Latest Tourism Figures For April 2010 - 2011

The latest figures for tourists entering South Africa have just been released by Stats SA.  The figures below are those that showed the larger % growth year on year.




Country      2011       2010        Increase
Germany:     18,626    10,695    +74.2%
UK:               40,301    30,176    +33.6%
Norway:         1,959           882    +122.1%
Switzerland :  3,311      2,226      +48.7%
Russian Fed:      861       556      +54.9%
Portugal:       4,236        2,732      +55.1%
Hungary:          231           147      +57.1%
Denmark:     1,808        1,058      +70.9%
Austria:         1,687           988      +70.7%
Argentina:        865           598      +44.6%
Mexico:           308            214      +43.9%
India:             7,193        4,498      +59.9%
Japan:           2,017        1,380      +46.2%
Malaysia:         833            415      +100.7%
Philippines:      789           394      +100.3%
Turkey:              952           533       +78.6%

Overseas Total: 172,145     128,773     +33.7%

Cape Looks East To Tackle Global Tourism Slump

Awakening global economic giants China and India are sending more and more tourists to Cape Town, a sign that dramatic changes are happening to the Cape’s traditional visitor demographics, experts say.

Tourism authorities have detailed extensive plans to market Cape Town to the world, to help pull the city and province out of a worldwide slump.

The Cape Argus reported last week that many in the Cape’s crucial industry were speaking openly of a “crisis”, because of low occupancy rates in accommodation establishments, and a similar drop in trading across the industry.

But provincial Tourism MEC Alan Winde, Cape Town Tourism head Mariette du Toit Helmbold and Accelerate Cape Town head Guy Lundy have revealed extensive plans to bring more visitors to the Mother City.

Among these are innovative ways of bringing Gautengers to Cape Town, renewed efforts to attract the Cape’s traditional markets in Europe – despite their economic woes – and dramatic increases in the number of tourists from the “new” markets of China, India and Brazil.

Winde said the Western Cape would be promoted at key trade shows in Brazil and Argentina later this year. “If one analyses the statistics for the first quarter in these markets, it is clear the Western Cape is hitting the right target.”

In 2009, there were 26 975 visitors to the province. This increased to 41 532 last year, an increase of 54 percent.

Arrivals from India to the Western Cape grew from 14 960 in 2009 to 19 543 last year, a 30.6 percent increase.

One of the star markets for that period, Brazil, grew from 15 580 visitors in 2009 to 26 340 last year, a 69.1 percent rise.

Source: Argus

Knysna Tourism Invites Stakeholders To Marketing Presentation

Knysna Tourism will host a discussion on South African tourism market trends, presented by Professor John Simpson from the UCT Unilever Institute.

Simpson is co-author of ‘Marketing in South Africa: Cases and Concepts’ and Director of the UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing.

Knysna Tourism CEO, Shaun van Eck, says participants will get to the core of the factors changing the consumer environment. “Attendees will also hear how all new expert research will help to refocus their businesses to meet the challenges facing the new South African marketplace, including latest trends in the emerging black diamond market.

“This is obviously a market that we would like to welcome to Knysna,” said Van Eck. “And attending this discussion will give tourism operators and anyone who works within the industry a better insight into reaching this market and communicating with them effectively.”

The discussion will take place at The Premier Hotel on George Rex Drive in Knysna at 11h00, on Tuesday, August 16. Entrance is free but interested parties need to RSVP to Janine Arendse at the Knysna Tourism office at +27 (0)44 382 5510.

Cosatu Joins ‘Tourism Crisis’ Debate

Cosatu (The Congress of South African Trade Unions) has called for urgent action to address the “crisis in tourism” and has said an investigation should be conducted into the implications of regulating the industry.

In a media statement, Cosatu Western Cape Provincial Secretary, Tony Ehrenreich, says the cause of the crisis is the overcharging of international tourists. “The exorbitant prices for wines and crayfish are contributing to visitors feeling ripped off,” he says. “And so the important word of mouth that underlies a tourist destination’s success is not assisting the South African industry.”

The statement goes on to accuse the Western Cape MEC of Economics, Alan Winde, of excluding workers from the tourism board. “As Cosatu we will insist that the workers’ interests be directly represented by a labour representative, before the funding to support the industry is released. We will further call for an independent body to examine the crisis, as the industrial players have been colluding with government at a local level. This collusion is demonstrated by the City Council giving the tourism industry R40 million to spend on themselves,” says Ehrenreich.

