Tourists As Apposed To Visitors

Statistics South Africa have an improved eye on the numbers.
As part of a national effort to improve the quality of tourism statistics in South Africa, tourist arrivals as opposed to visitor arrivals will now be released.

Question:
Just who is a tourist?

Answer:
Tourist, any visitor travelling to a place other than that of his/her usual environment for more than 1 night but less than 12 months, and whose main purpose of the trip is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.

South Africa Rates Poorly

The USTOA has issued its first 'World's Best' list, ranking destinations in a variety of categories. Italy took top honors, as best destination in four categories: architecture, walking, romance, and culinary/wine experience. The country also trailed just behind France as best for art and culture, with France second as best destination for a romantic vacation. London was placed first for entertainment, with New York and Rio de Janeiro closely tied for second spot. However, New York edged out both Hong Kong and Italy as best shopping destination. Winning destinations were based on informal rankings by more than 50 of the top companies arranging vacation experiences, tours, and packages worldwide.

Best for:

Adventure, Soft Adventure:

Costa Rica
New Zealand

Architecture:

Italy - cited by nearly 55% of respondents
Spain - cited by some 30%

Art & Culture:

France - cited by more than 50%
Italy - cited by, 40%

Entertainment:

London
New York
Rio de Janiero

History:

Egypt
United Kingdom
Israel

Romantic Occasion:

Italy - cited by 50%
France - cited by more than 40%

Shopping:

New York City - cited by one-third of respondents
Hong Kong - cited by nearly 30%
Italy - cited by 25%

Walking:

Italy
US Western National Parks
Prague

Wine, Dining, & Culinary Experience:

Italy - cited by 45%
France - cited by 20%
Spain - cited by, 13%
Napa Valley - cited by 12%

Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

The general manager of Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, Hans Olbertz, on Wednesday unveiled a 13-metre faux evergreen, located in the gold leaf-bedecked rotunda of the hotel. It is decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped ornaments and small white lights.

The tree alone is valued at R70,000, but it is the necklaces, earrings and other jewellery draped around the tree's branches that give it a record value. The tree holds a total of 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones.

But the hotel now regrets "attempts to overload the tradition followed by most hotels in the country with meanings and connotations that do not fall in line with the professional standards of the hotel," Olbertz said. "Putting up the Christmas tree is not a novelty, rather it is a tradition meant to share in celebrating occasions that guests hold while they are away from their home countries and families," the Gulf News daily quoted a hotel statement as saying. This tradition "is within the framework of the UAE's policy which is based on the values of openness and tolerance," the hotel added.

The tree is not the first extravagant offering from Emirates Palace - a massive, dome-topped hotel sitting amid fountains and carefully manicured lawns. The hotel in the oil-rich Gulf emirate where the vast majority of the local population is Muslim, bills itself as a seven-star establishment, and introduced in February a package for a week-long stay priced at R7 million.
Takers of the package get a private butler and a chauffeur-driven Maybach luxury car during their stay, as well as a private jet available for trips to other countries in the region

American Consumers` Travel Intentions For 2011

Strike while the iron is hot...
Travel Ticker®, a leading inspirational travel website, today announced the results of its annual Travel Ticker Traveler Intentions Survey. The poll revealed the opinions of nearly 2,000 U.S. consumers on their leisure travel intentions for the next year. The results indicated that as compared to 2010, 87 percent of respondents intend to take the same or more leisure vacations in 2011. In addition, when asked if they would fit more travel into 2011 if good deals were available, 94 percent of respondents answered yes.

For the second year in a row, 18 to 30-year-olds spearhead the move to take more leisure trips in 2011:

Out of all respondents, 48 percent of 18 to 30-year-olds said they plan on taking more leisure trips in 2011 than the previous year. This represents a five percent increase from last year's poll.
Following closely behind 18 to 30-year-olds are 65+ year-olds. 42 percent of respondents age 65 and older plan on taking more leisure trips in 2011, compared to 38 percent in last year's poll; an increase of four percent.

