Plan ahead and enjoy travel through Africa

Travelling through Africa by road can be a wonderful experience with fantastic destinations. Certain countries, however, have specific regulations when it comes to taking your vehicle across borders, often involving paperwork that should be planned well in advance.

A carnet de passage is an essential item for motoring tourists as it covers temporary admission of a motor vehicle into neighbouring countries. It's essentially an international customs document that obviates cash deposits to relevant authorities.

South Africa to see leaner-looking Lions

"The numbers will definitely be reduced for 2009, and for rugby reasons," said Feehan, who brokered the headline £3.5?million sponsorship deal with HSBC. "Commercially we have no problems but it's felt that we should return to more traditional values. It's easy to say we took too many last time but there was a logic there. As for the coach, we wouldn't want to paint ourselves into boxes but home-grown would be a definite plus. The incoming coach will have his own views so we wouldn't want to set a precise ceiling on numbers at the moment."

North African tipped to experience tourism boom

The 2007 World Travel Market Global Trend Report has slated North Africa as the latest tourism hot spot. It has been predicted that Libya and Algeria will share in the tourism boom that neighbouring countries such as Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia are experiencing.

“There is an optimism that both Algeria and Libya can learn and benefit from the successes of Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt,” said Clement Wong, Euromonitor International’s Global Travel and Tourism Research Manager.

Ivory Coast Government Dismisses Travel Warnings

The ministry of tourism in Ivory Coast says it disagrees with warnings issued by many Western nations advising against all but essential travel to the country. The ministry says although full reconciliation has yet to occur, Ivory Coast is peaceful. It says revenue generated from tourism could help boost the country's economy, which has suffered from years of conflict. Phillip Wellman reports for VOA from Abidjan.

Africa: Operators Plan $50billion for Continent

Mobile telecom operators in Africa say they will commit some US$50 billion in the next five years to provide more than 90% of the population with mobile coverage.

But the GSM Association, an umbrella organisation of cellular operators using the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), says African governments should avail ample spectrum and scrap tax on airtime to allow more connections.

Aviation 'crucial' for South African tourism

A South African government minister has stressed the importance of an efficient and competitive aviation industry if the country is to fully exploit the potential of its tourism market.

Marthinus van Schalkwyk, minister of environmental affairs and tourism, said the aviation sector was 'key to the growth and expansion of tourism in South Africa', BuaNews reports.

Speaking at the sixth annual national tourism conference on 29 October, Mr Van Schalkwyk identified a number of international markets that are essential to the growth of South Africa's travel industry.