Travel/Tourism
Why Travel Abroad When You Can visit Calabar For An Unforgettable Christmas?
By Adeniyi Ogunfowoke
December is a time where many Nigerians pack their bags and baggage to visit tourist destinations that Nigeria can compete favourably with. Nigerians travel to choice tourists havens like Zanzibar, Cape Verde, Gambia, among others countries. With the economic recession, you can significantly save by visiting Calabar this Christmas. There is no argument about this picturesque and pristine state. It is Nigeria’s biggest and most attractive tourist destination. Calabar was once Nigeria’s biggest slave ports and a key hub where slavery thrive.
Calabar is located in South-South, Nigeria. It is the capital city of Cross Rivers and also referred to as “Canaan City”. The original name for Calabar was Akwa Akpa, from the Efik. So, if you are looking for a wonderful destination beyond travelling, then Calabar is highly recommended. In light of this, if you have few days to spare, we showcase how you can spend these few days.
Go to the Marina Resort
The Marina Resort in Calabar sits on a great historical site, the water mouth of Calabar. It is close to the old slave trade sites where nearly 30 percent of the slaves that left Africa were deported. Presently, Marina Resort is a preserved historical site, an ‘island’ having a cinema house, and recreation center. The slave history museum is located right inside Marina Resort, and you tour the resort to have a fair understanding of Nigeria’s Slave Trade era. You can also enjoy a movie or two at the Filmhouse Cinema located inside the resort. Marina Resort, located at the end of Moore Road, Calabar, is on the coastline of the city, and that is where it derives its name. You can lodge at the Axari hotel and Suites which is just 2.8 kilometres from the Resort. Alternatively, you can any of the best hotels in Calabar by visiting jumia travel.
Visit Afi Mountain Wildlife centre
At the Afi Mountain, Uduak, a tourist who recently visited Calabar with a tour company Dontasha’s world said, “They were shown endangered primates that are kept there at the Afi Mountain Wildlife centre. They include the Nigerian chimpanzee and the most endangered gorilla subspecies, the Cross River gorilla.”
Obudu Mountain Resort
It doesn’t really matter if you are a local or international tourist, Obudu Mountain Resort is a must visit if you in Calabar. Some of the delightful activities to engage in are horse riding, the bird watching, the sporting facilities, and the natural swimming pool.
Taste nightlife
Calabar has a very vibrant nightlife. Hence, if you are interested in nightlife and clubbing, nightlife in Calabar is fun as the clubs have amazing DJs. Some of the clubs are Jasper 131 (Marian Road), Mayfair Lounge (MCC Road), Quorum Lounge (Atekong Drive), Pinnacle Nightclub (MCC Road), Pete’s Ville Nightclub (2nd Avenue, State Housing Estate), Bay’s Bar (Diamond Hills), Beverly Heels Club (Calabar Municipal) amongst others. Freddy’s, Axari and Tinapa Lakeside Hotel are also among the best places to eat.
Round off by attending the Calabar Carnival
Your visit to Calabar is inconclusive in December if you don’t attend the Calabar Carnival. It is tagged Africa’s largest street party. Describing her experience, Chiamaka Obiekwe said: “I attended the carnival last year and it was a blast. The streets of Calabar was buzzing; it was full of life, colour and lots of people. Hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions attend the carnival yearly and this is a great revenue-making venture for Calabar. The theme for the Carnival last year was ‘Climate Change’ so the various bands wore costumes and had presentations that represented the theme. It was beautiful.” The carnival events are divided into 4 weeks which include the Millennium Week (1-10 Dec 2016), The Sports Fiesta (12-17 Dec 2016), The TINAPA Family Fun Festival (19-24 Dec 2016) and the Carnival Week (25-31 Dec 2016).
Adeniyi Ogunfowoke is a PR Associate at Jumia Travel.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Emirates has made an order for three twin-engine DA42-VI aircraft and its corresponding flight simulator from Austria-based Diamond Aircraft Industries for the Emirates Flight Training Academy (EFTA).
This is in fulfilment of its promise of offering cutting-edge tech and state-of-the-art aircraft to train pilots of the future and help close the industry’s skills gap.
Since 2020, more than 100 cadets have successfully graduated from EFTA, creating a strong pilot recruitment pipeline for Emirates and the industry.
The AUSTRO jet-fuel-powered DA42-VI aircraft is slated to be the flagship that ushers in multi-engine piston (MEP) training at EFTA.
The delivery of the aircraft is expected to commence soon, with all three slated to be received by EFTA in the first half of 2023.
“Our new fleet from Diamond Aircraft is part of our larger strategic intent for our cadet programme. It helps us design a bridging MEP programme for cadets to gain more flying experience while progressing from a single-engine to a light jet aircraft. It strengthens our offering and makes it more unique, rounded and robust.
