Thursday, November 25, 2010

Tourism in Rwanda Rises

In Rwanda, the conservation of biodiversity has been a major concern since the Colonial era with the creation of the three national parks that harbour rich natural Resources and exceptional tourist opportunities. After independence, the Rwanda Office of Tourism and National parks (ORTPN), whose main mandates were to ensure the promotion of sustainable tourism and the conservation of wildlife was established to answer this concern. Furthermore the Rwandan Government adopted the protection of environment and the promotion of tourism among the main focus of poverty reduction and development in its document “Vision 2020”, with the overall aim to prop up sustainable development. 3 days rwanda gorilla tracking

Also, Rwanda sits at the heart of Africa at the center of the Albertine Rift, where deep volcanic forces are pressing the continental plates apart Its where the world’s exquisite beauty is found as well as unsurpassed biodiversity. Still the country is the bridge between the forest ecosystems of the Congo basin along with the great rift valleys of the East. It shares in the biological riches of both worlds, offering a concentration of biodiversity found nowhere else in Africa plus a wide variety of wildlife. The Volcano National Park in northern Rwanda is home to rare mountain gorillas numbering in hundreds. Apart from mountain Gorillas, the availability of many tourist attractions and potentials led to the development of an absolute guide for conversing Rwanda’s wildlife, history as well as culture along with practicalities such as travel cost and accommodation.

Mean while Rwanda safari is well known for its mountain gorillas which was first brought to international attention by the conservation efforts of Dian Fossey in the 1960s and 70s, Rwanda’s gorillas have featured in numerous documentaries and have in the recent past been visited for example by Bill Gates, Natalie Portman and Ted Turner, who have all participated in the annual gorilla naming ceremony. Of recent, the country launched the Canopy Walk at Nyungwe National Park set 50 meters above ground; it is a thrill-a-minute walkway into the treetops that gives visitors a new, exciting way to experience the park. With this launch, Rwanda Development Board re-states its commitment to product diversification and to enhancing tourists' experiences while conserving the Park's rich biodiversity.

Rwanda’s tourism sector registered a $7.2m increase during the first half of 2010, according to the country’s Development Board. The results represent a 9% increase on previous year, rising from $80.1m to $87.3m, with improved performance for the entire hospitality sector attributed for it. It follows a fall in arrivals between 2008 and 2009 from 699,000 to 765,000. As a result, the Rwandan government is now expecting to generate $206m compared to $174m. rwanda gorilla safari

Rica Rwigamba, head of tourism and conservation at the Rwanda Development Board said that “the country had seen a marked rise in the number of tourists visiting the Volcanoes National Park over the last three years”. However, Rwigamba accepted that Rwanda’s growing tourism sector will still attract more tourists due to the quality of its accommodation and services. gorilla tours rwanda

1.2m mark figure set to hit Kenya tourism

Kenya Tourism forms a vital foundation for the country's economy and is highlights two of Kenya's most unique features wildlife and beaches which make the tourism industry so far the largest single export earner in the country. Careful planning and proactive leadership have maximized the tourism potential as Kenya continually outpaces it's East African safari neighbours.This is evidenced by the solid infrastructure coupled with a devotion to wildlife conservation has propelled Kenya to the forefront of the regional tourism industry.

Besides, Kenya Tourist figures are expected to reach 1.2 million visitors coming through the major airports by the end of the year, Tourism Minister Najib Balala has said.
This will be the largest numbers in the sector’s history having surpassed the 2007 statistics by 17% monthly.” We are experiencing an average 71 percent monthly growth in tourism arrivals compared to 2007 and therefore project the tourist arrivals to hit 1.2million mark by the end of the year. These figures exclude working cross-border travel, Kenyan Diaspora returning home and foreign experts working in the county. The statistics are based on the arrivals from Jumo Kenyatta International Airport and Moi International Airport and the port of Mombasa”. mt kenya safari tours

The Tourism minister told a media briefing on Thursday that the rise was due to aggressive marketing campaigns as well as diversification of the countries traditional source markets.” The new markets we are targeting are Eastern Europe, India, China, Japan as well as African countries where we see great potential," Mr Balala said. safari masai mara

The Government is now riding on Kenyans in the Diaspora to sell the country’s image and cultural heritage. Also Brand Kenya Board says it has planned a series of meetings with Kenyans living abroad in a bid to sensitise them about marketing Kenya as a tourist and investment destination.” We have plans to involve Kenyans in the Diaspora in a project to market our image," says Mary Kimonye, Chief Executive of Brand Kenya Board.” We will soon visit the US and other areas with notable numbers of Kenyans to sensitise them on the issues at hand." Masai mara holidays

More so, the Kenya’s tourism sector has recovered in the past months withstanding the global economic crisis, the volcanic ash phenomenon and the unending travel advisories.
The high figures especially from emerging markets of east Europe, China, India and Africa have contributed immensely to the recovery of the sector. gorilla safaris rwanda