Source: SA Tourism Update

Just goes to show that you don't have to have an inkling of what the situation entails. My heart goes out to Alan Winde and all those who strive to reverse this economic black hole and build up tourism in our towns and cities countrywide. Dave

South Africa Proclaims Another Biosphere

South Africa added a sixth biosphere reserve to its tally when the Vhembe region of Limpopo province became one of 22 newly proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

South Africa's six biosphere sites are Kogelberg (added in 1998), Cape Winelands (2007), Cape West Coast Reserve (2000, with an extension in 2003), the Waterberg (2001), the Kruger to Canyons Reserve (2001), and Vhembe. This is a tshiVenda name for the mighty Limpopo River symbolising life.

The new addition is situated in the northeast of Limpopo province. It is famous not only for its bird and animal life, but also for its rich cultural history, dating far back to the awe-inspiring rock paintings of the San people. Vhembe encompasses the ancient African kingdoms of Thulamela and Mapungubwe. The latter is one of South Africa's eight world heritage sites and was inscribed on the Unesco list in 2003.

Vhembe includes the northern part of the Kruger Park, the Makuleke Wetlands, which are protected under the international Ramsar Convention, the Soutpansberg and Blouberg bio-diversity hot spots, and the Makgabeng Plateau, which boasts hundreds of rock art sites.

SAT Sponsors Online Textbook For E Tourism Africa Summit

South African Tourism (SAT) recently announced the sponsorship of an online tourism textbook for the South African market. The ‘E Tourism Frontier’s Guide to Online Tourism – the South African Edition’ will be published in September and given to all delegates attending the E Tourism Africa Summit taking place in Cape Town on September 15 and 16.

SAT is sponsoring the fourth E Tourism Africa Summit, along with Cape Town Tourism as the host city for the summit. It will feature some of the world’s leading experts in online tourism, including TripAdvisor, Expedia and Google.

William Price, global head of e-marketing at SAT, says the role and significance of online marketing and consumer engagement have become critical in destination marketing. “It’s not enough for us to merely sponsor events. We have decided to invest more heavily in the E-Tourism Africa Summit by sharing a tangible and useful resource with the industry. The E-Tourism Frontier’s Guide to Online Tourism is a great resource and offers easy-to-follow tips and excellent local examples of tourism businesses using and benefiting from online marketing,” says Price.

The author of the new textbook, Damian Cook, is the CEO and Founder of E Tourism Frontiers and a global expert on online tourism.

Says Cook: “Our industry needs to focus not just on their own marketing but to encourage their clientele to market for them via social media. Some 50% of travellers now read a review before booking a hotel or trip for a long-haul destination and this is especially relevant for travel to Africa. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are vital tools when researching travel. However, only a small number of tourism companies are really accessing and using these tools to their full potential. The textbook is designed to show South African tourism businesses how to do just that.”
Source: SA Tourism Update

Hermanus Wine & Food Fair Nominated For Top Ten

The Hermanus Wine & Food Fair was nominated as one of the 10 best wine festivals in South Africa! 50 Local wineries from Elgin to Elim will present their wines for tasting, not forgetting delectable fares from various cheese and olive farms amongst others, as well as the famous Sushi of The Harbour Rock. All the wines on tasting will be available for purchasing at the Wine Village during the festival at cellar prices.


This year's festival will take place from Saturday, 06 August to Monday, 08 August and looks to be an even greater success.

Do not miss the opportunity to taste and pay for your favourite wines and fill up your wine racks! This is the only Wine and Food Fair in South African where you are able to purchase the wines tasted and either take them home immediately or have them shipped home anywhere in the world. What utter convenience!

Come and enjoy more than 200 wines from the various wine estates, olive products, glorious cheese, and loads of speciality food stalls.

Hermanus Tourism Has New Management Committee

A new management committee for Hermanus Tourism was elected at last night's Special General Meeting.  Mary Faure (Chairperson), Jenny Bowes-Meyer, Bill Harling, Ryno Rabie, Quinton Mitchell, Fabio Lenzi (Vice-Chairperson), Suzanne Clarke, Pam Nel, Jenna Raubenheimer, and Maurice Douree will represent the members of Hermanus Tourism.

The Cape Whale Coast DMO wishes the new committee all the best for the future.

Cape Town Wins Another Award

More than 60 destinations joined in the competition. Cape Town has received a long list of international tourism accolades and was named one of the most beautiful cities in world, providing a variety of attractions.


Tourists can tackle Table Mountain and Cape Point, shopping and sight seeing at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, visit the historical Robben Island, experience shark cage diving or swim with the penguins at Boulders Beach. Cape Town is the only Province on the African continent to receive this award.

The 10 destinations that received “The Most Preferred Tourist Attractions for Chinese in 2011” awards are:

•Cape Town, South Africa - Most number of Votes by far
•Bali Island, Indonesia

•Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia

•Bora Bora, Tahiti

•Niagara Falls, Canada

•Hawaii, America

•Paris, France

•Edinburgh, Britain

•Madrid, Spain

•Lake Lucerne Region, Switzerland

Vindaba, Specialist Wine Tourism Exhibition

South Africa will host its first specialist wine tourism exhibition, Vindaba, in Cape Town in September next year.