“Our cadets will benefit hugely as they gain experience on three different types of aircraft, even before they’re licensed. The new fleet also helps us go above and beyond in complying with the new GCAA guidelines.
“The DA42-VI is reliable, eco-friendly and a practical platform for MEP training. We’re confident we’ve made the right choice,” the Vice President of EFTA, Capt Abdulla Al Hammadi, said.
“We are thrilled that our DA42-VI is the choice for Emirates’ flight training. This, once again, solidifies the aircraft’s position as the industry-leading multi-engine piston trainer,” said Liqun (Frank) Zhang, CEO of Diamond Aircraft Austria. “With Emirates, we are adding another premier flight academy to our long list of renowned training operators and are looking forward to supporting them with the most advanced and eco-friendly aircraft available on the market today.”
The 4-seat DA42-VI is the newest version of Diamond’s technology leading light piston twin-engine aircraft. It’s the first certified general aviation piston aircraft to combine modern technology airframe, avionics, and power plants.
With its unique combination of performance and utility, the jet fuel-powered DA42-VI is designed to make transitioning from single to twin-engine much easier. The aircraft generates fuel savings of up to 50% compared to conventional AVGAS-powered twins, and its panoramic canopy provides excellent visibility during all flight manoeuvres.
Since its introduction, well over 1,100 DA42 aircraft have been delivered, outselling all other certified piston twins combined. The all-composite DA42-VI is equipped with efficient, silent, clean and reliable 168hp jet fuel AUSTRO engines AE300, Garmin G1000 NXi with 3-axis Automatic Flight Control System and optional electrically driven air conditioning.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Chief Commercial Officer of Emirates, Mr Adnan Kazim, has said the airline’s forward bookings have remained robust amid a strong customer demand, spurring the company to ramp up its operations across continents.
According to him, in the past months, the airline has planned and executed the rapid growth of its network operations, reintroducing services to five cities, launching flights to one new destination (Tel Aviv), and adding 251 weekly flights onto existing routes and continuing the roll-out of service enhancements in the air and on the ground.
It was disclosed that Emirates has continued to scale up its A380 operations with the reintroduction of the iconic double-decker across its network: Glasgow (from 26 March), Casablanca from (15 April), Beijing (from 01 May), Shanghai (from 04 June), Nice (from 1 June), Birmingham (from 1 July), Kuala Lumpur (from 01 August), and Taipei (from 01 August).
“Emirates is working hard on several fronts – to bring back operating capacity as quickly as the ecosystem can manage while also upgrading our fleet and product to ensure our customers always enjoy the best possible Emirates experience.
“So far, four of our A380 aircraft have been completely refurbished with our new cabin interiors and Premium Economy seats, and more will enter service as our $2 billion cabin and service enhancement program picks up pace,” Mr Kazim added.
He noted that in the coming months, established routes to Europe, Australia and Africa would be served with more Emirates flights, while in East Asia, more cities are seeing route restarts.
Emirates had upcoming route enhancements by regions, including in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, East Asia, as well as in Africa which covers Cairo: from 25 to 28 weekly flights by 29 October; Dar es Salaam: from 5 flights a week to daily flights starting 01 May and Entebbe: from 6 flights a week to daily flights starting 01 July.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
A number of African countries are focusing on promoting extensively inbound tourism. They are luring potential external investors to the tourism industry.
The latest in the southern African region is Mozambique, which has approved a visa exemption for 28 countries for tourism and business.
As the Council of Ministers approved the decree in mid-March, the exemption applies to visitors holding ordinary passports and allows for a 30-day stay, renewable to an additional 60 days.
The model adopted by the Mozambican government is similar to the United States visa waiver program in the sense that it requires travellers to register on a platform for pre-screening at least 48 hours before travelling and to pay a processing fee of MZN-650 (equivalent £8.50).
In the list released, Nigeria, which prides itself as the giant of Africa and the largest economy on the continent, was missing.
The approved countries for this programme are Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The visa exemption is a follow-up to the launch of a platform last December that allowed prospective visitors to apply for an electronic pre-authorization to travel into the country. The introduction of e-visas has seen an increase of over 30 per cent in the number of travellers entering the country compared to the same period in the previous year.
The e-visa platform commits the country to respond to applications within five days, but general feedback places an average response at 24 hours, and the few issues reported are usually created by users not uploading the required documentation.
President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, since August 2022, has taken steps containing 20 reform measures aimed at delivering to visitors and potential investors a path for a more competitive and more accessible country. Mozambique, with an approximate population of 30 million, is one of the 16-member Southern African Development Community.
