www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs and politics, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Ambassador Carlos Alfonso Iglesias Puente (left) holding talks with President James Michel at State House in Victoria. Photo credit: Joena Bonnelame, Seychelles News Agency.
Brazil is planning to establish a consular presence in Seychelles soon, the new ambassador to Seychelles said Tuesday, the Seychelles News Agency reports.
Ambassador Carlos Alfonso Iglesias Puente says Brazil intends to open an honorary consulate in Victoria, capital city of Seychelles, to cater for the increase in Brazilian tourists coming to the 115-island archipelago.
He made the statement at State House after presenting his letter of accreditation to Seychelles President James Michel, adding that the honorary consulate is also aimed at boosting relations between the two countries.
“It will be in the coming months, and the government of Seychelles has to agree with the proposition,” the ambassador added.
Tourism, transport, trade and the environment were among areas of cooperation discussed during the State House meeting.
Ambassador Carlos Alfonso Iglesias Puente is based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
See more at: www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/5371/New+Brazil+ambassador+says+honorary+consulate+may+open+in+Seychelles
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs and politics, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Air Mauritius is set to launch a regional African airline, with the intention of reinforcing connectivity between Africa and Asia, reports news24.com
Carla da Silva, Regional Manager for Southern Africa and Latin America made the announcement at its annual Air Mauritius Awards.
The new regional airline is set to operate as a subsidiary of Air Mauritius and “will increase the Air Mauritius network, adding additional eight points in the African region.
Added to this the airline will be launching operations to Maputo, capital city of Mozambique, and Dar es Salaam, commercial capital of Tanzania, in May. Mauritius remains a popular destination for South Africans and is the fourth largest market for the airline.
In July 2015 South African Airwaysand Air Mauritius broaden their code-share agreement to enhance greater connectivity between the continent, South Africa, Mauritius and other inter-continental routes.
“The broadening of our relationship with Air Mauritius follows growing traffic between our two countries not only as a consequence of tourism, but is also concomitant to growing trade between the markets,” said South African Airways Acting CEO Nico Bezuidenhout.
In December 2015 Turkish Airlines also announced it would be serving the Mauritian capital city of Port Louis with a four-times weekly flight.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Air Seychelles intends to begin charter flights from the island of Mahe, where the capital city of Victoria is located, to Beijing in January 2016, flightglobal.com reports.
The national carrier will use use an Airbus A330-200 aircraft on the service, which will be operated once a week.
Flightglobal’s Innovata schedules show there is currently no scheduled air link between the Seychelles and China.
The new route is subject to government and regulatory approval.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
The number of tourists visiting Mauritius rose 8.9 percent in the first half of 2015 from the same period last year, with more arrivals from Asia, official figures showed on Friday.
Tourism is an important component of the Mauritian economy and a key source of hard currency for the Indian Ocean island state, best known for its luxury spas and beaches.
Arrivals increased to 534,182 during the period from 490,697 a year ago, Statistics Mauritius said. Numbers from Asia rose 21.3 percent to 98,477, with visitors from China rising 31.8 percent.
“The Chinese market is very important for Mauritius as it provides us with a good client base for the low season,” Xavier Duval, the minister of Tourism said in a statement.
The number of tourists visiting from Europe, which accounts for two-thirds of visitors to Mauritius, rose by 8.3 percent to 288,374.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Effective from 1 June, will Air Tanzania increase flights from Dar es Salaam to Moroni, capital of the Comoros, from the previous five per week to now 8 per week, www.eturbonews.com reports
The airline, one of the few from the African mainland flying to the Comoros, cited risen demand for the change. The airline also confirmed that apart from every Thursday, when two flights will be operated it will be a daily service from now on. Air Tanzania will be using their Bombardier CRJ200 jet for the service, which offers 50 seats in an all economy configuration.
While confirming the development did a Dar es Salaam based aviation source also point out that the airline?s only other aircraft, a Bombardier Q300 turboprop, continues to remain in the hanger undergoing heavy maintenance, which led to the suspension of services to such destinations like Kilimanjaro and Mwanza, now served by both Fastjet with an Airbus A319 and Precision Air with their ATR’s fleet comprising -42’s and -72?s.
As and when the Q300 re-enters service will these destinations be served again, no doubt leading to a battle over market share fought through lowering fares and upping perks for travelers. For breaking and regular aviation news from Eastern Africa just watch this Space.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. Contact us at [email protected]
Seychelles National Museum in the National Library Building, Victoria
The 2015 celebration of International Museum Day was celebrated on May 18 and was a double celebration for Seychelles, www.eturbonews.com reports.
Half a century ago, in 1965, Seychelles National Museum started as an outgrowth of the National Archives.
This year, the National Museum celebrated its 50th anniversary, highlighting its key achievements in an exhibition, opened at National Museum.
