As we enter the dawn of a new year, Tourism Tattler looks at the trends that we could expect to shape travel and tourism during 2014 (see pages 10 -13). We also look at some amazing Festivals that are held annually in Africa and provide the anticipated dates for each during 2014 with hyper-links for more information (see pages 18 - 22). The final part of our series on Off Road Driving concludes in this edition with tips and advice on off road tyre selection and repair (see pages 28 - 30).

In this edition, we unlock Africa's regional and domestic travel potential by exploring the continent's internet and mobile phone growth (page 12) and how the digital revolution has upended travel distribution (page 15). We also look at how hotels are boosting their room sales across Africa (page 10), we have advice on the taxing problem of VAT invoices (page 08), the ongoing controversy surrounding rhino conservation (page 18), and we unpack Star Grading in South Africa (page 22).

The March edition is dedicated to the 'King of Beasts', the African Lion and to the Campaign Against Canned Hunting, who are spearheading a 'Global March for Lions' on March 15th. The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a major population decline in its African range of 50% during the second half of the 20th century. We also feature 'Plan B for Rhino Conservation', a property review on Ocean Reef Hotel in Zinkwazi, South Africa, plus many more articles of interest for the travel trade in, and to Africa. In our competition, you can win a mid-week break for 6 people at the De Hoop Nature...

The April edition looks at how the Seychelles is leading the way in Private Sector Relations (page 18), we feature Kenya's Maasai Mara Conservancy as our April Destination Review (pages 19 - 22) and visit Mdumbi Backpackers in South Africa's Wild Coast for our April Property Review feature (pages 24 - 25). Richard George looks at Special Interest Tourism (page 28) AND A new article series on Photography, by professional photographer Peter Wickham, starts in this edition (page 29).

Our front cover for this edition features the luxurious Kempinski Seychelles Resort (read our Property Review on pages 22 - 25). In the Destinations section, we also feature Namibia as a RETOSA Transfrontier Conservation Area (pages 16 - 17), and introduce a new Education section that focuses on English writing tips (page 18) and a new series on Wine Appreciation under the Hospitality section (pages 26 - 27). Our regular features in the Business section include the SATSA MIR on the latest inbound travel and hotel occupancy statistics (page 08), South Africa's record tourism numbers for 2013...