TUNISIA: German Cruiser MS Europa Docked La Goulette With 350 Passengers On Board

German cruiser first to dock in Tunisia since 2015 Isis attack.A celebratory band played Thursday as a cruise liner docked in the port of Tunis for the first time since a March 2015 jihadist attack killed 21 tourists in the capital.

The German-operated MS Europa motored into La Goulette with 350 passengers on board for a one-day stopover.

The tourists, cameras at the ready, were greeted by a band of soldiers playing trumpets and drums, as well as camels and North African dancing, while the local tourist shops garlanded them with jasmine necklaces as they disembarked.

Tunisian authorities, who have ordered high security for the visit, are hoping to lure back the big cruise operators who have abandoned the country for the past year and a half since the gun attack on the capital's Bardo National Museum.

"The arrival of the liner Europa does not in itself signal the resumption of cruise liner activities in Tunisia," said Malek Ghanemi, head of La Goulette's cruise liner terminal.

"But it's very important because it sends out a positive and reassuring message," he said.

Gabriella, a tourist from Berlin, was all smiles as she headed off for Tunis medina, or old city, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site. "I'm not scared at all," she said.

Tourism Minister Selma Rekik Elloumi was to attend a special ceremony later Thursday underlining the significance of the ship's stopover for a key sector of the Tunisian economy.

Many of the tourists who died in the March 18th, 2015 attack claimed by the Isis jihadist group that also killed a policeman were on cruise stopovers.

Tunisia's tourism sector has been in crisis ever since the revolution of 2011 which led to the overthrow of longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The industry used to contribute around seven percent of GDP and supported 400,000 jobs.

Dozens of hotels were forced to close last winter following the Bardo attack and another in June 2015 around a beach hotel in Sousse that left 38 foreign holidaymakers dead.

Safety Most Important When Booking, Holidaymakers Say

Most holidaymakers now cite safety as the key issue when booking a holiday.

Nearly eight out of 10 travellers - 77% - said that safety was a 'consideration' while 42% described it as a 'serious consideration' affecting their holiday intentions, according to BDRC Continental's latest Holiday Trends survey.

Fear over job security is also affecting bookings with nearly one in five people feeling it is 'very likely' or 'fairly likely' that they will lose their job in 2016.

This is an increase on the 13% that said this in 2015.

The survey findings also tie in with a decline in anticipated spend on holidays in 2016 and a narrowing of the range of holiday destinations Britons are considering (1.7 destinations on average in 2016 vs 2.8 destinations in 2015).

When questioning how safe holidaymakers felt 11 leading tourism destinations were, Holiday Trends 2016 found that Paris ranked 10th, with only 37% feeling the city is 'very safe' or 'fairly safe'.

Only Istanbul ranked lower.

The safest three cities were Edinburgh, Sydney and London with ratings of 71%, 68% and 60% respectively.

Jon Young, research director at BDRC Continental, said: "It's no surprise the issue of safety has taken on such prominence given the tragic world events in the last 12 months or so.

"To persuade risk-averse Britons to visit, overseas destinations will need to demonstrate their inherent safety and this is already happening. Tourist boards such as the Czech Republic are leading with crime and terrorism stats."

TANZANIA: Etihad Airways Lands In Tanzania

ETIHAD Airbus A320 aircraft receives a ceremonial water cannon salute as it taxis at Terminal II of Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday after it launched daily flights to Tanzania

ETIHAD Airways, the Abu Dhabi-registered airline, launched its daily flights to Tanzania on Tuesday, adding to the list a growing of Middle East carriers eyeing Tanzanian and African airspace.

The airline touched down at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday and received a ceremonial water cannon salute. It will be operating daily nonstop flights connecting the business city of Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Dar es Salaam.

The daily flights will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft and set to attract more passengers from Tanzania and its neighbouring states. Etihad Airways joins the list of a growing number of Middle East registered airlines lobbying East African skies.

Dar es Salaam will be Etihad Airways’ 110th destination globally and its 11th destination in Africa and the Indian Ocean, reports from the airline’s head office in Abu Dhabi said. The flights will be connecting the Tanzanian capital with 45 destinations across the Middle East, Europe, the Indian Subcontinent, North and Southern Asia and Australia through daily flights, the Etihad report said.

