ Summit returns to Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok

April 11, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

The South East Asia Hotel Investors’ Summit returns for its third edition in May and will again feature top executives from both hotel owning groups and management companies and a range of cutting-edge topics.

SEAHIS focuses heavily on the issues facing hotel property investors. What topics are top-of-mind at the moment? Simon Allison, Chairman of hotel owners’ alliance HOFTEL which organizes the Summit notes:

The market in South-East Asia is generally booming, but investors in hospitality properties still face numerous challenges. These include:

• The need to pay numerous fees and taxes, to the online travel agents, to the brands and to the governments which between them can take almost half of what a guest pays the hotel

• The challenge of the sharing economy and of new forms of accommodation

• Oversupply as new properties get built

• The one-sided contracts which some hotel brands impose on them

• The dangers of relying too heavily on a single inbound market, like China – as the fall-off in demand in Phuket after the boat disaster showed last year

• Acquisitions of boutique brands by the majors – can these make money for their buyers and for the owners of the properties they manage

The last point is very much a relevant topic at the moment given the vast sums recently paid by Intercontinental for a stake in Six Senses, by Hyatt for Two Roads and by GIC for a stake in CitizenM.

These issues will be addressed at SEAHIS by many of the region’s most senior hotel and travel executives including Suchad Chiaranussati, CEO of SC Capital; Dillip Rajakarier, CEO of Minor International; Thomas Willms, CEO of Deutsche Hospitality; Brian Williams, Deputy Chairman of Swire Hotels; Aron Harilela, CEO of Harilela Hotels; Stephan Vanden Auweele, Chief Hospitality Officer of Asset World Corporation (TCC); Piyaporn Phanachet, CEO of U City; Andrew Langdon, SVP Development Asia, Accor; Mike Orgill, Director, Public Policy, Airbnb and Jake Stein, Senior Director, Owner Relations at Expedia.

“Last year almost 50% of all attendees were from groups which own or develop hospitality real estate, said Simon Allison, CEO of HOFTEL. “They want exciting and sometimes controversial content and we aim to deliver that. Our speakers are senior and so are most of the audience, so it’s a highly informed debate.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, Asia, attendees, audience, bangkok, boat, booming, boutique, brands, Breaking Travel News, Brian, built, buyers, capital, CEO, Chairman, challenge, challenges, chief, China, citizenM, city, companies, Content, contracts, Corporation, cutting, dangers, debate, deliver, demand, deputy, Deutsche, development, director, Disaster, East, East Asia, Economy, Edge, edition, estate, executives, Expedia, face, fall, Feature, fees, forms, free, GIC, governments, groups, half, HOFTEL, hospitality, Hospitality News, hotel, Hotel brands, Hotel Travel News, Hotels, Hyatt, in, inbound, including, InterContinental, International, International Travel News, investors, issues, IT, Langdon, last, like, Make, Manage, management, Market, May, meetings.travel, MICE Industry News, Mike, mind, Minor, money, most, need, New, new properties, News articles, notes, numerous, officer, online, online travel, owner, owners, paid, pay, People in Travel, Phuket, policy, properties, property, public, range, real, Real Estate, region, relations, returns, Roads, s, said, SEAHIS, senior, sharing, single, South, South East Asia, South East Asia Hotel Investors, South-East, speakers, stake, Sukhumvit, summit, Summit returns, SVP, taxes, Thailand Travel News, The Region, Thomas, to, top, tourism, Tourism Investment News, Travel, Travel & Tourism Organizations News, travel agents, Travel Destination News, travel executives, Travelwire News, We, were, Westin, Willms, World, year

Gleam of hope for tourism

April 9, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

On March 27, all roads led to Mombasa, Kenya, for a joint business meeting organized by Uganda and Kenya and the two Presidents of both countries actually attended. The meeting gathered ministers, key business persons from both countries to discussing topics of mutual interest for the growth. I was personally hesitated to go because my wife and daughter were traveling same week and did not want them to leave without me saying a goodbye.

I also do not like meetings where people talk and do not come up with real solutions for the existing problems. I only made the journey after my family blessed it. I took a morning flight aboard Kenya Airways to join two Kenya friends (Shivam Vanayak and wife) out of Nairobi to Mombasa and thankfully, they had managed to secure three tickets on Madaraka train. Securing seats on the train from Nairobi to Mombasa is an uphill task because of high traffic.

