CHINA: Central And Eastern Europe Tourism Exchange Week Event In Ningbo

The official Central And Eastern Europe Tourism Exchange Week will open today, June 7th 2017 in the coastal city of Ningbo.

The event is organized by Ningbo Tourism Administration.

The Central and Eastern Europe exchange is the third Chinese Investment and Trade Expo of its type. Central and Eastern European tourism exchange week is the Chinese government directive to expand mutual cooperation and development in the region.

The exchange week welcomes official representatives from the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Latvia, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Benin and Romania.

Ningbo is a beautiful coastal city on the East China Sea. It has advanced transportation infrastructure, a developed information & technology industry, and over two thousand years of Chinese history and culture.

Ningbo is a thriving social and business environment, representing modern China's many decades of development, urban management and the unprecedented growth of industry.

Ningbo is an ideal window into understanding the development of China. To host the third China International Investment and Trade Expo at this week's exchange is of great importance to the city of Ningbo.

The representatives and their nation states have expressed their willingness to cooperate fully under the mutually beneficial framework of "One Belt One Road" cooperation.

The framework will aim to increase quantities of Chinese tourists traveling to the participating country within this year. The "One Belt One Road" agreement plans a new era of Chinese tourism and prosperity for all participating countries.

UAE: Fly Dubai Expands To Georgia, Azerbaijan, Montenegro

Flydubai has announced the addition of three new destinations for the upcoming summer season.

Batumi in Georgia, Qabala in Azerbaijan and Tivat in Montenegro are the latest destinations to join flydubai’s growing network and will operate from June to September 2017.

Following the launch of its latest popular destination, Bangkok, at the end of 2016, flydubai continues to diversify its network with the addition of more popular summer destinations for passengers from Dubai and across the region.

Flydubai will be the first carrier to offer direct flights from the UAE to Qabala and Tivat, and the first from Dubai to Batumi. GCC nationals will not need a visa to any of these three new destinations, while UAE residents will receive visa on arrival.

“We would like to thank the authorities in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Montenegro for making it easier for the residents of the UAE and GCC to visit these countries by facilitating their visa requirements,” said Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer at flydubai, commenting on the announcement.

“We continue to look for opportunities to further expand our network and offer our passengers more options to travel especially for the summer holiday season. These popular new routes will complement our existing comprehensive network and will be a gateway to explore this part of the region,” added Al Ghaith.

Supported by new aircraft deliveries in 2017, flydubai continues to widen its network, which comprises 93 destinations in 44 countries spanning from Yekaterinburg in the north, Bangkok in the east, Zanzibar in the south and Prague in the west.

Batumi, which will be served by three flights a week, will be flydubai’s second destination in Georgia following Tbilisi. Qabala, which will be served by two fights a week, is flydubai’s second point in Azerbaijan after Baku. The start of two weekly flights to Tivat will mark flydubai’s first entry to Montenegro following the successful promotional trip that was held in October 2016 in partnership with Porto Montenegro.

“We are confident that the demand for these new summer flights will be strong in both Business and Economy Class. The interest in affordable, popular and off-the-beaten-track holiday destinations continues to grow especially from the GCC markets and these routes offer alternative options for those seeking a beach holiday or city breaks,” said Jeyhun Efendi, senior vice president commercial (UAE, EU, ME, CIS) at flydubai.

Batumi, Georgia
Flydubai will operate three weekly flights between Dubai and Batumi from June 22 to September 30, 2017 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Batumi is the second largest city in Georgia, located on the coast of the Black Sea in the country's southwest region. Tivat, MontenegroBatumi is a popular tourist destination known for its bustling seaside resorts during the warm months of the summer. The city is also an important sea port with thriving shipbuilding, food processing and light manufacturing industries.

Qabala, Azerbaijan
Flydubai will operate two weekly flights between Dubai and Qabala from June 22 to September 17, 2017 on Thursdays and Sundays.

Qabala, also known as Gabala, is the capital of the Gabala District one of the richest archeological and historic regions of Azerbaijan. Qabala is considered a popular tourist destination due to the combination of a mild climate, woods along the mountains, excellent wildlife and recreational resorts.

