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Weekly UpdatesMay 3, 2009
Accor
Hotel group Accor is set to triple its Middle Eastern portfolio by 2013, with a focus on the budget market. Accor said it was reacting to the poor business conditions affecting its up- and mid-range hotels and the resulting 9.6 percent fall in first quarter sales. But the group, which operates Sofitel, Novotel and Ibis, is looking to increase its offering in the Middle East from 19 hotels to 24 by 2011, and 65 by 2013. Philippe Baretaud, Accor's director of development for the Middle East, said the group would focus on Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Mr Baretaud said a deal to build a Sofitel luxury hotel in Damascus by 2010 was likely. Accor's first Ibis hotel in Jordan will open by the end of this year. www.accor.com Apr 30, 2009
Africa Adventure Consultants
Africa Adventure Consultants has launched a new safari blog at www.adventuresinafrica.com/blog. Now travelers have access to more and better travel information and resources to research, book and plan their African adventure online with Africa Adventure Consultants. OPerhaps the most exciting aspect of our new safari blog is that we're now able to quickly and regularly share news from Africa, whether it's a new safari camp opening, late breaking news hot off a game drive or updates on our own travels across the continent, to help our clients plan, learn and anticipate their own upcoming African adventures,O said Kent Redding, president of Africa Adventure Consultants. www.adventuresinafrica.com/blog. Apr 30, 2009
Bestway Tours
Bestway Tours & Safaris developed a tour program that will take tour members to a three-day village where they join the local villagers in painting the local school building, doing repair work, and teach conversational English to the village folks. Participants will come back not only having contributed but will experience the simplistic village lifestyle of Rajasthan. Bestway will fund the cost of the materials and the tourists will contribute their expertise and labor. The three-day voluntary work is just one of the many components of the Royal Rajasthan and Pushkar Mela tour. www.bestway.com. May 1, 2009
Egypt
An ancient jigsaw puzzle has been solved finally. Egypt's Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni announced that after weeks of restoration work, pieces of wood found inside a jar discovered in KV63 have proven to be the remains of a mummification bed. Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that when members of the University of Memphis archaeological mission working in the tomb found the pieces, they did not know what they were or what their function might have been. Hawass clarified that with the help of Egyptian conservator Amani Nashed, the team was finally able to reassemble the pieces to form a bed of the type used in the ancient Egyptian mummification process. May 1, 2009
MSC Cruises
MSC Cruises will no longer operate ships in the pirate-infested waters off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden and Suez Canal, the company confirmed. The line instead will sail up the West Coast of Africa when the MSC Sinfonia sails from South Africa to Italy next year. The MSC Melody fought off a pirate attack April 25 about 600 miles from Somalia, closer to the Seychelles Islands. www.msccruisesusa.com. Apr 30, 2009
Seychelles
The Seychelles Coast Guard has arrested 9 suspected Somali pirates during a joint military operation with European and Indian forces at the northern edge of 1. 3 million square kilometer Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), that borders with Somali waters. A Spanish navy frigate, the Numancia, intercepted a skiff carrying nine suspected Somali pirates, and with the help of French, Indian and Seychelles naval Forces the boat was followed and successfully seized on Monday afternoon. The Seychelles Coast Guard vessel PS Andromache arrived in Port Victoria early Tuesday morning, with the 9 men onboard, who are suspected of committing the gunfire attack on the Italian cruise ship the MSC Melody on 26th April, in an area about 200 nautical miles north from the main islands of the Seychelles archipelago. Apr 29, 2009
South African Airways Vacations
South African Airways Vacations/Lion World Tours is giving away six free nights in Cape Town, South Africa. Those who purchase two tickets in Premium Business Class for travel between the U.S. and Cape Town are eligible to receive four free nights at the five-star Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa as well as two bonus nights at the boutique luxury Franschhoek Country House in the scenic Cape Winelands. The free hotel stays include breakfasts and transfers, a dinner for two at Cape TownOs hottest restaurant, and a private wine tour. The promotion is available for purchase now through May 31 for travel May 1 to July 31. www.flysaavacations.com. May 1, 2009
Sunny Land Tours
Sunny Land Tours introduced the Affordable Egypt Tour, which provides full touring coverage of Egypt including a Nile cruise and two days at Hurghada on the Red Sea, at a substantial discount in an effort to stimulate bookings to Egypt during this recession. Similar programs offered by Sunny Land in 2008 were selling at an average price of USD2,699. SunnylandOs Affordable Egypt 10-Day Tour now starts at a guaranteed rate of USD1,699 through December 2009. www.sunnylandtours.com. Apr 29, 2009
Tanzania, Ethiopian Airlines
The Tanzania Tourist Board, with Ethiopian Airlines Journeys, Asante Safaris, Dhana Safaris and Serena Hotels & Lodges, launched an OArcheology LoversO TourO to Tanzania/Ethiopia. The Tanzania portion of the tour, part of the live charity auction at the dinner, was created to mark the 50th anniversary celebration, Aug. 17, of the discovery of the first humanoid skull, OZinjanthropusO (Zinj) by doctors Mary and Louis Leakey. The discovery was made at Oldupai Gorge in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The well-preserved skull and teeth were to rewrite archeological history. It allowed scientists to prove conclusively that the beginnings of man occurred in Africa, not in Asia as previously thought. And the OZinjO skull also gave the world the first credible date that this early group of humanoids walked the earth 2 million years ago. www.tanzaniatouristboard.com, www.seeyouinethiopia.com/archeology. Apr 30, 2009
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