African Eye News Service articles from March 2003

African Eye News Service archives from March 2003

BOTSWANA: ASSOCIATION SAYS NON-CITIZENS CAN STAY.
March 21, 2003... MAUN, Botswana (Mar. 17) AENS - The Botswana Guides Association (Boga) has voted in favour of allowing non-citizens and expatriate safari operators to continue to be members. The three-year-old organisation aims to assist and teach...

BOTSWANA: MAUN AIRPORT UPGRADE COULD TAKE THREE YEARS.
March 21, 2003... MAUN, Botswana (Mar. 17) AENS - The long-awaited upgrading of Maun Airport is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2004. The upgrade is expected to boost tourism in the north western resort town which borders the world famous...

LIBERIA: ANIMAL ORPHANAGES HOPED TO DRAW TOURISTS.
March 21, 2003... MONROVIA, Liberia (Mar. 17) AENS - Although 13 years of political instability in Liberia has curbed tourism, the government hopes its animal orphanage programme will be a drawcard. Assistant minister of information for tourism, James...

KENYA: BEES KEEP JUMBOS AT BAY.
March 21, 2003... NAIROBI, Kenya (Mar. 18) AENS - Communities along game reserves in Kenya are being encouraged to create a network of beehives to keep marauding elephants at bay. Communities along reserves are often in conflict with elephants that...

SOUTH AFRICA: HOPES FOR MORE PROTECTION FOR BLUE SWALLOW.
March 21, 2003... PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa (Mar. 18) AENS - Hopes are high that Impendle nature reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, one of the last remaining habitats of the critically endangered blue swallow, will receive formal protection under provincial and...

SOUTH AFRICA: SERPENT SAVES WETLAND.
March 21, 2003... ESHOWE, South Africa (Mar. 18) AENS - An ancient myth about a seven headed serpent which lives in a wetland is at the heart of one rural community's efforts to promote sustainable, conservation and tourism-based development in Zululand. ...

SOUTH AFRICA: ANNUAL WESSA COACH TOUR WON'T DISAPPOINT.
March 21, 2003... DURBAN, South Africa (Mar. 19) AENS - The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa's (WESSA) annual luxury coach tour will visit the South African provinces of Mpumalanga and northern KwaZulu-Natal, as well as the neighbouring kingdom...

SOUTH AFRICA: CYCLING TOUR TO BOOST TOURISM IN MPUMALANGA.
March 21, 2003... NELSPRUIT, South Africa (Mar. 19) AENS - More than 1 200 cyclists are expected to participate in the fourth annual Croc Cycle Tour next month. They're expected to be joined by friends, family and supporters, boosting tourism trade in the...

SOUTH AFRICA: NUTS AND BOLTS OF TRANSFRONTIER PARK THRASHED OUT.
March 21, 2003... PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa (Mar. 20) AENS - Officials from South Africa and Mozambique met this week to plan the first of four cross-border conservation areas that will straddle the two countries, as well as neighbouring Swaziland. ...

SOUTH AFRICA: KRUGER VISITORS REACHES MILLION MARK.
March 21, 2003... SKUKUZA, South Africa (Mar. 20) AENS - The number of visitors to the world famous Kruger National Park exceeded one million in March, the highest ever recorded in the reserve. The million mark was reached on March 8 and tourism...

BOTSWANA: "GREAT WHITE HUNTER" DIES.
March 21, 2003... MAUN, Botswana (Mar. 21) AENS - Lionel Palmer, one of Africa's most well known hunters, has died of a heart attack in Maun, Botswana. The 74-year-old legend was airlifted to Johannesburg for treatment on Saturday and died when a second...

ZAMBIA: 25-YEAR CONCESSION TO SA COMPANY FOR PARKS UNDER FIRE.
March 21, 2003... LUSAKA, Zambia (Mar. 21) AENS - The opposition in Zambia has criticised the government for negotiating with a South African company to take over two national game parks for 25 years. Nakatindi Wina, MP for the United Party for National...

SOUTH AFRICA: ANIMALS SAFE ON ZIM SIDE OF TRANSFRONTIER PARK.
March 14, 2003... CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Mar. 14) AENS - South Africa's environmental affairs and tourism minister has assured parliament and the tourism industry that wildlife on the Zimbabwean side of the world's biggest transfrontier park are safe. ...

ZIMBABWE: ZIM TRAVEL WEB PORTAL SHIFTS TO UK.
March 14, 2003... HARARE, Zimbabwe (Mar. 14) AENS - The Zimbabwean travel web portal, www.off2africa.com, is now being hosted in the United Kingdom. Site host, Webdev UK, says people all over the world will now be able to access the site much faster than...

ZIMBABWE: ZIMBABWE REDUCES RATES FOR SADC TOURISTS.
March 14, 2003... HARARE, Zimbabwe (Mar. 13) AENS - Zimbabwe's parks and wildlife management authority has lowererd fees at its parks for visitors from the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Tourists from SADC countries merely have to produce...