Tivat, Montenegro
Flydubai will operate two weekly flights between Dubai and Tivat from 23 June to 25 September 2017 on Mondays and Fridays.

Already a popular tourist resort, Tivat is set to become a nautical tourism centre for the southern Adriatic. This coastal town in southwest Montenegro is renowned for its pleasant climate and natural beauty and is conveniently located a short drive away from Dubrovnik in Croatia and Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

INDONESIA: Kenya Among Indonesia’s Visa-free Partners In Travel Targeting 20 Million Tourists

Kenyans are free to travel to Indonesia without tourist visas, according to the latest directive issued by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Indonesian government has offered visa-free travel for a group of countries including Kenya, hoping to pull in more numbers and boost its faltering tourism sector.

So far, tourists from 174 countries no longer need visas to enter the Asian nation. The latest group of countries offered the facility include Australia, Brazil, Ukraine, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Palestine, Honduras, and Pakistan.

Others are Mongolia, Sierra Leone, Uruguay, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Albania, Mozambique, Macedonia, El Salvador, Zambia, Moldova, Madagascar, Georgia, Namibia, Kiribati, Armenia, Bolivia, Bhutan, Guatemala, Mauritania, and Paraguay.

“Offering visa-free travel is one of the easiest ways to boost tourist numbers,” Indonesian Tourism minister Arief Yahya was quoted as saying by the country’s local media.

Indonesia is known for its volcanic islands and scenic beaches. The country hopes to chalk up 20 million foreign tourists in 2019, doubling the 2015 record.

Visa-free travel will only be available through five international airports in Jakarta, Medan, Batam, Bali and Surabaya, and would come with tighter monitoring to minimise misuse of the facility, an Indonesian government official has said, adding foreign tourists found smuggling illegal goods, such as drugs, would face serious penalties.

The country’s President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has repeatedly said the visa-free travel is offered to boost the country’s tourism industry.

Kenya and Indonesia enjoy cordial relations and have had diplomatic ties since 1982. Diplomatic ties between the two countries began in July 1979, and in April 1982 Indonesia opened an Embassy in Nairobi.

The Kenyan High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is accredited to Indonesia and In April, 2015 the Government of Kenya appointed Mr Bilal Asif as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kenya to Indonesia.

Foreign Affairs secretary Amina Mohamed said recently Kenya is seeking to forge a strong partnership with the two countries.

“Kenya considers Indonesia an important partner and has identified and expressed interest in opening a mission in your country. In the meantime, Mr Bilal Asif was appointed as the Honorary Consul of Kenya early last year and we hope that the Government of Indonesia is granting him the necessary support to carry out his mandate,” said Ms Mohamed.

She spoke in Nairobi during the farewell lunch in honour of Mr Sunu Soemarno, who was the outgoing Indonesian ambassador in early 2016. She said: “Kenya, like Indonesia, is outward looking to have a diversified and growing economy that creates a lot of opportunities. We look forward to the review of the JCC that was signed on 3rd December, 2008. I believe this will bring on board new areas for co-operation between Kenya and your great country.”

The countries have signed bilateral agreements for co-operation in various fields, notable among them the agreement on economic, scientific, technical and cultural co-operation signed in Nairobi on September 2, 1992, an MOU on establishment of Joint Commission signed on June 19, 2008.

The two nations also signed Agreed Minutes for Joint Commission for Co-operation signed on 3rd December, 2008 besides Bilateral Air Services Agreement signed in 2007 and an MoU on Fisheries Co-operation signed in 2009.

According to the Export Promotion Council, the bi-lateral trade between Kenya and Indonesia is heavily in favour of Indonesia, with the trade balance rising from $272.6 million in 2007 to $327.3 million in 2009 and $491.4 million in 2011.


Kenya’s exports to Indonesia amounted to $24.9 million and accounted for only 0.4 per cent of Kenya’s total exports in 2011.

The exports to Indonesia fluctuated over the period between 2007 and 2011 and the export products included soda ash, black tea, tobacco and products, sheep skin leather and dried leguminous vegetables. Imports from Indonesia amounted to $516.3 million in 2011 and accounted for 3.4 per cent of Kenya’s total imports.

The main import products include crude palm oil, industrial chemicals, refrigerator, yarns, natural rubber and paper and paperboard.