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Windhoek - Namibia's tourist sector is undergoing rapid expansion, say the country's authorities.

Benita Herma from the Namibia Tourist Board in Windhoek said: "We had an amazing start to the year and we expect to break the records."

Much of that growth could be put down to increasing co-operation with Namibia's neighbour, South Africa. The new "Cape Namibia Route" was one of the projects designed to raise awareness of western South Africa and southern Namibia.

Namibia was also expecting to profit from the 2010 World Cup taking place in SA. Herma said: "We want to get a piece of the World Cup pie and we're expecting more guests during and after the matches."

Namibia 'good place to get to know Africa'

SA had indicated that some of the teams could locate their headquarters in Namibia. She said: "We're already taking enquiries from the media and tourists."

Namibia already enjoyed an excellent reputation with tour operators, who classed the country as a good place to get to know Africa, thanks to its varied wildlife, desert sand dunes as well as its infrastructure.

Herma said: "We've been profiting recently from programmes about Namibia and Africa on television and radio."

Namibia had sparked particular interest in Germany, where two TV shows could be seen on national television focussing on life in the African country.

According to Maureen Posthuma of Namibia's tourist office in Frankfurt, the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Etosha National Park had also boosted interest.

Last year saw a growth in visitor numbers of between four and seven percent. This year, authorities were expecting 800 000 foreign tourists.

Article from http://www.news24.com/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

Cape Town Routes Unlimited
Industry knowledge and experience feature prominently on Cape Town Routes Unlimited’s new board, as revealed by Western Cape MEC for Finance and Tourism Lynne Brown. The Board, which will be chaired by Cape Town International Airport general manager George Uriesi, is also strong on regional representation.

His deputy is Stellenbosch-based Susan Birch, the chief executive of Wines of South Africa, who has extensive experience marketing the country and South African brands internationally.

Other board members are:

* Nils Heckscher, the managing director of the Winchester Mansions Hotel and chair of FEDHASA Cape

* Esa Yacoob, director and owner of Cape Tourism Investments, one of the largest black-owned tourism companies

* Alison Coughlan, owner of Overberg-based company, Out Post Africa, who has considerable regional marketing experience

* Monwabisi Kalawe, a former Cape Town International Airport general manager and chair of the Cape Town Routes Unlimited board, who is currently the chief executive of Denel Munitions

* Tony Ehrenreich, the provincial secretary of COSATU, who also served on the previous board

* Peter Bacon, former Sun International chief executive.
The two South African Local Government Association members are Steven de Vries from Eden and Enid Plaatjies from the West Coast.

The Board includes three ex-officio members. They are Mansoor Mohamed from the City of Cape Town, Labeeqah Schuurman from the Provincial Government of the Western Cape, and Calvyn Gilfellan, in his capacity as the acting CEO of Cape Town Routes Unlimited.

Article from http://www.traveldailynews.com/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

JOHANNESBURG, 22 May 2007 (IRIN) - The drought-stricken municipality of South Africa's coastal city, Cape Town, is forging ahead with a plan to fight the effects of climate change, which could prove a blueprint for other urban centres.

Cape Town and its suburbs have been identified by the South African government's Department of Water Affairs and Forestry as the first major urban region in the country where the demand for water is expected to exceed supply, according to 'Developing a Municipal Adaptation Plan (MAP) for climate change: the city of Cape Town,' a framework endorsed by the municipality.

The city has been forced to ration water during summers for the past few years.

The South African Country Study on Climate Change, carried out in the late 1990's, identified the Northern and Western Cape provinces, where Cape Town is located, as being most at risk from projected climate change-induced warming and rainfall change. Western Cape is likely to become warmer and drier, according to the projections.

Cape Town's framework for the climate change plan suggests steps that most residents could live with. Pierre Mukheibir and Gina Ziervogel, both researchers at the University of Cape Town, who authored the framework have recommended the municipality provide incentives in the form of rebates to taxpayers and businesses to install rainwater tanks, re-use their grey water and install low-flush toilets.

"We hope that the framework will serve as a blueprint for other municipalities", said Mukheibir.

An increasing demand has also seen the city battle with a number of power outages in the past three years. Until last year, the power cuts reportedly cost Cape Town businesses in Cape Town at least US $81 million in lost revenue.

Like California in the United States, the Cape Town municipality has been pioneering green policies in South Africa. Last year it launched a 10 point energy plan, which intends to ensure that 10 percent of the city's households install solar water heaters by 2020. The city has already started buying some of its electricity generated from wind energy at the Darling Wind Farm on the Cape West Coast, said Shirene Rosenberg, manager resource conservation at the municipality. The city is also contemplating the introduction of cleaner fossil fuels such as natural gas.

The city already conserves water by re-using nine percent of its treated effluent, according to the researchers. "There should be incentives to encourage industries and other wet-processing systems to recycle their wastewater," said the framework and suggested installation of rainwater tanks in homes and commercial buildings for use in gardens, swimming pools and sewage.

But the city's grand plans seems to have hit a speed bump of sorts. Municipalities do not have a constitutional mandate to put such plans into place, making it difficult for them to establish legal grounds to source funding either from its taxpayers or the national government, explained Rosenberg. "This is bound to affect other municipalities who consider similar plans".

However, while the municipality seeks clarity, it will press ahead with the plan, she added. The city is already investigating the feasibility of offering water conservation-linked tax rebates.