Monday, July 19, 2010

Kenya Leopard Beach Hotel& Spa wins an Award

The beaches of Kenya offer you an unending scope to enjoy yourself the way you
want. Relax in isolation, walk in the water, play with sand, party till the
early hours, admire the beauty of the surroundings or indulge in water sports -
do anything, the choice is entirely yours. kenya tours , The vast stretches of sea water have a unique ability to carry away all your worries and heartaches along with its waves.gorilla safari tours , You can also watch the sun rise and set far in the horizon and appreciate the beauty that is reflected as a reflection in the water.

kenya hotels , And for all those who are more adventurous and yearn for a lot of challenging
activities, the beaches have plenty of options to choose from. Swim along with
the waves of the beach water or dive deep into the water to discover a
magnificent and colourful Water Sports Centre - offering windsurfing, kite
surfing, kayaking, pedelos and catamarans for hire or tuition Big game fishing
,Glass-bottom boat trip in the world. rwanda safari
Due to the tranquil environment with abundant greenery around is just perfect to
relax and refresh ,Kenya's Leopard Beach Resort & Spa has won the 2010 World
Travel Awards Africa & Indian Ocean award in the Best Resort category at the
ceremony which took place last week in Johannesburg, South Africa had over 1,000
global tourism industry participants. Chris Modigell the representative of
Leopard Beach Resort & Spa said Kenya is gaining good tourism reputation from
such award though the country still faces considerable challenge from South
Africa as a favourable tourism destination due to infrastructure development.
However, he concluded that that the above challenge can be solved by providing
better customer service to tourists.kenya tourist attactions

Unlike the very common and predictable experiences of living in a hotel, leopard
Beach Resort & Spa is a refreshing change for visitors of Beach Tourism in
Kenya. Accommodation occupancy of the beach hotels to the tourists that come to
Kenya all year around has become a prevalent practice at the beach hotels. The
major factor that sets leopard Beach Resort & Spa apart from hotels is the
bewitching experience of privacy, uganda gorilla safari space and personalized service. It fulfills
your needs and desires for tranquility and peace. The experience of spending
your days and nights at leopard is not at all different than the feeling of
home. Everything in the leopard beach hotel & Spa is personalized for your
convenience and comfort. rwanda gorilla safari

The gardens at Leopard Beach Hotel are beautifully landscaped over 30 acres and
immaculately maintained which give an even greater ambience. The room blocks are
dotted around the carefully planned gardens and look almost invisible. This
makes you feel like you are in a smaller secluded hotel. Almost at the end of
the big renovation project, the resort will soon launch their Uzuri Health Spa
and Fitness Forest at the back of the Hotel.

Still, Leopard Beach Resort will be surrounded by 6 acres of indigenous forest
and promises to offer only the best treatments and therapies available. They
have tried to make the resort as comfortable as possible and offer the little
things which other hotels do not, like the Tutti Frutti Ice Cream parlour down
near the beach. Pizzas are part of the culture of the place and they serve
possibly the best pizza in Kenya. They also host a wide variety of activities
from a PADI 5 star dive centre to golf, which can be enjoyed at Dotted gorilla tours in uganda
throughout the vast 25 acres of magnificent tropical gardens are a total of 158
rooms, cottages and suites (90 standard rooms, 48 sea-facing superior rooms, 10
Chui class cottages, 7 suites and 2 superior suites and 5 honeymoon suites and 2
executive suites). We highly recommend the honeymoon suites with their sunken
baths! The executive suites have Jacuzzi baths and amazing power showers. The
above facilities together with the Beach Resort Hotel Restaurant offer you the
fine dining at its finest and perfect tanzania safari for that romantic meal. For lunch, sample
stir-fries at Coco Mchana on Coco Beach or try the Italian specialty restaurant
– Pizza ‘n' Pasta Tornati and whatever eatable you would wish to have. Dinners
are equally exciting with a blend of local cultural shows every night including
the famous Maasai dances, live bands and acrobats. Evening entertainment
includes a disco overlooking the ocean, traditional African dancing and weekly
BBQ's around the pool. gorilla tours

In brief a beach and wildlife tour in will provide every kind of thing to enjoy,
from isolation and opportunity for introspection to action and fun. Take a beach
trip and wildlife safari Kenya and experience what makes the beaches and
wildlife in Kenya attractive to so many tourists.kenya safari packages

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Customer satisfaction leads to loyalty

All customers in the business world look for finest places in which they can get the best services to quench there thirsty. Besides, customer satisfaction, measures how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation and also seen as the key performance indicator within business and is part of the four of a Balanced Score for the business success. Customer perceptions are what indicate whether you have achieved satisfaction or not. In other words, they represent stepping stones along a continuum. Perceptions accumulate over time and gradually equate to either satisfaction or dissatisfaction. In Tourism industry, the job of tour operators, travel agencies is to understand and act on the customer perceptions so that the final result is customer satisfaction. kenya beach holiday
However, satisfaction may lead to loyalty. But loyalty is an option among many choices. Being using a royal tour company and using a satisfied tour company are clearly two different things. Researchers say customers love in compartments while services providers love customers as a whole. This means that customers love there service providers because of there expertise and organizing ability which is unique. Thus, at the same time he/she can decide to get another service provider while still showing trust in the first service provider for her good customer handling services.