The organisers plan to turn Vindaba into a world-class event that will assume the status of a leading wine exhibition among the international wine and travel fraternities. It will also offer specialist seminars, focus on gastro-tourism and provide tailor-made wine tours for the international and domestic travel business fraternity.

Although conceived as a stand-alone event, it will be staged simultaneously with Cape Wine 2012 at the Cape Town Convention Centre.

Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has identified South Africa’s wine tourism as central to marketing the country as an attractive long-haul destination. Speaking at a tourism stakeholder workshop in April, he said: “Wine tourism is a vital product offering in South Africa’s tourism product as it helps improve the country’s competitiveness against destinations like Brazil, Australia, Kenya and Thailand.”

Although Australia has a highly developed wine tourism industry, many of its wine regions are located far apart, unlike South Africa where production is concentrated mostly in the Western Cape.

IWC 63 Says No To Whaling Sanctuary

Yesterday’s feel-good atmosphere dissolved into profound uncertainty after Japan led the IWC’s pro-whaling bloc in a walkout intended to break the body’s quorum, with a vote on the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary looming.

What promised to be a day filled with discussions of important conservation work and other matters instead became the occasion for a closed door commissioners’ meeting and a lot of wrangling over quorum and other procedural rules.

By the time the Commission resumed in open session on Thursday evening, it was time to close IWC 63. In the interim, the commissioners had privately worked out a statement to explain away the near meltdown and restore some prospect for comity within the IWC in the future.

To read the complete article go to:
http://www.hsi.org/news/news/2011/07/iwc_63_day_four_071411.html

Nothing Worse Than A Unstable Table

By attaching a base, which uses an intricate hydraulic system, to a table, it can adapt itself to an uneven surface, keeping it flat and rock-solid, no matter how many times it is moved. It also allows two or more tables to be attached together and remain even.

The stabiliser is being launched into the UK market this month following a successful trial in the hospitality sector in Australia.

Tracey Sanders of Spiro Designs, said: “We are extremely excited about the launch of the award-winning FLAT bases in the UK. You ask any customer what annoys them the most in any pub or restaurant, indoors or outdoors and the answer will be wobbly tables!

“We think these table bases are going to revolutionise our industry. There is nothing on the market that answers the issue of wobbly tables so simply."

There are seven varieties of table bases available, covering a variety of sizes of tables across the hospitality and commercial furniture sectors.

This beats the folded piece of cardboard method used the majority of establishments.

SA Tourism Gets Celebrities Involved In New UK Campaign

SA Tourism UK has launched 'My Mission South Africa', a new nationwide campaign that will track four UK personalities on holiday in SA.


The campaign, which includes advertising, a new interactive website, celebrity My Mission itineraries, digital amplification and a PR and consumer-facing competition, will showcase the country’s wildlife and affordable luxury offering while highlighting holidays for more adventurous travellers.

The four British personalities are Monty Don, Gloria Hunniford, Jamie Theakston and Chris Packham who will be travelling in September and focusing on their personal areas of interest, including horticulture, adventure, wildlife and luxury travel.

Each of the celebrity missions will be filmed and their experiences tweeted throughout their visits. The content will be available to follow on the dedicated www.southafrica.net/mymission website, Facebook page www.facebook.com/mysouthafrica and specifically created mobile apps for both iphone and android mobiles.

Prospective travellers will also be able to create their own missions online. My Mission builder is a custom video and PDF brochure application that allows prospective visitors to quickly build and populate their ultimate holiday itinerary from a list of predefined activities. They can store these online, send to fellow travellers and share with friends via Twitter and Facebook.

Now is your opportunity to promote your business by offering to host, wine-and-dine and show the group just what we have to offer the tourist.

Read More About Our Floral Heritage

For five days and nights in February 2006, the fire blazed an 80-kilometre trail from the outskirts of Cape Town towards Africa's southernmost point.

Then, unexpectedly, the wind changed direction - meaning the workers and fire staff at the Grootbos Private Nature Reserve stood no chance against the flames. Conference guests were evacuated before the five-star hotel resort was completely engulfed. Three apartments were destroyed and the five-star restaurant's impressive collection of Western Cape wines was reduced to a mountain of twisted glass.

So how come Grootbos' chief botanist, Sean Privett, is smiling as he recalls that dramatic night?

"Hey, they were just buildings, they could be rebuilt," he says with a grin. "But that fire was a whole new opportunity for rare plant species to germinate and flourish. We found about 70 new species here in the months after the blaze."