South Africa's carbon foot print is the largest on the continent and the country features among the top 15 greenhouse gas emitters in the world. South Africa has made a committment to reduce the percentage of coal in its energy mix by 10 percent by 2012. More than 91 percent of the country's electricity is generated from coal, according to the University of Cape Town-based Energy Research Centre. But the government has argued that most of its coal-fired power plants still have a life span of 20 years or more.
Article from http://www.alertnet.org/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

The 2010 Soccer World Cup and the fleeting months leading up to it provide an unsurpassed opportunity to promote the Western Cape to new markets, such as the burgeoning, prosperous Middle East, says the head of the province’s tourism authority.

Calvyn Gilfellan, acting Chief Executive of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the official destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape was addressing a Middle East trade delegation at the 2007 Tourism Indaba in Durban.

The Indaba, held at Durban’s International Convention Centre from 12 to 15 May, is billed as the largest tourism marketing event on the African calendar and an important showcase for Southern Africa`s best tourism products.

Cape Town and the Western Cape hopes to capitalize on the trend among Middle Eastern states such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to diversify their investments from oil to other sectors such as tourism.

Addressing a delegation from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), hosted by Cape Town Routes Unlimited together with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Gilfellan noted the ratio of spend to the number of arrivals from the Gulf region is higher than from other states.

The growing number of Middle East airlines flying to South Africa constitutes an excellent marketing opportunity: they include Egypt Air, Emirates Airlines, Gulf Air, Qatar Airways, Saudi Airlines, El Al (Israel) and Etihad Airways. The large expatriate population in the Middle East is also an attractive market for South African tourism. The British - and Dubai-led consortium that bought Cape Town`s landmark Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront for US$1-billion has indicated that it will spend at least a further $1-billion on the development of "Africa`s Riviera" ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

“The Indaba is a crucial opportunity to grow tourism to our destination by building new relationships, to conclude new partnerships with operators, and in the context of this contract, to inform role-players about what we’re doing to raise standards within the sector.”

The post-9/11 political landscape has enabled South Africa to position itself as a viable destination alternative for tourism and investment. This has led to a joint marketing initiative – Next Stop South Africa – with DEAT, South African Tourism (SAT), the International Marketing Council (IMC), the departments of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Trade and Industry (DTI).

The South African tourism partners hosted road shows in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates from 13 to 22 February 2007, a recommendation that was made by DFA. According to the Chief Director of Communications at DEAT, Blessing Manale, this February campaign was highly successful and well received by Tourism agencies in the Middle East. The attendance in each city was commendable. It also created a demand for tourism trade and generated awareness among the Gulf Region leisure travelers. It is for this reason that DEAT is hosting this business delegation during the Indaba.

“The golden thread running through Cape Town Routes Unlimited’s work at the Indaba is the next three years running up to the 2010 Soccer World Cup, an unmatched opportunity to portray the Western Cape as the world’s preferred tourism destination. This is why we’re launching our 2010 Marketing Plan to the tourism industry and media at the event,” says Gilfellan.

Gilfellan adds that the timing of the World Cup, from mid-June to mid-July will aid the Western Cape profile as a year-round destination. So too, will the array of bids Cape Town Routes Unlimited has submitted, mainly in the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events) sector.

In the last year 12 bids have been secured and a further 26 submitted, which have the potential to generate new business between 2007 and 2016. The combined direct economic impact of bids secured and in progress is around R402 million.

Cape Town is a member of the BestCities Alliance, a network of eight cities on five continents which aims to promote service standards in the conventions industry.

Cape Town has also bid to host the media centre for the event: “securing this would position the city’s vistas in an unsurpassed position, especially for the many TV crews that would cover the matches. One of the semi-final matches will be played at the brand-new Green Point stadium. Around 3 billion television viewers are estimated to watch the tournament,” said Gilfellan.
Article from http://www.traveldailynews.com/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

South Africa's national parks are poised for a surge in gay tourism now that a tourist operator has launched a series of tours designed to initiate gay visitors to the delights of the savannah.

While Cape Town is consistently voted one of the top five gay holiday destinations worldwide, Strider Expeditions says it aims to lure gay tourists out of the Mother City for a fuller African experience.

Although the international gay travel market accounts for more than 70-million arrivals worldwide, South Africa receives only 1% of international gay travellers, according to the South African Gay and Lesbian Travel Alliance.

"In South Africa, the gay community is not very well served," says Ian Pollard, a former guide in the Kruger National Park and co-founder of Strider along with Briton Charlotte Currie. Gay people "feel more accepted in some places than others", he says.

Identifying accommodation in the countryside that welcomes gay clients was a first step to launching the service. Strider says he knows of lodges in the conservative rural heartland of the Free State that specifically cater for gay tourists, while others declare themselves "gay friendly".

The company also employs gay and lesbian tour guides who can help tailor packages to the specific needs of gay tourists, such as organising trips to see performances by Peter Dirk-Uys, a well-known gay satirist and former anti-apartheid activist.

The tours offered by the company take in Kruger National Park, parts of Swaziland, Mozambique and South Africa's Wild Coast, as well as the mandatory Cape Town/southern Garden Route coastal stretch.

Without being able to quantify it, Pollard is convinced the market for gay tourism is "a huge, huge market" in South Africa, which last year became the first African country to legalise same-sex marriage.