I had been to Nairobi a number of times with an aim of securing seats and failed because of the demand. The business class is even worse because the tickets are booked out first way in advance.

The staff of Madaraka train dress more like air hostesses with a proper Kenyan hospitality. The train carries about 1,500 people each way and there are two trains departing Nairobi daily for Mombasa and vice versa which means 3,000 individuals are dropped into Mombasa daily which is a massive business opportunity for the Mombasa service providers such as hotels, restaurants, taxi drivers, entertainment joints, boats, bars, etc.

The train goes through Tsavo National Park which is Kenya’s largest and oldest standing at 13,747 square kilometers. While on the train, we also saw the 300 kilometer long Yatta Plateau, the longest lava flow in the world. Tsavo is home to the larger mammals, vast herds of elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, lions, leopard, pods of hippo, crocodiles, water bucks, lesser kudu, genenuk and the prolific bird life.

At the business forum in Mombasa, I was given an opportunity to address the audience which included President Museveni and President Uhuru Kenyatta on behavior Uganda and Kenyan tourism group. My address focused on seven points we had agreed upon before the Presidents arrived at Sarova sands where the meeting took place.

The first point focused on the flights between the East African countries especially Kenya and Uganda. Our observations are that the tickets between Uganda and Kenya are very expensive because of the high taxes levied by both governments. Kenya for example charges $50 on every ticket and Uganda charges $57 which makes a total of $107. That figure is what should be the cost of a ticket between the two countries. We actually recommended that flights between the two countries be domesticated.

The second point focused on the East African tourists’ visas which have Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda working together. Our proposal was that the two presidents convince the Tanzanian leadership to join the good arrangements. Many tourists are finding it easy paying $100 for a visa that covers the above three nations which allows them to move back and forth.

Since some local airline operators such as coastal want to fly into Ugandan national parks, it would positively affect the tourism business between the four nations. The third point focused on politics. Overtime, we as the tourism operators in the region have seen politics affect tourism a lot especially during campaigns and since insecurity and tourism can’t co-exist, foreign tourists will fear to travel in the region.

The leaders were asked to remember what their actions mean to business and practice restrain. This particular point was well received by both leaders and we hope to see some change with time. The fourth point focused on trans-boundary tourism opportunities which focus on the shared tourism attractions such as Lake Victoria and Mountain Elgon.

The tourism fraternity feels we need a combined effort in exploiting the above because we miss out on potential billions of dollars that could come out of activities such as cruises, sport fishing, water transport, accommodations on the shores and the many islands found on the lake. We also talked about the joint marketing opportunities across the globe that would see millions flock to Uganda and Kenya hence more revenues.

We asked the presidents to go easy on the yellow card requirements for citizens from both countries because it inconveniences the business travelers most since they are frequent.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, arrangements, attractions, audience, bars, behavior, billions, bird, blessed, boats, booked, Breaking Travel News, Business, business class, Business Forum, business travelers, campaigns, card, change, charges, citizens, class, Coastal, come, cost, countries, crocodiles, cruises, daily, daughter, demand, departing, dollars, dress, drivers, East, east African, East African countries, effort, elephants, entertainment, etc, even, existing, expensive, Family, fear, finding, first, fishing, flight, flights, fly by, foreign, foreign tourists, forum, found, friends, Globe, GO!, good, goodbye, governments, Group, Growth, high, hippo, home, hope, hospitality, Hotels, in, included, insecurity, interest, islands, IT, join, joint, joint business, journey, Kenya, Kenya Airways, Kenya travel news, Kenyan, Kenyatta, key, kilometers, Lake Victoria, largest, leaders, leadership, leave, LED, Leopard, life, like, lions, local, longest, LOT, march, Marketing, massive, meeting, meetings, millions, ministers, miss, Mombasa, most, mountain, move, Museveni, Nairobi, national, national park, national parks, nations, need, News articles, number, only, operators, opportunity, out, park, parks, People, persons, Place, Plateau, pods, points, politics, potential, president, President Museveni, presidents, problems, proposal, real, received, region, requirements, restaurants, restrain, revenues, rhinos, Roads, Rwanda, s, Sands, saying, seats, second, secure, see, service, service providers, seven, solutions, sport, Square, staff, standing, talk, Tanzanian, task, taxes, Taxi, taxi drivers, The Region, The World, through, ticket, tickets, time, times, to, total, tourism, tourism business, tourism group, tourism operators, tourists, traffic, train, trains, Trans, transport, Travel, Travel & Tourism Organizations News, Travel Destination News, travelers, traveling, Travelwire News, Uganda, Uganda travel news, Ugandan, uhuru Kenyatta, up, Victoria, visa, visas, water, way, We, week, were, working, World, Yellow

About the African Tourism Board: Top important according to an African American Tourism Expert

March 28, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Drew Barrett, a Chicago based African American tourism expert and consultant, thinks the newly founded African Tourism Board(ATB) is very important and potentially valuable to the nations of Sub-Saharan Africa.