Then, like a proud parent, he opens his arms to the dense shrubland around him: "With the exception of our ancient milkwood forest, which is fire resistant, you can say that all the plants here were born on the same day: February 6, 2006."

Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/activity/great-outdoors/safari-with-a-difference-20110706-1h26j.html

Your Business Will Do A Lot Better With A Little Training

Problem: Everyone talks about how important it is to have well-trained service staff, but my company is asking us to make cutbacks in every area, so how can I ensure my front-of-house staff keep standards high when I have no budget to pay for training?

Solution: Commitment and leadership is where the answer lies. However, too many people do not understand the true meaning of these words and go on talking about them as if they were empty of meaning. All too often they are used to fill gaps and make people feel important.

Indeed if you are really committed you will make sure things happen in an urgent manner to deliver the results. As for leadership it is simply made of the actual actions of the people on the ground (whether in a top job or not).

Staff need training, but so do owners and managers, and they may not understand the benefits of it or are too short sighted or focused on the short term. However, if you are truly a leader and are committed to high standards, then it is an opportunity for you to test and demonstrate your skills by managing up and influencing your boss and staff to see the light.

Sound interesting and want to learn more? Contact the CWC DMO and learn how a little training goes a long way.

Fees Van Die Ganse To Rival Knysna Oyster Festival?

Visitors will be treated to local cuisine, entertainment, a mountain bike fun ride as well as a soap-box race. The highlight of the festival is its unique Winter Fynbos Show – the main reason why the festival takes place in the winter. Sheep dogs will demonstrate their herding skills, 4x4 enthusiasts will be catered for at the 4x4 Obstacle Challenge and local artists like Dillon Lerm, Die Broers and Rooies will entertain the crowds with their music.

“Festivals like these with their strong local flavour are a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit shared by many South Africans, but specifically those living in the Western Cape. This particular festival is also a wonderful opportunity for locals to celebrate our magnificent floral kingdom, which is at its best during the winter months,” says Alan Winde, MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism.

Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape, agrees with this and adds, “What can be more gratifying to a tourist than to arrive in a town and find that the party is already going strong and all that is required of him or her is to join in the fun. Fees van die Ganse is starting to become an institution and I hope that it will soon be just as big as the Knysna Oyster Festival.”

For more information contact the Gansbaai Tourism Bureau at 028 384 1439 or visit www.gansbaaiinfo.com.

Adults will pay R30, pensioners R20 and scholars R10 to take part in the festivities. Weekend passes are also available at R50 (adults), R30 (pensioners) or R15 (scholars).

Air Namibia Boosts Cape Town - Windhoek - Luanda Service

Air Namibia has updated its schedule from Cape Town to Luanda via Windhoek to improve its connections and allow passengers to arrive in Luanda at 12h00 from Johannesburg or Cape Town.
Air Namibia Sales and Marketing Manager, Michell Fourie, says Cape Town – Luanda is a regular market. “Air Namibia flies to Luanda from Windhoek four times a week with connections from Cape Town and Johannesburg. Our new improved schedules allow our clients to arrive in Luanda at very convenient times. Clients also now only spend one hour 30 minutes in transit to Luanda and on the return, one hour 15 minutes in transit in Windhoek.”

Source: SA Tourism Update

Zambesi Airlines Lands In Cape Town

Zambezi Airlines completed its inaugural flight to Cape Town International Airport recently. It will operate a three times a week direct service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from Livingstone, Zambia, using a Boeing 737-500 aircraft.

Said Deidre Hendricks, Cape Town International’s Communications Manager: “Recently, Turkish Airlines and Emirates Airline increased their number of flights and Air France also announced its non-stop flight between Cape Town International and Paris, Charles de Gaulle with three flights a week. Now Zambezi Airlines will also be flying three times a week. This is all positive news for the airport and Cape Town and certainly a testament to what we have to offer as a region in tourism and business.”

Zambezi Airlines completed its inaugural flight to Cape Town International Airport recently. It will operate a three times a week direct service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from Livingstone, Zambia, using a Boeing 737-500 aircraft.

Said Deidre Hendricks, Cape Town International’s Communications Manager: “Recently, Turkish Airlines and Emirates Airline increased their number of flights and Air France also announced its non-stop flight between Cape Town International and Paris, Charles de Gaulle with three flights a week. Now Zambezi Airlines will also be flying three times a week. This is all positive news for the airport and Cape Town and certainly a testament to what we have to offer as a region in tourism and business.”

Zambezi Airlines Commercial Manager, Sidney Siwabamundi, said management and staff were excited to be launching the Cape Town-Livingstone route. “We are particularly proud that we are the first airline to launch the direct flight between the ever-popular destination of Cape Town and Zambia’s adventure capital, Livingstone, which is also home to the world-famous Victoria Falls.”

Source: SA Tourism Update