In December, the Mail & Guardian Online reported that Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, which manages 68 lodges catering for eco-tourists heading to KwaZulu-Natal, had hired Vivienne Quann of Hot Salsa Media, a marketing company that specialises in the gay market, to transform its hotels internally and teach staff how to deal with gay customers.
Article from http://www.mg.co.za/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

By Cathy Dippnall Garden Route Reporter

THE George municipality has formulated a marketing strategy to promote the town as a tourism and sports destination.

Local economic development (LED) head Yvonne Opperman said R500 000 had been budgeted over the next three years for the long-term development of a marketing strategy.

She said the success of the annual Outeniqua Wheelchair Challenge and IRB Rugby Sevens, as well as the popularity of the town as a golf destination, had prompted the council to promote George more aggressively, especially as a sports destination.

In the short term, Opperman said, extensive marketing of the Rugby Sevens had begun with a three-month campaign of full-page features in SA Rugby magazine.

This would be followed by a two-month marketing strategy prior to the George Rugby Sevens taking place in December.

The Garden Route Mall has gone into a joint venture with the municipality to promote sports in the mall gazette.

Mall marketing manager Gaby Peters said: “The rugby sevens will feature on the front page of the October and November issues.”

The mall has just secured a contract with airline 1time to distribute the gazette on all its aircraft. The gazette is also distributed across the Garden Route once a month.

Other forms of short- term marketing have been through stationery, bookmarks, pop-up screens and advertising balloons at functions and conferences.

“The LED is also developing a marketing strategy with three national restaurant chains, which will distribute pamphlets at all their outlets in the country,” Opperman said.

She said it was envisaged that the long-term marketing strategy would be to theme or brand George, possibly with a new logo and slogan and to incorporate all sectors of marketing under one brand name.

The current logo is the George lily with an outline of a mountain and the words “George, the city for all reasons”.
Article from http://www.theherald.co.za/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

The Western Cape and the winelands around Stellenbosch are the gourmet heartland of South Africa. On the coast, Knysna is famous for its oysters and hosts a festival devoted to bivalves in July. Only in South Africa would you come across an oyster braai (barbecue), and there are all sorts of tastings of oysters - barbecued and otherwise. Another way to experience South Africa's food culture is on a one-day African cooking safari in Kayamandi township just outside Stellenbosch. Learn about the local ingredients on a two-hour walking tour followed by a meal prepared by professional cooks in a community centre that culminates in a communal lunch.

Where, who, how much? Knysa Gastronomica ( oysterfesival.co.za) takes place 6-15 July. Africa Travel Centre ( africatravel.co.uk) can arrange an itinerary that includes a trip to the Knysna Gastronomica from £1,295 per person. This includes return flights from London, car hire, three nights' b&b at Constantia Uitsig in Cape Town and four nights' b&b at Belvidere Manor in Knysna. African Cooking Safaria (andulela.com) costs 295 rand (£21).

Take a look at the top 10 holiday destinations on http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

Event: The Robben Island Museum
Date: open all year
When visiting Cape Town, take some time out to see Robben Island which lies 12 kilometres away and is infamous for its brutality during the apartheid era of South African history.

Noted for being a place of banishment and exile where political troublemakers including Nelson Mandela were sent, Robben Island has also come to symbolise freedom and political liberation, becoming an icon of hope for many South Africans.

Since 1997, the island has been a museum and somewhat of a focal point for learning about the country's heritage. You can go on a tour of it with ex-political prisoners who act as tour guides at the world heritage site.

There you will learn about life during the 1960s and 1970s inside the Robben Island Maximum Security Prison.

As well as history there are some 132 bird species on the island which makes it a paradise for ornithologists plus an abundance of marine mammals including seals, whales and dolphins.
Article from http://www.redcarnationhotels.com/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

THIRD World meets First in South Africa's largest city, as SAM RICHES discovers.
Article from http://www.news.com.au/

1.Getting around

Johannesburg grew on the South African highveld on the site of one of the world's largest gold desposits. Getting around is an issue and while tourists and locals alike are eagerly anticipating the completion of an underground railway in time for the soccer World Cup in 2010, the best way to see the amazing attractions surrounding the city is to hire a car. It is inexpensive and easy to organise before arriving at the airport or from a hotel. There are two kinds of taxis; the minibus favoured by local workers, or a metered taxi which can be quite expensive. The trouble with the minibus is that it doesn't run to any schedule and if you don't know exactly where you are or need to be, it can be quite difficult.

2. Exploring the city

Crime is rampant. The safest way to explore the city is by sticking to the "safety in numbers" adage, steering clear of the city centre at night and having a local guide. Guided tours can be packaged to anyone's taste. Most hotels can advise on the best or most popular tours. Beer lovers shouldn't miss a trip to South African Breweries' World of Beer in the heart of the city. It costs about $2 and includes a couple of cold ones. It wouldn't be a real visit without a game-park tour, whether a daytrip or a traditional safari. Krugersdorp Game Reserve is home to lion, buffalo, hippo, zebra and giraffe. It is about 40 minutes' drive from the city and open seven days a week. Night tours are also available.

3. Daytripping

Tours are easily organised and most are reasonably priced. It's about an hour's drive to Pretoria, known as jacaranda city. It is home to the impressive Voortrekker Monument and the Paul Kruger House Museum. Sun City was once the place to go to gamble. Now, it's a resort and fun park playground catering for everyone, with water sports, elephant rides, decadent themed hotels and superb greens for the golf nuts. A must-see is the Palace of the Lost City hotel. Gold Reef City is an amusement park.

