Building Kenya’s tourism competitiveness in Africa
My Opinion Piece in The Exchange (2022-11-18) about the impact of Kenya’s e-visa policy on tourism
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Jordan – a 12-day journey through a magical country
Jordan. Home to Petra, one of the New Seven Wonders, as well as the east bank of the Dead Sea and the scenic Wadi Rum desert. This mysterious country had been high on my bucket list for the longest time. The best way to explore a country is (almost) always in a rental car, where…
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Shaba – Traversing the Northern Slopes of Mount Kenya
Shaba National Reserve is rarely on the itinerary of a first-time visitor to Kenya. Then again, I avoid the beaten track, so it sounded just right for me to explore it!
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For once, Africa has an image advantage
As the world reopens, and leisure tourism gradually resumes, African countries have a competitive advantage in the scramble for tourist arrivals. As the world continues to battle Covid-19, most African countries seem to have weathered the global public health crisis quite benignly. This has left newsrooms across the planet puzzled. For decades if not centuries, the…
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Remote workers – a Key Source of Africa’s Future Tourism Revenue
Digital Nomads are now changing the way of doing business in Africa given the upsurge and availability of internet connectivity. In 2020, remote working finally became normal everywhere. Analysts and thought leaders had predicted that this would happen “soon” for the past 25 years, but it took a global crisis for it to materialize. Since…
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Going cashless in Kenya is now King!
How the pangs of the pandemic are forging a new era of cashless payments for Kenya and Africa, as the world returns to a new normalcy. A few weeks ago, I was positively surprised to see a sign in a sports shop in Karen, stating that they no longer accepted cash, only cards and mobile…
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Colombo – A Quick Tour of a Small Capital City (Sri Lanka Part 5)
We had a fast car this time, so the ride to from Galle to Colombo was a breeze. We arrived in the early afternoon, at the Mandarina Colombo Hotel. Mandarina Colombo Hotel This centrally located, contemporary four-star hotel is a decent place for a one-night stopover. The rooms are a bit small, but of a…
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Galle – Culinary Exploration in an Old Fort (Sri Lanka Part 4)
A 3-day culinary journey in Galle The journey from Kandy to Galle started late, and took the better part of the day. Most of the time was spent on the congested, winding road between Kandy and Colombo, before we hit the expressway southwards. My parents, heading back to Spain, alighted at an airport guesthouse to…
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Kandy – in the footsteps of Indiana Jones (Sri Lanka Part 3)
The beautiful town of Kandy, our next stop after Sigiriya, is famous for its lake, and for the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic – a holy site where one of the Buddha’s teeth is kept. Kandy is also the site of some of the most epic scenes from Indiana Jones and the Temple of…
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Rocking in Sigiriya (Sri Lanka Part 2)
Sigiriya, eponymous to the rock which has become the hallmark of Sri Lanka, is also known for its elephants, and for the nearby Dambulla Cave Temple. Aliya Resort and Spa Aliya Resort and Spa features a stunning, spacious minimalistic white design, and an infinity pool facing the Sigiriya Rock. The rooms are constructed around a…
