Zim’s ‘dumbo’ Disney plan
P LANS to build a Disneyland-style theme park at Victoria Falls have been slammed as “completely inappropriate” by tourism specialists. According to a report in The Telegraph, tourism minister Walter Mzembi announced during a recent UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) meeting that the government would spend about $300-million on the entertainment complex.
Travel operators regarded the announcement with scepticism. Chris McIntyre, managing director of UK-based tour operator Expert Africa, said people travel to Zimbabwe “for something that is authentically African: they are not going to want to go there for a Mickey Mouse experience.”
His concerns were echoed by Africa specialist Lisa Grainger, who said building a Disneyland at Victoria Falls would be like putting a casino next to the pyramids. People visit the falls because they are unspoilt, she said.
SAFAIR TO LAUNCH BUDGET AIRLINE
LOCAL freight and charter operator Safair has been granted approval by South Africa’s Air Service Licensing Council to launch its own low-cost airline, to be called FlySafair. The new carrier will offer up to 10 flights a day between Joburg and Cape Town, using a pair of Boeing 737-400s. Tickets are due to go on sale this month, with the first flights due to take off in the last quarter of the year.
AIRLINE OFFERS CHILD-FREE ZONE
FOR just S$18, Scoot, the budget arm of Singapore Airlines, is offering its passengers the chance to fly “in peace and quiet” in a child-free zone on its aircraft. According to the Daily Mail, the airline, which operates between Singapore and Sydney and Australia’s Gold Coast, has banned children under the age of 12 from the first seven rows of its economy-class cabin. The seats in the kid-free area also have extra legroom.
Scoot’s move follows that of budget carrier AirAsia X, which in February banned infants from travelling in certain sections of its aircraft. Malaysia Airlines also banned infants from its Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 first-class cabins, following complaints from well-heeled passengers.
HOW TO GET ARRESTED ON HOLIDAY
BRITAIN’S Foreign Office has issued a list of unusual laws around the world that tourists could be arrested or fined for breaking. The Telegraph reports that the laws include such crimes as feeding the pigeons in Venice, wearing a bikini in Barcelona, and eating near churches in Florence. Wearing camouflage clothing in public in Barbados will likely get you a fine, while importing mineral water into Nigeria or more than 200 cigarettes into Thailand could also get you in trouble.
Singapore has a famous ban on chewing gum and in Japan, tourists should be cautious about carrying nasal sprays containing pseudoephedrine, which is banned in that country.
Other things not to do include photographing military installations and government buildings in Saudi Arabia and being caught carrying drugs outside a few specially designated areas in the Netherlands.
MANGO TO ZANZIBAR
NO-FRILLS carrier Mango is to begin flights between Joburg and Zanzibar, offering a welcome alternative to otherwise expensive seats on that route. The Tuesday flights are to start on September 24. A second flight will be added later. Launch fares start from R2 880, including taxes and surcharges.
FEWER BOATS FOR VENICE
VENICE authorities plan to reduce boat traffic in the city’s congested canals following the death of a tourist last week in a collision between a gondola and a “vaporetto” water bus. According to The Telegraph, the city has put forward a 26-point plan to improve safety on the waterways. Under the terms of the plan, unauthorised docks and piers on the banks of canals will be removed, freeing up more space for various small watercraft. Water buses may also be required to have bow thrusters to allow them to make tighter turns in confined spaces, while commercial freight barges will only be able to sail the canals between 4am and mid-morning, after which the gondolas be allowed to set off with tourists.