4. Soweto

Soweto is a satellite city of about two million people on the edge of Jo'burg. It was the centre of efforts to overthrow apartheid and no visit would be complete without stopping at the house where Nelson Mandela lived before his imprisonment, and the former home of anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu. Organised tours can also involve tourists in local weddings and funerals, to meet the "gangster women" or to see the orphanages. A visit to a traditional shebeen (beer hall) is on almost every tour. Some will take in only the sites of significance, such as the Hector Pieterson Memorial Museum, named in honour of a child killed during a protest in 1976. Other tours are a "no-holds-barred" look at the emergence of wealthier Sowetan areas and the contrast to its poverty-stricken "matchbox" homes.

5. Night-life

Cafes and clubs are in abundance in most suburbs catering for those who want to chill to smooth jazz, dance to popular house music or soak up African beats. At popular News Cafe, in Sandton, long Friday lunches often turn into Friday-night cocktails (the exchange rate making it very easy to over-indulge). For something different, heading to a Sowetan nightclub – with a local or a guide – is a great way to see it as it really is. The White House was a jumping club, complete with the obligatory braai, or barbecue, and outdoor seating area that doubles as a dance floor where the moves of the locals are as much entertainment as the music itself.

6. Markets

Most tourist spots will have souvenirs on sale, but there's nothing like a wander through ad hoc market stalls which can be found almost anywhere. The locals are friendly and, unlike the established shops, welcome fair bartering from tourists.Getting there

There are several airfare options. Singapore Airlines flies from Adelaide to Singapore and then through to Johannesburg. Malaysia Airlines includes a stopover in Kuala Lumpur. Qantas flis to Johannesburg via Perth. Visit your local travel agent for more details. You can expect a return airfare to cost around $2200. Given the climate of crime, secure accommodation is difficult to find in Johannesburg. Most hotels accommodate travellers in gated, secure premises in the suburbs, with Sandton one of the more popular.

Labels: South Africa - Tourism

The City of Cape Town has launched a new pilot tourism route, based on rail transport.

The new Southern Line Tourism Route, stretching from the Cape Town Central Business District (CBD) to Simon’s Town, is a partnership pilot project between the City of Cape Town, Cape Town Tourism and SARail Commuter Corporation Metrorail.

There are six stations on the new route which offer various tourist attractions that can be reached within a two kilometre radius of each station. The stations are Cape Town, Observatory, Newlands, Muizenberg, Kalk Bay and Simon’s Town. Each of these stations will display maps of the area, indicating tourist attractions and services.

Information brochures about the new route will be distributed via all Cape Town Tourism Visitor Information Centres across the metropole.

Special Metroplus train tickets or tourist rail passes, known as ‘Hop on, Hop off’ tickets, allow unlimited train trips between Cape Town and Simon’s Town Stations for the day of validity at a cost of R25-00. The tickets are valid between 08:30 and 16:00 and can be purchased at participating stations or at the Cape Town Tourism Visitor Information Centre in Burg Street, Cape Town.
Article from http://www.cbn.co.za
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

Cape Town and the Western Cape have racked up an enviable array of nominations in the 14th World Travel Awards, described as the Oscars of the travel industry, arranged annually by travel agents. Cape Town is the only African city to be nominated in the category Africa`s Leading Destination. The other nominations in the category are the Kruger National Park, Egypt`s Sharm-El-Sheikh dive resort, the antiquities at Luxor, the Serengeti and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and the Victoria Falls.

The Fancourt Hotel & Country Club in George, Pezula Hotel & Spa in Knysna and Steenberg Hotel on the Cape Peninsula are the only SA establishments among the 10 nominations for the category Africa’s Leading Golf Resort.

Calvyn Gilfellan, Acting CEO for Cape Town Routes Unlimited, says the strong showing of hotels, spas, golf and conference resorts is hugely encouraging.

"While we gauge our success from growth in visitor numbers, feedback from visitors and other tangible data, polls like these are very useful too. The opinions of travel agents are important because they play a pivotal role in prospective visitors` decisions. We’re constantly mindful of the 2010 Soccer World Cup and the unsurpassed opportunity it will provide to position this city and province as the world’s preferred tourist destination."

“That’s why the perceptions of the destination among partners in business, like travel agents are vital. The nominations for Western Cape attractions are also very encouraging. It’s gratifying to note how the efforts of our partners – everyone from hoteliers to airport operators – are bearing fruit,” added Gilfellan.

The winners of the awards will be announced at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi on 30 May 2007.

Also among the nominations are:

* Cape Town International Airport, one of two SA airports among five nominated for the category Africa’s Leading Airport. The other is OR Tambo Airport.

* Five Western Cape hotels among eight SA hotels in the 22 nominations for the category Africa’s Leading Hotel.

* Arabella Sheraton Grand Hotel and the Table Bay Hotel among the seven SA conference hotels in the 13 nominations for Africa’s Leading Conference Hotel.

* Bartholomeus Klip in the Swartland and the Phantom Forest Eco-Reserve near Knysna among the four SA establishments in the six nominations for the category Africa’s Leading Ecotourism Destination.

* The Cape Grace, the Mount Nelson Hotel, the Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa and the Table Bay Hotel among the seven SA hotels in the category Africa’s Leading Hotel.

* Five spa resorts – Knysna’s Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa, Sante Winelands Hotel & Winelands Centre in the Winelands, The Hydro at Stellenbosch, the Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa and the Western Cape Hotel & Spa in near Kleinmond – among the seven SA resorts in the 16 nominations for the category Africa’s Leading Spa Resort.

