INTERNATIONAL
AFRICA
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AccorHotels Sign Strategic Agreement with Mantis Group
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ccorHotels has announced a strategic partnership with South Africa-based Mantis Group. The partnership has seen AccorHotels acquire a 50 percent stake in the Group, which features a collection of privately owned, managed and branded five-star properties and lodges located around the world. AccorHotels stated that the deal resonated with the Group’s Planet 21 conservation platform. The strategic partnership is accompanied by the launch of Community Conservation Fund Africa, a non-profit organisation which aims to amplify both groups’ commitment towards preventing the decline of Africa’s wildlife. It also brings together three international conservation organisations, namely Wilderness Foundation, Tusk Trust and African Parks.
Victoria Falls Airport Reports Growth
First Mövenpick for Kenya
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ictoria Falls International Airport reported an increase in its capacity utilisation and a boom in tourism-related business. Significantly, the airport enjoyed a rise of five percent, from 21 percent to 26 percent, in the airport’s capacity utilisation, and a 20 percent increase in tourism-related business. According to the airport, its recent success is due to the renovations commissioned in 2016 which have enabled it to raise its capacity to accommodate widebodied aircraft and 1.5 million passengers per annum. Other reasons could include new routes which have been opened and Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe encouraging more airlines to fly into the country.
övenpick Hotels & Resorts made its Kenya debut with the opening of Mövenpick Hotel & Residences Nairobi on April 09. The hotel offers 276 rooms with one- and two-bedroom residences, which are ideal for families or longer stay guests, and range from 97 m2 to 121 m2 sizes, also offering a separate living room and fullyequipped kitchen. The property offers five distinct dining experiences, the Latino-themed La Mesa bar and lounge on the 15th and 16th floor; Baluba’ The View which offers 360-degree panoramas of Nairobi City; Kijani bar, next to the outdoor pool; and lobby café. For events, the hotel offers 14 state-ofthe-art venues with natural daylight and high ceilings.
From Left: Bezin and Gardiner welcomed the partnership as being beneficial to both their groups
Dams Boost Botswana's Tourism Goals
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ocal stakeholders anticipate the new Shashe Dam, Tonota, Botswana and similar projects will increase the country’s tourism opportunities. Botswana Tourism Organisation, in partnership with Water Utilities Corporation, over March 31 – April 01, opened Shashe Dam for leisure and recreational activities to diversify Tonota’s tourism offerings. Shashe Dam is part of Botswana’s wider dam tourism project which also includes dams in Gaborone, Thune, Letsibogo, Shashe and Ntimbale. SATOA reported this diversification was expected to include the development of lodges, campsites, cycling, horse riding and fishing facilities, amongst others, attracting local and international tourists.
African Countries Embrace UNWTO Biodiversity Plans
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frican tourism administrations have undersigned the Declaration of Kinshasa which fosters tourism as a driver of biodiversity and environmental protection. According to World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the declaration is considered a major result of regional action created through UNWTO/Chimelong Initiative on Wildlife Conservation and Sustainable Tourism. The declaration was undersigned during a recent wildlife and biodiversity protection experience exchange and capacity building conference in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The regional conference served to summarise itinerary training workshops conducted throughout 2017 to encourage local communities and tourism stakeholders to act as champions of biodiversity conservation and environmental protection.
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28 APRIL 2018