ATB will celebrate its official launch on April 11 during the World Travel Market in Cape Town and has moved to a world of attention. ( www.

The nations of Sub-Saharan Africa are very hungry for and in need of growth of their inbound international tourism business. Most, however, have a steep learning curve, over which they must overcome to achieve any measurable incremental results. Most are steeped in best practices of a bygone error of global tourism marketing if they are doing anything at all. Most are not.

Nations like Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa have significant global brand equity for leisure tourism. Others like Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana and again South Africa; are a compelling destination for business tourism. Yet on the extreme opposite end of the attractiveness spectrum others, due to conflict and a total lack of internal security are not in the running.

All nations of Sub-Saharan Africa with any viable tourism product are seeking to up their game, but have to reconcile a penchant, if not add to investing, and in many cases, mis-investing in energy, data +telecommunicationss, and transportation infrastructure to achieve modern global standards. They are missing there real opportunity.

The most readily available economic growth engine for all nations of Sub-Saharan Africa is their adventure, art, community, cultural, ecological (flora + fauna) and handicraft tourism products; in which they should invest in both development and marketing. The immense profit potential of such well planned and implemented investments, will return profits; which will pay for everything else.

I have two Sub-Saharan African nations, Kenya and South Africa, digress from World Class Tourism Marketers, not having a clue as to what to do; because they forsake a focus on their indigenous roots, attempting to promote being global business meeting and conference destinations; a playing field on which they cannot compete, for so many reasons.

I have just last week, submitted a comprehensive, preliminary strategic tactical concept proposal to a Northwestern Sub Saharan nation. I had developed similar proposals for three other nations. In each case, I have been working with someone who has strong connections to government decision makers; but not with any preconceived disposition toward action. In the most recent case, my contact is a division of the Ministry of Tourism.

Nigeria, a few years ago, invested in the development of a Culture and Music festival which it could market globally. The problem with some post colonial nations is, they are addicted to seeking the help of postcolonial consultant intermediaries of European and North American multinationals, for expertise. The problem is those consultants do not have the expertise necessary to enable the success of such an undertaking.

The consensus is to invest in building grand hotels, great roads, and transportation; and tourists will come. Wrong, they just end up with choking foreign debt and no tourist.

Again, the African Tourism Board, can be the way forward for the Nations of Sub Saharan Africa to be able to monetize their most readily available natural resource, as previously stated.

African Tourism Board brings to those nations both internal and external subject matter experts, professional practitioners, industry resources and massive implementation capabilities; in a unified platform which can teach the leadership of the nations of Sub Saharan Africa how to successfully market their destinations and tourism assets, to the billions of ready, willing and able international tourist.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, April, art, assets, ATB, based, best, best practices, billions, board, brand, Breaking Travel News, building, Business, business tourism, Cape, Cape Town, case, celebrate, Chicago, class, colonial, come, community, compelling, concept, conference, conflict, connections, consultant, contact, cultural, culture, Data, debt, decision, Destination, Destinations, development, Division, doing, due, ecological, economic, economic growth, end, energy, engine, equity, Ethiopia, European, expert, expertise, experts, External, extreme, Festival, foreign, Forward, game, Ghana, Global, global business, global tourism, globally, government, Grand, Growth, help, Hotels, hungry, implementation, important, in, inbound, indigenous, Industry, infrastructure, International, international tourism, invest, invested, Investing, investments, IT, just, Kenya, lack, last, launch, leadership, learning, Leisure, leisure tourism, like, Market, Marketing, massive, matter, meeting, ministry, Ministry of Tourism, missing, modern, most, moved, music, Music Festival, nation, nations, natural, need, newly, News articles, Nigeria, North, North American, official, opportunity, over, pay, People in Travel, planned, platform, POST, potential, practices, problem, product, products, professional, profit, profits, promote, proposal, proposals, ready, real, recent, resource, resources, Responsible Tourism News, results, return, Roads, roots, running, Security, significant, South, South Africa, South Africa travel news, standards, stated, strategic, strong, Sub, sub-Saharan, Sub-Saharan Africa, success, Tanzania, The Ministry, The World, to, TO BE, TO DO, top, total, tourism, tourism assets, tourism board, tourism business, Tourism Investment News, tourism marketing, tourism product, tourist, tourists, town, Transportation, Travel, Travel Destination News, travel market, Travelwire News, up, way, week, WHO, working, World, world travel, World Travel market, wrong, years