* Walker Bay’s Birkenhead House, Camps Bay’s Beachside Villa and The Place on the Bay being the three SA establishments among the five nominations for Africa’s Leading Villa.

* Birkenhead House, The Constantia and The Long Beach among the six SA hotels in 10 nominations for the category Africa’s Leading Boutique Hotel.

Article from http://www.traveldailynews.com/

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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

Cape Town Routes Unlimited head Sheryl Ozinsky resigned today after less than two months in the high-profile position.

Ozinsky took up the position on January 10 after being headhunted from the private sector in which she had worked for several years after her previous job as head of Cape Town Tourism.

At the time of her appointment, she was hailed as a "mover and shaker" by Finance and Tourism MEC Lynne Brown as well as mayor Helen Zille.

Ozinsky told the Cape Argus today: "I hope to continue in a consultative capacity, where I can play to my strengths in new developments and creative marketing, doing what I love and where I can be most effective rather than the day-to-day running of the organisation." - Staff Writer
Article from http://allafrica.com/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

Cape Town's credentials as a competitive player in the meetings and events market are growing significantly. The city is continuously making strides in cementing its presence in the associations market. Role-players including the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), hospitality industry, airlines and professional conference organisers are constantly rising to available opportunities.

In 2006 alone, nine international association bids were secured by Cape Town Routes Unlimited Convention and Events Bureau. These bids will bring approximately 24 800 delegates to the destination with a combined estimated economic impact of more than R232 million between 2007 and 2014. They include the 5th IAS HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment Conference with 5 000 delegates in 2009, the Medical Informatics Conference with 3 000 delegates and IEEE Globecom Conference with 2 000 delegates in 2010, International Academy of Pathology conference with 2 000 delegates in 2012, and World Pharma 2014 (17th IUPHAR World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology) with 10 000 delegates in 2014.

It is crucial that Cape Town and the Western Cape takes full advantage of marketing opportunities South Africa's 2010 Soccer World Cup is providing the city, province and country with, and the way in which the tournament is already profiling South Africa.

In the 2005/2006 financial year, nineteen bids were secured for Cape Town and an additional seventeen submitted during this period, which have the potential to generate new business between 2007 and 2016. The combined direct economic impact of bids secured and in progress is some R436 million. This includes international association congresses, corporate meetings and incentives.

The beauty of business tourism for a destination is that approximately 35% of delegates to an international conference return to the destination as leisure tourists within five years of the conference taking place. Conference delegates normally also tell friends and family back in their home countries about the destination they have just visited.

Destinations largest conference yet held in Cape Town

In December last year, Cape Town played host to its largest conference yet when it welcomed approximately 12 700 delegates to the 19th World Diabetes Congress. The conference, held from 3 to 7 December 2006 at the citys state-of-the-art convention centre, was a benchmark event for the destination, proving that it can successfully host events of this magnitude and that it is ready to do so in the future.

The expected direct economic impact of the 19th World Diabetes Congress on Cape Town and the Western Cape was more than R80 million. Hosting this event showed how conferences, of this scale and smaller, profit the various links in the tourism value chain by contributing to the growth, development and transformation of the Western Cape tourism industry. It also illustrates how tourism plays an important role through its bids for conferences, as a vehicle for developmental, economic, environmental and social causes.

Besides the World Diabetes Congress, the biggest conferences hosted in the destination had been the International Urology Congress with 4 100 delegates and the International Society of Blood Transfusion Congress with 3 500 delegates, both in 2006, according to the CTICC.

Number One conference destination in Africa - ICCA

Cape Town is ranked the Number One convention destination in Africa. The city secures more than half of conference business coming into the continent. According to the International Congress and Convention Associations (ICCA) Global Ranking Report for 2005, Cape Town retained its position as the only African city in the top 40 ranking report.

BestCities Global Alliances Certification Programme

Cape Town is also part of the BestCities Global Alliance, an alliance with eight partners on five continents. Besides Cape Town, the member cities are Copenhagen, Dubai, San Juan, Singapore, Melbourne, Edinburgh and Vancouver. The vision of the Alliance is to be recognized internationally for being innovative and represent the highest standards of service in the global meetings and convention industry.

Cape Town and the seven other member cities recently signed up for the first Global Certification Programme governing the service standards of convention bureaus. The Alliance launched the final phase when it met in Singapore for a two-day internal audit training programme in November last year. A Quality Policy was agreed upon and signed.

A further aim of the internal audit programme was to train the member cities of the Alliance to monitor the effectiveness of the Quality Management System, and to improve the quality and performance of convention bureaus. The Alliance`s primary goal in establishing this certification process is to be the only consortium of convention bureaus offering the worlds state-of-the-art service experience to the global meetings industry.

Through the past year, the BestCities Global Alliance worked closely with Lloyds Register Quality Assurance, Ltd. (LRQA) and the Mohamed Al Geziry Consultancy (MAGC) to develop and implement its certification programme.

Meetings Africa

Cape Town Routes Unlimited has sent a team to Johannesburg to attend Meetings Africa, the continents business tourism exhibition, which was held from 28 February to 1 March 2007.