Going back in history, in 1965, the National Museum was located in the Carnegie Library.
It was a retired officer of the Indian Army, Captain Archibald Tindall Webb, who initiated its inception.
At that time, the National Museum was composed of a modest collection of a few interesting objects, such as portraits of governors, shells, corals, handicrafts, photographs, and paintings – with the pièce de resistance being of course the Stone of Possession, one of Seychelles’ oldest monuments dating back to 1756.
Despite its modest beginnings, under the guidance of the first Seychelles Curator, the late Mr. Henri Macgaw, and later under the direction of Mr. Alain Lucas, the National Museum soon became Victoria’s greatest attraction for foreign visitors and local residents, especially students.
So dramatic was its transformation, that it became necessary to enlarge the National Museum repertoire and create two entities. Thus the National Museum of History was created in 1996, followed by the Natural History Museum in 1998.
Officially opening the exhibition, Benjamine Rose, Principal Secretary of Culture said over the past 50 years, the National Museum has continued to evolve.
She said the National Museum has remained connected to the community.
“Over the years the National Museum has formed a strong partnership with national non-governmental and international institutions. These partnerships have kept the National Museum connected with the community and abreast with new scientific developments.”
Benjamine Rose commended the workers for remaining at the center of development at the National Museum.
“Over the past 50 years, the National Museum has continued to evolve; the dedication of past and present staff members have ensured that the National Museum has kept true to its core mandate of conservation and education.”
The National Museum workers’ dedication was recognized in a long service award ceremony organized in parallel with the Exhibition.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
The transport system in Mauritius does not meet the exigencies of a modern and outward oriented country. Hence the need to create a revolution in the public transport system which will be driven by innovation, leadership and quality and which will provide efficacy, comfort and safety to the 750 000 passengers travelling daily by 3 000 buses, the Minister of Public Infrastructure and Land Transport, Mr Nandcoomar Bodha, says.
Mr Bodha was speaking at the Octave Wiehe stadium in Réduit at the launching of an intercollege debate competition on public transport organised at the initiative of Rose Hill Transport Holdings Ltd (RHT Ltd). He said that the challenge is to make the public transport system as modern as in other countries, while adding that the issues of road safety and congestion also need to be tackled. He pointed out that it is unacceptable that 120 people lose their lives every year in Mauritius while in Reunion Island the number is much less (42) for the same number of cars.
Speaking about the bus industry which can be thriving and modern, the Minister of Public Infrastructure and Land Transport stressed that it needs to comprise of three pillars. These are: the National Transport Corporation (NTC); companies like the RHT Ltd; and individual bus owners. He said that all these companies should provide the same quality of transport under the same rules and regulations.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Antananarivo, Madagascar – The United Nations says it is sending experts to Madagascar to assess a claim by underwater explorers that they had found treasure and the wreck of a ship belonging to the pirate known as Captain Kidd, the Assocaited Press News agency reported.
Ulrike Guerin, a specialist in underwater heritage for the UN cultural agency Unesco, said on Thursday that experts will examine artefacts at the site where American explorer Barry Clifford had been operating.
Unesco is also concerned that Clifford’s group may have damaged the site.
Last week, Clifford said he found a silver bar that he believes belonged to William Kidd, who raided ships in the late 17th century and was executed in London in 1701.
Photo: foxnews.com
Barry Clifford (right) presented the bar to Madagascar’s president, Hery Rajaonarimampianina (left), in a ceremony on the country’s Sainte Marie island.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
In a dense thicket in the middle of the impoverished Indian Ocean archipelago of the Comoros, Ibrahim Bacar is plucking tiny ylang ylang flowers.
The barely visible yellow blossoms with an intoxicating aroma contain the oil that provides the distinctive scent in Chanel N°5, one of the world’s best-selling fragrances, the AFP news agency writes.
Ylang ylang is also a key ingredient of many other perfumes and Comoros is the world’s top producer of the essential oil extracted from the flower – a commodity that makes up one-tenth of the archipelago’s total export revenues.
But decades of under-investment in ageing plantations, an exodus of flower gatherers willing to do the painstaking work and deforestation are threatening production of the flower.
“Despite the economic importance of the essential oil of ylang ylang, it is surprising that there is no improvement programme for the plant”, wrote Celine Benini, an agriculture specialist at Belgium’s Liege University, in a study.
Each year, Comoros produces between 30 and 40 tonnes of the essential oil mainly on the island of Anjouan, home to 350 distilleries.
“One container of 30 litres is worth several thousand euros, it is a gold bar,” said Gerard overseeing the Humblot plantation, named after the French naturalist Leon Humblot.
Ylang ylang originated in the Philippines and means “flower of flowers” in the local Tagalog language.
The French introduced the tree on the island of Reunion in the 1700s and in the early 1900s its cultivation spread to the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar.