Taking advantage of the fast-growing air connection between East Africa and the Middle East, Tanzania is lobbying tourists and travel trade investments from the Gulf States and the rest of the Arab World.

A team of tourist business stakeholders and marketing officials from Tanzania visited Dubai and other Middle East states last year, looking for potential tourists and investors in tourism from the Gulf States and invited them to invest in Tanzania’s fast-growing tourist industry, taking advantage of the Middle East airlines new routes.

Tanzania Tourist Board had launched marketing campaigns to attract visitors from the Gulf States through these airlines. Hotel and accommodations, hunting and camping safaris are areas of tourist investment and the Tanzania Tourist Board is looking to market them in the Gulf States.

Although the number of Arab tourists to East Africa is not as big as the European and American holidaymakers, there has been a notable number of hunting tourists from the Middle East to Tanzania and the rest of East Africa. About 15,000 tourists from the Gulf visit East Africa every year.

Although small in numbers, East African nations are taking advantage of the Middle East-registered airlines to be a lifeline for Arab-speaking holidaymakers. Airlines registered in Middle Eastern states that are flying to Tanzania include Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Oman Air, Turkish Airlines and Fly Dubai, which are the most competitive over Tanzania’s airspace.

Middle East-registered airlines have taken over the Tanzanian airspace from the traditional European-based airlines which had pulled out their flights between key European cities and Dar es Salaam.

Among European carriers that pulled their flights out of Tanzania are SAS (Scandinavian), Sabena, Air France, Lufthansa, Aeroflot (Russia), Alitalia and British Airways.

KENYA: KPA To Build Cruise Ship Terminal At Mombasa Port

Dancers welcome cruise ship MS Nautica when it docked at the Port of Mombasa on November 13, 2015. KPA plans to build a Sh100 million terminal for welcoming tourists on cruise ships.

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) will spend Sh100 million to construct a terminal for welcoming tourists on cruise ships at the port of Mombasa.

The port lacks a cruise facility for hosting holidaymakers when they arrive in Mombasa by sea.

The port captured headlines in June when the World Travel Awards voted it as Africa’s best cruise port.

Five years ago, it attracted over 10,000 cruise tourists per year before the number took a plunge due to pirate attacks in Somalia territorial waters.

Only two cruise ships docked at the port in 2014 with 900 passengers.

KPA principal communications officer Haji Masemo said construction works will start in 2016.

Mr Masemo stressed the need for the terminal following an increase in the number of tourists to more than 1,800 this year from 900 in 2014.

He also noted the number of cruise ship visits increased from two in 2014 to three this month.

Another ship is expected before the end of November.

“Following a decline in pirate attacks, thanks to the efforts of the Kenya Defence Forces and naval forces of the international community, cruise ships are now coming back to Mombasa,” Mr Masemo said.

He added: “That is why it is necessary for the port to have a terminal where tourists can rest on arrival or before departure.”

Mr Masemo said the port which is a member of the Cruise Indian Ocean Association is capitalising on the organisation to woo back more cruise ships and holidaymakers.

Last week, MS Nautica arrived at the port with 684 tourists and 386 crew members bringing hope for the revival of the ailing sector.

Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers Coast executive officer Sam Ikwaye said it is important for the port to have the facility to improve services offered to cruise tourists.

He noted that improvement of facilities would help attract more tourists.

“Months ago, the port was recognised as the best and therefore it should have a world-class terminal where tourists can relax,” he said.

He added: “KPA should take advantage of the accolade to attract more cruise ships to Mombasa and help revive the tourism sector.”

Kenya Tourism Board boss Muriithi Ndegwa termed the decision by the US and UK governments to lift of the travel advisories against Mombasa as a major boost to tourism.

“Cruise tourism benefits the industry more since sea travellers are big spenders,” said Mr Muriithi.

The KTB boss added that Mombasa is expected to attract more cruise ships since security had significantly improved in the region.

He explained that KTB would market the destination in international cruise tourism markets to woo back more holidaymakers.

“When the cruise tourists arrive in Mombasa, they go on safari to the national parks as well as visit cultural and historical sites,” he explained.