Cape Town Routes Unlimited hosted a special ˜five senses™ breakfast on 28 February 2007 for approximately a hundred international and domestic hosted buyers and media, inspiring them to see, taste, smell, hear and feel some of Cape Town and the Western Capes most exquisite tourism offerings. A few hosted buyers and media from countries such as Germany and China had the chance to experience these first hand when they undertake familiarisation trips to the province immediately after Meetings Africa.

In their effort to create market access for tourism SMMEs (small, micro and medium enterprises) and to mainstream emerging entrepreneurs, Cape Town Routes Unlimited and the Tourism Enterprise Programme assisted four business tourism entrepreneurs from the Western Cape to attend Meetings Africa for the second consecutive year. Together with eight other exhibitors and the Cape Craft & Design Institute, they took part in a Western Cape exhibition at Meetings Africa. The entrepreneurs were also to attend a Business Tourism Conference a day before Meetings Africa started.

Society of Incentive & Travel Executives International Conference in 2010

Cape Town and the Western Cape played host to a component of the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives (SITE) Executive Summit, which ran concurrently with Meetings Africa. The Western Cape used this platform to impress and convince the SITE to hold their 2010 international conference in Cape Town.

Article from http://www.traveldailynews.com/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

Inspired German journalists praise province for wild beauty

By TOM MAPHAM

ONE of Germany’s largest daily newspapers, Die Welt, has published a report praising the Eastern Cape as a tourist destination with a “wild beauty” which it said was “far more relaxed” than the more developed Western Cape.

The report, by journalist Peter Ehrenberg, was the first of three articles that will be published in various leading newspapers.

Die Welt has a daily circulation of about 250000 and is described as “the flagship publication, within the quality newspaper market, of the Axel Springer empire”.

Ehrenberg noted the diversity of the landscapes, history, value for money and security, as the factors that made the Eastern Cape a favourite for him.

He was not just paying lip service either, he has already booked a non-working holiday for himself in May.

In his article, he noted that the Eastern Cape offered opportunities to see the Big Five, without the threat of malaria.

The group visited Inkwenkwezi Private Nature Reserve and the Addo National Park.

Ehrenberg, and two other top German journalists, took part in a week-long tour of the province, organised by the government of Lower Saxony, after Eastern Cape Premier, Nosimo Balindlela suggested the idea during a visit there last year.

The professional tour guide who led the tour group, William Ross, said the visitors were amazed at the diversity of the Eastern Cape’s landscapes – from beaches to tropical forest, including wide rivers and arid deserts.

Ehrenberg was amazed to see “kilometres of white beaches”.

“In front of you a fin shoots out of a wave, not an upside down surfboard, but a dolphin. What a feeling,” he wrote.

Ross said the journalists had been impressed by the value for money they found in the Eastern Cape.

“It is something that Cape Town has been seriously criticised for, but prices in the Eastern Cape don’t even come close. They could not believe that they could order the biggest steak in the restaurant for R80,” he said.

According to the boss of the Western Cape’s tourism marketing, the distinction between the Eastern and Western Cape was less important than the fact that a South African destination had been given such high profile.

“The Western Cape works closely together with the Eastern Cape to ensure that we increase the length of stay of tourists in our country and provide visitors with a diversity of tourism experiences,” said Sheryl Ozinsky, chief executive of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the Western Cape and Cape Town’s official tourism destination marketing organisation.

She said Cape Town and the Western Cape offered “scenic beauty, outdoor adventure and cultural heritage” that complemented the Eastern Cape’s safari experiences and game reserves.

“We look forward to further growing South Africa’s new gold, tourism, together with the Eastern Cape,” she said.

The report in Die Welt has had an immediate effect on its audience of German readers.

After Stutterheim’s Manderson Country Hotel appeared at the top of Die Welt’s list of top hotels, visits to the hotel’s website leapt from 10 a day to 1300.

“We couldn’t believe it,” said co-owner Ingrid Newbold, herself a Dutch emigré.

She said the party of journalists had been amazed to find a luxury hotel at the end of a dirt road when they visited last year.

“They were amazed to find more to these little towns than dirt roads and shebeens,” she said.

Tourism Buffalo City’s acting manager, Mervyn Gatke enthused about the article’s effect.

“Our reserves are more open and natural than smaller ones in the Western Cape. Visitors enjoy our wide open spaces and our beaches. We have got what they are looking for and we are well priced,” he said.

After flying into East London, the journalists drove straight to Stutterheim, originally a German settlement named after Baron Richard von Stutterheim, who settled in the region in 1856.

The tour party travelled through the Transkei to Port St Johns before returning south to Nieu Bethesda.

Lower Saxony’s local representative, Yorck Wurms, said the journalists grew suspicious during some of the long journeys that appeared to lead into the middle of nowhere.

But they were repeatedly rendered speechless by sites that were not sign-posted.

The unmarked Magwa Falls in the Transkei, Bushman paintings in a cave near Graaff-Reinet and the unspoilt splendour of the Baviaan’s Kloof all left an impression on the visitors, he said.

What Die Welt said about their experience in the province:

THE Eastern Cape and especially the Wild Coast made an impression on Die Welt journalist, Peter Ehrenberg.

He began his article, published in the daily newspaper, like this: “The waves of the Indian Ocean crash against the cliffs, every now and then a cricket chirps, and high above in the clear skies the stars of Southern Cross are flashing.”

He wrote that if your “soul” does not “chill out” in Coffee Bay it never will. He noted that at such moments the most important question in the world was: “Which is the country’s best beer?”