 Iranians open homes to travelers stranded by floods

March 27, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

As dramatic videos of deadly floods leaving behind destroyed vehicles and other damage circulate on Iranian social media networks, ordinary Iranians are doing what they can to help the affected citizens, including travelers whose Nowruz holidays have been unexpectedly disrupted. While criticizing the government for its inadequate response to the deadly flooding that has ravaged the country, ordinary Iranians are engaging in spontaneous relief efforts for the stranded and the displaced.

A 10-minute flash flood in the city of Shiraz, perhaps the most popular tourist destination in the country’s south, killed at least 18 and injured scores more on March 25. Many of the victims are said to have been visitors. Now, locals in the birthplace of classical Iranian literature are inviting panicked holidaymakers to their homes, offering unconditional stay and food. “All services will be offered for free until the harsh weather dies down,” one placard held by a volunteer in Shiraz read. Some even offer free body repairs for cars damaged in the downpours. Several local hotels and restaurants have joined the spontaneous campaign, dubbed “My Guest.”

Similar public initiatives are underway to deliver badly needed assistance to those hardest hit in the northern provinces of Golestan and Mazandaran. The aid is flowing in the form of cash donations as well as basic supplies collected from communities across Iran, including those still recovering from a devastating 2017 earthquake in the country’s west.

The government of President Hassan Rouhani has been under immense pressure for its perceived failure to handle the disaster. The president himself is under fire for staying away from the flood-hit areas. Seven days following the heavy rains, he has now traveled to the northern areas to oversee the relief operations. The government has already promised 7.1 trillion rials ($169 million) in compensation to affected households.

The powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has also established a strong presence. The force’s commander, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, was seen visiting inundated neighborhoods in the country’s north half-submerged in floodwaters. While both the government and the IRGC have stepped in, some Iranians are interpreting the promises of more relief as publicity stunts meant to burnish their status and rooted in political rivalry between moderates and hard-liners.

An initial investigation into the deadly disaster in Shiraz has now pointed to negligence as the main cause of the deaths. According to a report by a crisis management team, one of the old watercourses in the city had been blocked by local authorities, probably for urban planning purposes, leading to the destructive overflow.

Meanwhile, the governor of Fars province noted that warnings had been issued two weeks before the disaster. But some social media users argue that all roads leading to the site of the flash floods should have been blocked. “How where you unable to block people but managed to fully cordon off the tomb of Cyprus the Great on his commemoration day?” one person tweeted. Every year, Iranian nationalists organize the Cyrus Day ceremony on Oct. 29 to remember the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. But in recent years the plans have been hindered by a security clampdown by the Islamic Republic, which deems such activities pro-monarchist.

Coverage of the massive flooding included more from Iran’s ancient history. The iconic Persepolis monument, 60 kilometers (37 miles) northeast of Shiraz, reportedly remained unscathed amid the flooding. According to local officials, underground canals built by ancient Persians to avert flooding protected the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The news prompted praise from many Iranians, who drew comparisons between the current government’s handling of such crises with that of their forefathers.

