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Newman's Birds By Colour, by Kenneth Newman
Not one? Giraffes may be of six distinct species!
Liquid Giraffe is based in Maun, the gateway to the Okavango Delta. We are well positioned to offer the most up-to-date information on lodges, camps and mobile safaris in the Okavango Delta area. We specialise too in horseback safaris into the Okavango and arrange safaris and holidays to include any part of Botswana. Currently, we have a walking safari in the Tuli wilderness from 19 to 23 September 2008 and spaces are available. Contact Glen for further details. Tel: +267 6801054 / Fax: +267 6801053 / Emails: liquidgiraffe@botsnet.bw & info@liquid-giraffe.com / Website: www.liquid-giraffe.com
Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation extends an invitation to all tourism associations to attend Lesotho's inaugural Tourism Conference - "Lesotho National Tourism Conference, 2008", to be held on January 23rd-25th, at the Manthabiseng National Convention Center, in Maseru. The 23rd & 24th will be the Conference, while the 25th will be a sponsored day-tour to Mohale Dam and a boating excursion. For further information, kindly contact Mamoabi Ralebitso, of the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation by Tel: +266 22312238 / Fax: +266 22310189 / Cell: +266 58721301 / Email: mamoabi@ltdc.org.ls - Thank you.
Business People at Swakopmund say they did good business this holiday season compared to previous years. Besides service facilities such as petrol stations and banks being packed most of the time, supermarkets, bottle stores and butcheries also enjoyed a profitable run … James Tromp of Desert Explorers, a local tourism agent, said business was good, especially organised quad-bike tours into the desert. Other popular holiday activities were camel rides and sand boarding. He said during the rest of the year most of his customers were foreign tourists, but during the festive season many Namibians and South Africans took part in the fun. A higher number of visitors from Botswana was noticeable this year, he added.
The chairperson of the Mo Ibrahim Institute, Dr Mohamed Ibrahim, has commended the government of Zanzibar for improving its tourism sector. During his talks with President Amani Abed Karume on Tuesday, Dr Ibrahim said that the government of Zanzibar had moved a step further to improving the tourism sector by creating a conducive environment for investors. "I have great expectations that Zanzibar will improve its economy because of its good strategies in development and special attention to the tourism sector. I think it is only wise to ensure people in Zanzibar benefit from investments in the country, especially from tourism," said Dr. Ibrahim. "I really like Zanzibar because the island has attracted me a great deal in terms of the environment and its tourist attractions. I also like the way the government supervises this sector," he said. Dr. Ibrahim said there was a need to concentrate on high-class tourists as a means to increase the national income and the economy in general. "There is a need to conserve the environment in the country. Zanzibar is among countries with the best tourist attractions in the world, no wonder a lot of people like to come here. The environment is conducive and its people are kind," said Dr. Ibrahim. He praised the government for improving infrastructure, which enables tourists to move from one location to another with ease …
The Botswana Tourism Board (BTB) has signalled its intention to focus on improving the standards of local facilities in the hospitality industry in its latest annual report. This follows the decision that the proportion of facilities not meeting minimum standards is unsatisfactory. Chief executive officer of BTB, Myra Sekgororoane, explained that her intention for the BTB launch two years ago remains unchanged. She wants it to be one of the best tourism organisations in the world. "I should ensure that the transition from the department of tourism to the board does not create any gaps in the global tourism industry," she said. "We have been able to attend a number of tourism fairs and exhibitions globally to continue in the marketing of Botswana as a tourist destination of choice." Other projects on which the BTB wishes to focus its efforts includes the Toyota 1,000 kilometer Desert Race. According to Botswana's department of tourism, visitor numbers are estimated to increase at an annual rate of ten per cent until 2020.
Mozambique's revenues from tourism during 2007 totaled US$ 160 million, an increase of US$ 3 million from the previous year, Tourism Minister Fernando Sumbana said Tuesday. The minister explained that these revenues were only the amounts spent by overseas tourists last year, some 1.1 million of whom came to Mozambique in 2007, a significant increase compared to the average of 650,000 visitors recorded in pervious years. "Besides tourists from South Africa, Zimbabwe and other countries in the region, we also received visitors from Europe and America, particularly the United States," the AIM news agency cited Sumbana as saying. The increase in foreign tourism to Mozambique is fundamentally due to improvements made to resorts and rehabilitation of roads giving better access to holiday complexes spread nationwide. Mozambique's tourism minister said that the rising receipts from the sector pushed its contribution to GDP from 2.5 percent in 2006 to 5 percent last year. Mozambique's tourism industry expanded by 16 percent in 2007, a significant growth in comparison to the previous year and it is hoped this trend will continue. Investment in Mozambique's tourism sector has risen from US$ 83 million in 2005 to over US$ 604 million in 2007, a major proportion of this amount coming from foreign direct investment.
"Monaco leopards seen off by Prince Albert, flown to South Africa, new home is Born Free reserve"
Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) processed a record number of passengers last year: more than eight million. There were 8,3 million passengers in 2007 and 7,2 million in 2006. "This represents a 17 percent growth rate for the year, which is an all-time record for CTIA," according to the Airports Company South Africa spokesperson Kim Webster. "In December alone, the airport processed 751 559 passengers. This means that this festive season was the busiest period ever for CTIA," she said. The busiest terminals were the domestic ones, which operated at maximum capacity. "Although the hospitality industry does not have a reliable visitor number measurement tool, this season certainly seems to be a far busier summer season, with virtually no seasonal dips in mid-December and mid-January," said Chris von Ulmenstein, chairperson of the smaller accommodation segment of the Cape chapter of the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (Fedhasa) …
Construction of bed and breakfast facilities has already begun in some deep rural hinterlands of Limpopo in preparation for expected visitors during the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa. The R15 million European Union-funded project has started in the areas of Muhlava, Sekgopo and Thabina villages outside Tzaneen in the Mopani district municipality. The site where these accommodation establishments are being constructed is about a 30 minutes drive from Polokwane - a town which will host some of the World Cup matches. The project is expected to be completed by December this year …
I was amazed to read the story regarding the initiative to re-classify Giraffe sub species into separate species, which would make us see these fantastic animals in a different light, and may also add additional value to their, and other African species, plight for survival.
This again triggered a thought about conservation and what we could do, as everyday run-of-the-mill general public, to ensure the future of wildlife and maybe even complete ecosystems across the globe. The thought was slightly macabre as what came to mind was possibly inappropriate - "there is most likely no need to worry as the problem will go away on it's own" - not quite true though, is it?
A few weeks ago I read a piece on the war torn Southern Sudan where large numbers of game where re-discovered (some more positive news) after the war subsided, this was strangely mentioned in the Giraffe article too. Shortly after this I watched a documentary about Global
Warming and its effect on Earth starring a previous USA presidential candidate - which didn't make for positive reflection due to the situation we are finding ourselves in at this moment in time.
So how do we solve the problem, or at least try and solve it, in a positive manner? Tourism is, in our case, our livelihood and this proposal does not detract from the fact that wildlife should be sustainable and development of tourism destinations play a vital and hugely successful role in the protection of our natural areas; however we also have a responsibility to give back to nature without expecting a return as she has looked after us so well. I am willing to donate R1000 - equivalent approx 150 USD / GBP 80 - so as to start a fund to purchase land across Africa adjoining National Parks and already established Wildlife areas (so as to be incorporated as wilderness areas) to be kept free of human impact, no development / no return on investment / no salaries / no tax breaks / no fees from advisors i.e. all work done free of charge by volunteers, including Wendy and I.
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