“The real asset of the Eastern Cape is Nature, which offers everything: endless savannas and dense forest, high waterfalls and dried out rivers, lifeless desert and wild sea,” he wrote.

Of equal interest to Ehrenberg was Qunu, the birthplace of the province’s most famous son, Nelson Mandela. The journalist visited Madiba’s Qunu residence, describing it as modest, and was impressed by the nearby museum, conference centre and heritage site in the former President’s honour.

By the end of the trip Ehrenberg had solved the question of the best beer, “No question, Carling Black Label”.
Article from http://www.dispatch.co.za/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

SOMERSET West was the town of choice for the launch on Thursday last week of Cape Town Tourism East's series of member networking functions for 2007. This bodes well for this outlying area of the metropole.

The function also served as the launch of Cape Town Tourism's first tourism barometer - a regional statistical service.

The first tourism barometer, which was launched in partnership with Cape Town Routes Unlimited, is a collated set of statistics and analysis designed to assist all tourism businesses and to help them understand the visitor patterns and the tourism market more effectively.

This quarterly barometer will be available to all members of Cape Town Tourism.

City tourism leaders used the event, held at Chapter II Guesthouse, to share insights regarding the growth and development in emerging geographical markets and members could meet new preferred service providers.

According to Cape Town Tourism marketing manager Cathy Alberts, a recent survey suggested that 99.5 % of visitors agreed that Cape Town is an excellent destination and this means that there is "a lot of opportunity for growth".

Renewed focus?
According to the organisation's latest statistics, the total number of bednights spent by international visitors in the Western Cape in the first quarter of last year was 5,54-million - a 30,6% share of the total number of international visitors in SA.

This represented a growth of 2,7% on the previous period.

The breakdown of statistics does not go beyond the Western Cape and many Helderberg-based tourism businesses will be hoping that the choice of Somerset West, as the location for the first meeting, signals renewed focus from tourism authorities on this area.

Alberts appealed to the members to assist the organisation with this venture, as everybody's input is needed to ensure that the barometer displays a true picture of that is happening in the Eastern area.

The latest tourism statistics can be found on www.capetownroutesunlimited.com/statistics.htm.

This year's first barometer became available on February 15, while the rest follow on May 15, August 15 and November 15.
Article from http://www.news24.com/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

Value for money, service excellence and the quality, variety and flexibility of an incentive programme are the most important factors coming into play when a company decides whether to reward top-performing employees with a world class breakaway in the Western Cape or not.

These are the results of a survey on the incentive tourism sector in the Western Cape, recently commissioned by Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the official tourism destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape. Incentives are first class, highly innovative and truly magical holidays or breakaways used by corporate companies to reward employees for outstanding performances. The international incentive sector is an important growth market for the Western Cape, and an essential part of its business events sector, that delivers a significant economic contribution to the province.

Cape Town Routes Unlimited appointed the University of Stellenbosch to conduct the study to investigate the size, scope and nature of operation of the international incentive sector in the Western Cape. Inbound tour operators, destination management companies and accommodation providers were assessed for the 2005/2006 financial year.

The survey showed that incentive providers in the Western Cape mainly get their business from Western Europe (specifically Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, Austria, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands); North America (specifically the USA and Canada); and Latin America (specifically Chile). Among the respondents no incentive business was recorded for Asia, the Middle East or the Oceania region. Incentive business came predominantly from the pharmaceutical, banking or finance and telecommunications sectors. The budget for an incentive programme ranged from R5 000 to R15 000.

The Western Cape lost business to destinations such as Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Rio de Janeiro, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Turkey, Dubai, Thailand and New Zealand, because of too expensive air tickets and hotels, lack of airline capacity and because other countries had better exchange rates.

“It is critical that we ensure that we have the perfect package for the business tourist. In Cape Town and the Western Cape we know that we have what it takes to offer incentive tourists an exceptional travel experience. But this is a very specific and selective market, and we need to back up our travel experience with brilliant service standards, excellent organisation, great value for money and think out of the box when it comes to compiling our incentive programmes,” says Sheryl Ozinsky, Chief Executive of Cape Town Routes Unlimited.

According to the Western Cape incentive service providers that participated in the survey, other important factors playing a role when corporate companies make up their minds on where to send their employees, include the safety of the destination, airline seating capacity, availability of competitive airfares, meeting facilities, variety of accommodation options, and the climate of the destination.

Cape Town and the Western Cape attracts nearly 1.6 million international tourists per year (SA Tourism, 2005). One out of ten international tourists is a business tourist.

Meetings Africa

Business events like conferences, meetings, exhibitions and incentives have become an integral part of tourism development the world over, and the Western Cape is no exception. To keep up with the latest developments and market the destination Cape Town Routes Unlimited is sending a team to Johannesburg next week to attend Meetings Africa, the continent’s top business tourism exhibition.

Meetings Africa, will be held from 28 February to 1 March 2007 and Cape Town Routes Unlimited will host a special ‘five senses’ breakfast on 28 February 2007 for approximately a hundred international and domestic hosted buyers and media, inspiring them to see, taste, smell, hear and feel some of Cape Town and the Western Cape’s most exquisite tourism offerings. A few hosted buyers and media from countries such as Germany and China will be able to experience these first hand when they undertake familiarisation trips to the province immediately after Meetings Africa.