Yet despite the trauma, the floods have not produced only sad news. Pictures went viral of a smiling young couple who had planned their wedding in Golestan province for March 28. They decided to hold the ceremony earlier. Instead of a grand hall, the bride and the groom wed before the other displaced in a temporary accommodation center.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: ancient, and, areas, assistance, authorities, badly, birthplace, block, body, Breaking Travel News, bride, built, campaign, cars, cash, Cause, center, ceremony, citizens, city, commemoration, communities, compensation, country, couple, crises, Crisis, current, Cyprus, damage, day, Days, deadly, deaths, decided, deliver, Destination, destroyed, dies, Disaster, displaced, disrupted, doing, donations, down, earlier, earthquake, efforts, even, failure, fire, flash flood, flash floods, flood, flooding, floods, following, food, force, form, founder, free, Golestan, government, Governor, Grand, Guard, half, Hall, handling, harsh, heavy rains, held, help, heritage, history, hit, holidaymakers, holidays, homes, Hotels, iconic, in, included, including, initiatives, injured, Instead, investigation, Iran, Iran travel news, Iranian, Iranians, IRGC, Islamic, issued, killed, kilometers, leading, leaving, literature, local, locals, Main, management, march, massive, media, miles, million, monument, most, most popular, nationalists, needed, negligence, networks, News, News articles, North, northeast, Northern, nowruz, offer, offering, officials, only, open, operations, oversee, People, pictures, planned, planning, plans, political, popular, praise, presence, president, pressure, promises, protected, province, provinces, public, publicity, rains, recent, relief, relief efforts, remained, repairs, report, republic, response, restaurants, rivalry, Roads, s, said, Security, services, seven, Shiraz, site, social, social media, South, status, stay, stranded, strong, stunts, supplies, team, temporary, to, tomb, tourist, tourist destination, Travel Destination News, Travel Disaster & Emergency News, traveled, travelers, Travelwire News, trillion, unable, underway, UNESCO, UNESCO world heritage, UNESCO world heritage site, urban, victims, videos, visiting, visitors, volunteer, warnings, weather, Wedding, weeks, went, West, WHO, World, World Heritage, World Heritage Site, year, years, young

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

Turkish suspect in Utrecht terrorist attack arrested

March 18, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Utrecht’s police chief has confirmed that the 37-year-old Turkish suspect in the deadly shooting on a tram in the Netherlands has been arrested.

Gökmen Tanis was arrested after a major manhunt following the shooting which authorities have confirmed killed three people and injured nine more. The terror threat level for Utrecht was reduced after the suspect’s arrest.

A police spokesperson said Tanis was arrested on Oudenoord street near where a red Renault Clio which he was believed to have been driving was found.

The attack prompted Dutch police to be put on high alert, with military police sent to national airports, railways stations and major roads as citizens were advised to stay indoors. Schools were also closed while the hunt was underway.

Dutch Prime Minister Rutte said during a press conference that the suspect’s motive is still unclear and that there are “many questions and rumors.” Earlier the Dutch counter-terror agency said it appears to be a terror attack.

Utrecht police had warned citizens to watch out for Tanis but not to approach him. Sources told BBC Turkish that the 37-year-old had previously been arrested over “suspected links” to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) a few years ago, but was later released.

Following the attack, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Turkish intelligence agency is investigating whether it was linked to terror.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, arrest, arrested, attack, attack arrested, authorities, BBC, Breaking Travel News, chief, citizens, closed, conference, confirmed, counter, deadly, driving, Dutch, Dutch Prime Minister, earlier, following, found, free, Gökmen Tanis, high, high alert, hunt, in, injured, intelligence, International Travel News, ISIS, Islamic, IT, killed, later, linked, links, military, Military Police, minister, national, national airports, Netherlands, Netherlands travel news, News articles, out, over, People, police, president, Press, press conference, Prime Minister, questions, railways, Red, released, Roads, rumors, s, said, schools, shooting, sources, State, stay, Street, Tanis, terror, terror attack, Terror news, terror threat, terrorist, terrorist attack, The Netherlands, threat, to, TO BE, Travel Destination News, Travel Disaster & Emergency News, Travelwire News, turkish, unclear, underway, Utrecht, were, World News, year, years

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Search



Recent Articles

  • Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation in Thailand as of 23 January 2021, 11.30 Hrs.
  • Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation in Thailand as of 24 January 2021, 11.30 Hrs.
  • Minister Bartlett: Jamaica boosts COVID-19 testing capacity to meet increased demand
  • Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation in Thailand as of 22 January 2021, 11.30 Hrs.
  • Michelin-starred eateries shine bright in Bangkok’s new culinary normal
  • Jamaica Tourism Minister officially launches Kenya’s Global Tourism Resilience Satellite Centre
  • Going Green with Silver Eagle
  • Marriott International Signs Agreement With Mario Julen To Bring The Ritz-Carlton Brand To The Swiss Alps
  • Wine Not? American Airlines Launches Flagship Cellars, an at-home Wine Experience
  • TAT launches “Thailand Traveller Voice” online survey platform

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