SOUTH AFRICA: FIRE BREAKS OUT ON PRESTIGIOUS BLUE TRAIN.
March 14, 2003... PRETORIA, South Africa (Mar. 13) AENS - A fire broke out on South Africa's famous Blue Train on Tuesday night, damaging six coaches. The fire broke out while the train was docked at Pretoria Station. Spoornet, the owners of the train,...

SOUTH AFRICA: ASIAN AIRLINE RESPONDS TO SURGE IN TOURISM NUMBERS.
March 14, 2003... JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Mar. 13) AENS - In response to the 20,7% increase in foreign visitors to South Africa, Cathay Pacific Airways has announced that it will introduce two more weekly flights to Johannesburg as of June 1. There...

SOUTH AFRICA: DURBAN TO HOST WORLD PARKS CONGRESS.
March 14, 2003... DURBAN, South Africa (Mar. 13) AENS - Durban is set to host the fifth World Parks Congress (WPC) later this year, the biggest conservation gathering since the world summit on sustainable development. The congress, convened every 10 years...

SOUTH AFRICA: NORTH WEST URGED TO STRENGHTEN TOURISM SECTOR.
March 14, 2003... MMABATHO, South Africa (Mar. 13) AENS - North West Premier Popo Molefe has urged local residents to ensure that every tourist left the province with a positive impression of the region. 'We believe these tourists will then become our...

ZAMBIA: WORK PERMITS MAY BE WITHHELD FROM FOREIGN PILOTS.
March 14, 2003... LUSAKA, Zambia (Mar. 12) AENS - Zambia has warned that it may stop issuing work permits to foreign pilots in order to force foreign airlines operating in the country to employ local professionals. Home affairs deputy minister Kennedy...

SOUTH AFRICA: TRANSFRONTIER INITIATIVE TO BOOST COMMUNITIES.
March 14, 2003... PIETERMARITZBURG (Mar. 12) AENS - The World Bank has committed US$7,3-million towards the creation of a massive transfrontier conservation and development programme that will encompass areas in Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Free State...

SOUTH AFRICA: ASIAN AIRLINE ADDS FLIGHTS AS TOURISM RISES.
March 14, 2003... JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Mar. 12) AENS - In response to the 20.7 percent increase in foreign visitors to South Africa, Cathay Pacific Airways has announced that it will introduce two more weekly flights to Johannesburg as of June 1. ...

SOUTH AFRICA: FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR RAILWAY TOURISM IN KZN.
March 14, 2003... CREIGHTON (Mar. 11) AENS - A small municipality in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province has solved its office accommodation problems and also created a potential tourist attraction by building a new R4,6-million (about US$575 000) railway...

SOUTH AFRICA: COMMUNITY OWNED PROJECTS A HIT WITH CORPORATE SA.
March 14, 2003... ST LUCIA (Mar. 11) AENS - Five community owned and managed tourism projects around the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park have proved to be a hit with corporate companies seeking team-building getaways. The Simunye Community Tourism...

SOUTH AFRICA: HIKERS TO BENEFIT FROM NEW MAPS OF DRAKENSBERG.
March 14, 2003... PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa (Mar. 11) AENS - Hikers are set to benefit from six highly detailed 1:50 000 maps covering the entire uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site. The maps show contours, pathways, streams and usable...

SOUTH AFRICA: A $25M PROJECT TO BENEFIT COMMUNITIES ALONG RESERVES.
March 14, 2003... DURBAN (Mar. 11) AENS - Poor communities living along reserves in KwaZulu-Natal will benefit from R20 million (about US$25 million) in poverty alleviation projects that promise to employ more than 900 people. The province's conservation...

SOUTH AFRICA: CRICKET WORLD CUP GENERATES ABOUT $37.5M FOR SA.
March 14, 2003... JOHANNESBURG (Mar. 10) AENS - The Cricket World Cup (CWC) is expected to generate a profit of R300 million (about US$37,5 million) for host country South Africa. CWC executive director Dr Ali Bacher said some R220 million (US$27,5...

SOUTH AFRICA: SA RECORDS MASSIVE INCREASE IN TOURIST ARRIVALS.
March 14, 2003... JOHANNESBURG (Mar. 10) AENS - South Africa has established itself as the world's most sought after tourist destination with over six million tourists arriving in the country last year, according to tourism minister Mohammed Valli Moosa. ...

SOUTH AFRICA: SANPARKS AUCTION OFF 24 WHITE RHINOS.
March 14, 2003... SKUKUZA (Mar. 10) AENS - South Africa National Parks (SANParks) will auction off 20 white rhino bulls and four cows this Saturday. Twelve of the bulls are boma trained breeding bulls while the other eight bulls and four cows come directly...