In their effort to create market access for tourism SMMEs and to mainstream emerging entrepreneurs, Cape Town Routes Unlimited and the Tourism Enterprise Programme will assist four business tourism entrepreneurs from the Western Cape to attend Meetings Africa for the second consecutive year. Together with eight other exhibitors and the Cape Craft & Design Institute they will take part in a Western Cape exhibition at Meetings Africa. The entrepreneurs will also attend a Business Tourism Conference a day before Meetings Africa starts.

Cape Town will further play host to a component of the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives’ (SITE) Executive Summit running concurrently with Meetings Africa.

Article from http://www.traveldailynews.com/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

MUSCAT — Senior officials from South Africa’s tourism, trade and investment departments are currently on the Oman-leg of their AGCC tour to promote tourism and trade in the region.

The visit is also part of South Africa’s tourism strategy as the country prepares to host the mega 2010 Soccer World Cup, keeping in view that the Gulf nationals are known to be hardcore football fans.

The team which includes officials from the International Marketing Council (IMC) will conclude their two-week visit on February 23 after touring the AGCC countries.

The delegation will also hold discussions with local business personalities, as well as host workshops on tourism, trade and investment opportunities in South Africa.

Speaking to the Times of Oman, Tyrone Seale, general manager, Communication Resource Centre and head of the IMC delegation, said the visit confirmed the importance of the Gulf region for South African business, investment and the strength of bilateral relations with key countries in the region.

Underlining the relations with the Sultanate of Oman, he said both countries have common features like mineral richness and they face certain common challenges. He said better trade relations would be beneficial to both countries.

Speaking on the current visit, he emphasised that the visit is intended to encourage tourists from the AGCC countries to South Africa along with a long-term strategy as the nation is set to organise the World Cup in 2010.

He said the government is preparing a multi-pronged policy, especially the security plan, following the instructions put forward by the soccer’s highest administration body.

He said the visiting delegation would express the success strategies put in place by the South Africa government to combat crime.

He admitted the fears harboured by foreign nationals on the state of crime in the country. The first step of our strategy is to “acknowledge that crime is a matter of concern in South African cities and it could prove detrimental to our campaign to invite tourists”.

Seale said security gets priority spending in South Africa with an increase of 10 to 15 per cent in budget outlay annually. “We plan to increase the number of police personnel on the streets from the current 1,54,000 to 1,80,000 by 2010.” Besides, he said, the strategy would also involve community mobilisation whereby leaders belonging to different ethnic and religious backgrounds would work with the police to maintain law and order.

He admitted that tourism potential of South Africa has been under-utilised and it has nothing to do with the prevailing political instability in neighbouring countries. “We feel proud to be a part of Africa and our policies involve betterment of the entire continent.” He said that South Africa’s sound economic growth would have a spill-over impact in the region for good reasons.

Seale said the government is focusing on hospitality industry by promoting new concepts like home-stay. “Tourists can stay with the accredited families and have a homely experience instead of opting for hotels.” Training programmes are conducted for these families so that they can offer highly quality services and cope with guests from varied cultures.

Another concept being promoted is the lodges in natural parks whereby “one can see animals like elephants from very close quarters.” He added a ‘natural park stay” would cost below $100 per night.

The official said the government was also promoting a policy in partnership with the private sector for investment in education and human resources. “For the last seven years, all private sector firms have been donating two per cent of their payroll for education and HRD.”

This policy has been very successful in the emergence of a high-quality workforce including a large number of tourist guides who are very talented and hospitable.

He said majority of the South African population have experienced the apartheid era and have been now asked to “get around and feel the freedom”.

He praised the role of South African Airways in promoting South Africa as a tourist destination by providing better connectivity and service.

Tyrone Seale welcomed Omani and non-Omanis staying in the Sultanate to the country with scenic beauty. He said “tourist visas are processed at the South African Embassy in two working days for RO20 for both Omanis and non-Omanis.”

Article from http://timesofoman.com/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

AN American real estate developer is due to brief provincial officials today on a five-star, 500-room hotel resort planned for Port Elizabeth.

While details of the proposal are sketchy, a statement released on behalf of the Virginia-based JayCo Real Estate Investment yesterday, claims that the development, called Madiba Bay, will also include airport upgrades in Port Elizabeth and other investments in tourism, undertaken in co-operation with the South African government.

It said the hotel would host the tournament referees of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

The company‘s chief executive officer, Jay Cohen, is due to make a speech to the legislature in Bhisho today.

JayCo SA president Thabang Lesaoana, who hails from Welkom, was appointed on Monday and will lead the company‘s development in the country, based in Port Elizabeth.

Despite issuing a press release from its head office in the US yesterday, the company refused to divulge any further information on the development.

“We have partnered with Madiba Bay Holdings, but I cannot release any more information on the development yet because it is still premature,” said Lesaona.

Madiba Bay Holdings has a 50-year contract to lease 5 000 hectares of land along the Marine Drive for a proposed leisure park development.

However, Madiba Bay Holdings chief operations officer Johan Dreyer declined to comment last night.

“I don‘t know anything about JayCo SA and I will not comment,” said Dreyer.

Lesoana declined to give information on the exact location of the hotel complex.

“I cannot give the time frames and exact location of the hotel until next week. My colleagues in the US have issued a press release for all media,” he said.

He said a JayCo SA delegation had met with executive mayor Nondumiso Maphazi earlier this month.

Municipal spokesman Lourens Schoeman said an international company had shown interest in building a five-star hotel last year.

Article from http://www.theherald.co.za/
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Labels: South Africa - Economy, South Africa - Tourism