Better economic situation and more free time listed as top reasons for more leisure trips in 2011:

30 percent of all respondents said that they believe that their current economic situation will improve in the new year, resulting in the benefit of being able to travel more in 2011. This number is up ten percent from last year's survey. In addition, 31 percent of respondents said that they planned on traveling more in the new year due to an increase in free time.

Given a good deal, almost all would fit in more leisure travel:

94 percent of all respondents agreed that if they found a good deal, they would find a way to fit in more leisure travel in 2011. While many consumers believe that they will be more financially stable in 2011, they are still on the lookout for heavy discounts, travel perks and incentives to inspire their travel. In fact, 66 percent of those polled went so far as to say that they would be comfortable being spontaneous when it came to travel, letting the deal be their inspiration for planning upcoming trips.
The Travel Ticker Traveler Intentions Survey was conducted from November 17 until December 1, 2010, online among Travel Ticker users.

Fernkloof - No More Muggings

Have you noticed that we have not read of any muggings in Fernkloof Nature Reserve recently? Good News indeed.

Addo is to open their tented camp later this month and this is ideal for those holiday makers wanting something less 'luxueux' than normal. Perhaps Fernkloof management should investigate the feasability of such a camp as the prestine picnic area would make the perfect spot for this type of accommodation.

2011 Could Be A Bumper Year For Travel

Early predictions indicate that 2011 could be a bumper year for travel, with more tourists from the US and UK planning holidays abroad, according to a recent Tripadvisor survey.

In a poll of over 3,000 US-based travellers, 69% said they planned to take international trips next year. What’s more, they also plan to spend more while away, with 36% indicating that they will splash out more on travel in 2011 than they did in this year.
British travellers are also keen to travel long haul in 2011, with 66% of the 6,000 travellers surveyed stating that they plan to take an international trip next year. Over a third plan to spend more on their holidays in 2011 compared with 2010.

The survey also indicated that 2010 had been a year of travel anxieties, altering travel trends for the coming year. Top concerns for the Brits were further strikes but many were also worried about the rises in APD, the air travel tax, as well as the high-profile collapse of travel firms.

US travellers are mostly concerned about high carry-on baggage fees, hotels fees and TSA full body scanners but believe 2010 has seen several positive developments for the traveller, including more online travel deals and cheaper hotel rates.

American tourists are also reporting a rise in ‘fake-ations’, where travellers take their work on their trip. Technological advances have led to 59% of travellers in employment being more connected to work than ever before on leisure trips in 2010. Most travellers admit to checking their work e-mail on leisure trips, while 13% call the office to check in. Only 8% consider the remoteness of their destination specifically to avoid connecting with work.

Medical Tourism Untouched In Hermanus

The Medical Tourism sector worldwide is growing exponentially and set to become a $100bn sector by 2012, according to industry research. The sector is growing at a whopping 20-30% annually and is bound to continue its growth pattern in the years to come.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the medical tourism industry is currently a $78.5bn industry [end-2010], catering to over three million patients who travel around the globe for medical care. The Middle East is one of the latent source markets of patients and it is estimated that 20% of healthcare seekers worldwide are from Gulf and Arab states. Significantly, patients from UAE alone spend about $2bn in healthcare travel on an annual basis. As a result, many countries are targeting the region to woo guests and patients to their own medical tourism destinations. Germany, in particular, and Europe, in general, have been a primary medical tourism hubs for hundreds of years and continue to lead the industry today followed by Asian countries such as Thailand, India and Malaysia. Boasting of an excellent healthcare system, high quality, safe and quick treatment.

Germany is considered to be a top destination for patients from all over the world, and particularly from the Middle East, UK and the US. Germany is also an attractive destination for patients from the region, in terms of distance, costs and tourism attractions - thus reinforcing it as a premier medical tourism hub in Europe.

Source: ehotelior.com