EGYPT: Tourists You Are Welcome Back

Egyptians are calling on tourists to start returning to their country, now being safe. Indeed, very low prices and an enthusiastic population create a perfect environment for Egypt travellers.

In central Cairo's famous Tahrir Square, where the revolution was won, the victory is celebrated each Friday by large festive crowds, a growing number of tourists are taking place in the celebrations. They are still few, but are warmly received by the protesters, watching out for them and making sure they are safe.

Also at Tahrir Square, many of those having secured the revolution now are joining calls for international tourists to return to Egypt. "It is safe," they assure, and it would be the best way of the international community to support Egypt at these crossroads.

Indeed, tourists have never been as warmly welcomed to Egypt as these post-revolutionary days. The world-famous Egyptian Museum at Tahrir Square, which reopened earlier this week, welcomed the first international visiters with roses.

There are scenes of joy at the Giza pyramids; at the Nile cruiseboats; at historic sites in Luxor and Thebe as the first but few tourists start returning. Local businesses express their gratitude to the returnees in many ways.

One of these ways is lowering prices. Nile cruises could never be had as cheap as now; camel rides equally. Restaurants and hotels - even the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Cairo - offer major discounts to attract foreigners. Of course, occupancy rates are still far below normal.

Under these conditions, this is actually the best possible moment to visit Egypt. The joy of the revolution's victory is still strongly felt; visitors are welcomed in the warmest way; and prices in Egypt are at their lowest.

Although tourist numbers still are at their lowest, there is a remarkable interest in the Egyptian destination. Currently, only regular flights go to Egypt. Tour operators have not resumed charter flights.

But the two major markets for travellers to Egypt - the UK and Germany - will soon revive. Germany's giant TUI already on 1 March resumes flights to Egypt from most German airports. Austria's ETI event resumes Egypt trips tomorrow, 26 February. British Thomas Cook is already operating trips to Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada and Luxor.

"Our experienced teams on the ground assure us that no tourist areas at the Red Sea have been affected in any way by the recent demonstrations," Thomas Cook Ltd says in an Egypt update issued yesterday. "They are fully operational and holidaymakers are continuing to enjoy the popular resorts of Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada."

Other countries are slower in normalising their Egypt travel operations, in some cases cancelled until April or even May. But this is quickly changing as governments are removing their Egypt travel warnings. Swedish operator Apollo yesterday announced that, following the lifting of the Stockholm Ministry of Foreign Affairs' travel warning, its first flight to Hurghada was to be precipitated by one month, to 2 April.
Egypt is safe; Tourists, come back
Egyptian authorities are doing their best to hasten such changes in Europe - their main travel market - despite the problems at the Ministry of Tourism, where the ex-Minister and several of his aides have been fired over corruption allegations.

Visiting German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle yesterday met his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul-Gheit and other ministers, in talks that to a large degree addressed the tourism sector. Minister Abul-Gheit urged Germany to keep "the flow of tourists to the country" and Minister Westerwelle said government had not only lifted the trave warning, but was urging German tourists to visit Egypt.

Minister Abul-Gheit urged Germany to keep "the flow of tourists to the country" and Minister Westerwelle said government had not only lifted the trave warning, but was urging German tourists to visit Egypt.

Meanwhile, potential Egypt travellers all around the world are investigating ways to go and experience the new spirit in this ancient destination. Travel agents in the US are reporting on growing numbers of reservations and about tourists that had to cancel trips to Egypt earlier now are looking for new possibilities to go to the country.

From Finland, tour operator Finnmatkat reports a large request of people wanting to go to Egypt. These are both people made curious by the revolution and people that had to cancel their trips earlier this year. Among those having to cancel their trips, "many customers wanted to go Egypt in particular, which is why other destinations did not necessarily attract them", Finnmatkat reports. Following the pressure, trips from Finland to Egypt are to resume in mid-March.

Also TUI in Germany is noting an increased interest in its planned resumption of Egypt trips, which still remain fairly cheap. Interestingly, non-Germans are seeking to book Egypt travels through TUI as tour operators in their countries are slow to resume flights.

But despite these optimistic signals, the revivial of the Egytpian tourism industry is still very slow.

March will be the make-or-break month for the recovery of the country's tourism industry. Then, it will be seen if the 2011 season can be saved and if the large labour force in the sector can be maintained.