The scenario painted makes me wonder if it is true to say that the customer is satisfied whereas the service provider is loyal. Cut back to events around us. The recent Mangalore Air India crash and the Kenya Airways one a while back would have any nerve-wrecked flier put their hands to their hearts and vow never to fly either airline again. But does that happen? Other forces come in play like price, time, service, crash records, probability factors and before we know it, off we go with the same airline. What is the driver? Is it loyalty or is it satisfaction? kenya family safari

When the same people have to travel between Mangalore to Dubai they have no option as only one flight is on that route. For marketers, this is a point to note as it spells out that because consumers use your service daily, that does not mean they are loyal to it neither does it mean they are satisfied with it. All it spells is opportunity for someone else to come in and take your market while you are busy measuring loyalty.
Closer to home, road accidents are heard of every day. Yet a man wakes up in the morning going to look for his daily bread and will use the same route and the same means of transport. Is that loyalty towards earning or satisfaction that he is doing something with his life.

The same scenario to when you are shopping in your area and want to buy water among other things. This time round you will pick your brand of choice which is driven by your loyalty to it. There fore, Satisfaction is one of the needs that every living thing lives by. Be it satisfaction of a meal, satisfaction of having slept well or satisfaction of buying a brand that gives you value for money. Yet on the other hand you have loyalty or devotion that is linked to faith. Faith comes from the promise made by the brand, emotion or relationship. Satisfaction is brought about by a feeling of contentment whilst loyalty is tied with dependability. kenya cultural safari

Meanwhile in the Tourism industry, we measure our on time delivery, customer complaints, customer rejects as well as the touchy feely customer perception from the daily contact we have with our customers. It does not always pile up that good delivery and good quality makes a good customer perception and vice versa. Houses on sale in nairobi kenya For example, the customer may perceive us as unhelpful if they do not reschedule orders quickly enough for them (even if unreasonable) or give enough support to their design team even though they deliver what they order on time with no faults.

Alternatively, customer’s perception of the service provider can be good even though they are late on delivery or have quality problems. Thus, they react to those problems and are seen to be doing everything which put them right. At the end of the day perception is the overriding 'measure' because new orders are more often placed based on the perception of the customer rather than on the actual delivery and quality statistics. While each approach has its application, customer perception is king and the customer’s evaluation is what matters most. kenya safaris africa

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Tourism in East Africa

In East Africa, Land-based tourism is a major economic activity which attracts millions of visitors to different sites across the region every year and generating millions of dollars in foreign exchange earnings. Sites such as the great National Parks of East, the Great Rift Valley of Eastern, Mount Rwenzori in Uganda, Mount Kenya safari packages in Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania are some of the major attractions. Mountains, wildlife, wetlands and coastal areas are also major tourist attractions in the region kenya safari vacations.

The above attractions contribute to the increase in the number of tourist arrival in the East African region every year. However, Ecotourism accounts for around 30 percent of total international tourism. In recognition of ecotourism’s growth potential, particularly for developing countries, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) declared 2002 the International Year of Ecotourism.Rwanda gorilla safari Many countries in Africa, such as Kenya, Uganda and South Africa, have invested heavily in ecotourism.

Tourism in East Africa include viewing gorillas which is the most exciting activity in the Great Lakes Region, game drive, Chimpanzee tracking, launch trips, birding activity, mountain-climbing in Eastern Africa, cultural tour, Rafting and many other activities. In the Great Lakes Region, for example, revenue from tourism based on gorilla viewing and other activities brings in about US$20 million to the region annually. gorilla safari rwanda , Thus, Tourism can serve as a powerful incentive to protect natural resources in East Africa. Since tourism is the first largest foreign exchange earner, a lot of development plans and strategy have been laid to ensure further development plans in the sector.

Tourism not only generates revenue to support conservation and management of natural environments but also generates many jobs. For example, hundreds of people live off the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda, kenya safari tours where foreign tourists trek to view gorillas. It has been argued that tourism has larger multiplier effects, with revenue spreading from hotel accommodation, food and beverages, shopping, entertainment and transport to income of hotel staff, taxi operators, shopkeepers and suppliers of goods and services.

Despite the growth of tourism, opportunities for further investment and development are vast in the region for example, Marketing East Africa as one tourism destination, the introduction of one single east Africa visa, influstructures development and improvement plans like in kenya safari holidays (Rwanda, Uganda), favorable regulations for investment in the region mention but a few.

In addition, measures need to be adopted to ensure that the benefits associated with tourism are spread across society, and that those who are directly involved in conservation are rewarded. Meanwhile, for those planning to have the best of there Holiday vacations in East Africa, don’t look any further apart from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya family safari holidays , and Tanzania.