In 1921, Coco Chanel wanted a flower that captured “the scent of a woman”.
The solution was the ylang ylang, which led to the creation of N°5, a perfume that had a floral scent, said Christopher Sheldrake, Chanel’s director for perfume research and development.
As the N°5 contains a significant amount of the ylang ylang oil, around 10 per cent according to Mr Sheldrake, the company became one of the biggest customers for the Comoros’s precious produce.
Economists believe that the Comoros could extract more from ylang ylang if the sector was given an overhaul.
In 2013 and 2014, the country exported just 1.5 million euros worth of the essential oil a year.
“It is modest”, said the economist Nour Allah Alnour Assik, adding that remittances sent by Comorans living abroad bring more in revenues.
Ibrahim Ahamada, an economist at the International Monetary Fund, said the flower remains “a potential source of income and significant currency for the country” provided there is “serious reorganisation of the sector”.
Bacar, who inherited his eight hectare plot from his father, wants to move up the value chain by expanding his business from just planting ylang ylang trees to also distilling the essential oil.
But with his limited takings, saving up to buy a distillery is taking time.
He sells one kilogramme of the six-petalled flowers that bloom all year for less than one euro.
“If you supply 200 kilos of flowers, it should equal the price of a cow – 1,500 euros, not just 200 euros”, said Bacar.
“I know they make a lot with the oils, but I don’t have a choice. I take the little they give me. We’ll see if it changes one day”, he added, without specifying which companies he supplies to.
There are also few people willing to take on the backbreaking tasks of pruning the plants and picking between 25 to 40 kg of flowers a day in high season.
“It’s difficult because the yield is small. When I explain the work to young people, they think I’m crazy because we work so hard to produce so little”, said Bacar.
The job also pays just 50 euros a month, said one worker.
According to an Ernst and Young report dated 2009, the basic salary in the Comoros ranges between 50 and 80 euros a month.
Jean Kerleo, creator of the world’s largest scent archive, the Osmotheque at Versailles, said people took on the work only because there are few jobs available in the country with a population of 734,000.
Deforestation is also a major problem.
Forest cover has shrunk by 25 per cent in 20 years.
Chanel says it is trying to get its suppliers to plant their own trees for firewood in order to meet the needs of the essential oil extraction.
The perfumer also says it is committed to providing better conditions and fair wages for the workers on these plantations.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
A performing artist from one of the ever-popular Notting Hill carnival groups smiles for the crowd at last year’s Carnaval International de Victoria. Photo credit: Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency.
More parade floats and more international media coverage is what’s said to be in store for the upcoming “Carnaval International de Victoria” – the Seychelles archipelago’s upcoming annual carnival event set to commence on April 24, the Seychelles News Agency – www.seychellesnewsagency.com reported.
With just nine days to go for the start of the three-day long costumed and entertainment-filled extravaganza, revellers can look forward to a total of 52 floats to please the crowds as they parade through the streets of the Seychelles capital, Victoria, located on the main island of Mahé.
According to the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB)’s Chief Executive Officer, Sherin Naiken, who was speaking to the local press on Monday afternoon, around a hundred media houses from all over the world will be covering the event while also exploring the country as a travel destination.
Air Seychelles has also confirmed that it will be sponsoring travel costs for carnival participants and international media organisations, including return flights for the event, reduced cargo rates and excess baggage allowances – all in all, a total contribution of around $360,000.
“Twenty-nine countries have confirmed their involvement with twenty having a delegation in the float parade. There are thirty-two local floats which, all together, will create a huge and long carnival this year,” said Naiken.
Carnival club members from Düsseldorf, Germany showed off their moves and their costumes. Photo credit: Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency.
This year the streets of Victoria, always packed on parade day with festive locals and mesmerised visitors to the islands, will be enthralled at the spectacle of creative floats and spangled costumes of Brazil, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Germany, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Zambia, Spain, Italy, Swaziland, Kenya, Sweden, Russia, Bahamas, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Mauritius and Reunion Island.
The legendary Notting Hill Carnival Roadshow group from the United Kingdom has confirmed its participation, sending five distinct groups of performing artists to the Indian Ocean island nation to celebrate what they have termed “the most diverse carnival in the world”.
Brazil has participated in the Carnaval International de Victoria since 2011 and has won the Best International Float prize three times. Photo credit: Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency.
China won the Best International Float prize in 2014, unseating their Brazilian rivals. Photo credit: Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency.
Colourful Seychellois dancers got Victoria moving to the distinctive island rhythms of the sega beat. Photo credit: Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency.
A delegation from the Miss World organisation, including the reigning Miss World, South African Rolene Strauss will be present as well, joined by Miss United States, Miss Tanzania and Miss Australia.
Floats and their colourfully-costumed participants make their way down Francis Rachel Street in central Victoria. Photo credit: Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency.
