Tuesday, 25 October 2011

GLRU Awards Ceremony

Springbok Atlas Charter Transport were invited to attend the Golden Lions Rugby Union capping and awards ceremony that took place on Monday 10 October 2011 at the FNB Stadium (Soccer City Complex).

This is the MTN Golden Lions year end function to cap all the new players for this season, award the best players of the year and to thank staff, sponsors, players, families etc. for their support during the 2011 season.

Springbok Atlas Charter Transport is the Lions preferred transport provider.

Craig Drysdale (CEO), Malusi Mbambo (JHB Key Accounts Manager) and Kirsten Hubbard (JHB Key Accounts Manager) attended on behalf of Springbok Atlas Charter Transport.

Thursday, 13 October 2011

Kim Gibbens is off to Dubai!


Congratulations to Kim Gibbens, Sales Executive at Springbok Atlas Charter Transport, who has been given the fantastic opportunity of joining a team of transport logistics professionals in Dubai to assist with the logistics for the upcoming Formula One! This team of professionals is no stranger to Kim as she had the privilege of working with them during last year’s Soccer World Cup.  TMS (Transport Management Systems) were in charge of the transport for the FIFA family and teams.  Kim has signed a one month contract with them and will be leaving on the 13th of October 2011 and returning on the 15th November 2011.  Her position will be VIP Association Transport Specialist, and she will have the honour of being placed in the paddock area. The team will consist of around 29 people from all over the world.  Kim will be staying at ZiQoo Hotel Apartment for the duration of her stay in Dubai. 

Thursday, 8 September 2011

Change a Life cycles to the Wild West


The 2011 Change a Life Cycle event took place in Namibia from Friday 2nd – Wednesday 7th September (actual cycling days 3rd – 6th September). The 2011 tour was an adventure of a lifetime – from hot dusty roads to wonderful desert camps, from pain and agony to celebration and ecstasy. The 70 executive cyclists selected to go on the tour visited quaint towns, explored deserted beaches and towering sand dunes, and partied under star-studded skies.

The 530 km route started in Windhoek on 3rd September and headed westwards across the Namib Desert before ending in Walvis Bay on the fourth day – 6th September.

The Change a Life Cycle was arranged by Imperial Holdings in Swakopmund and Springbok Atlas was one of the sponsors.


Tuesday, 23 August 2011

CPT is preferred tourist destination for the Chinese


Cape Town was recently awarded ‘the most preferred tourist attraction for the Chinese in 2011’ in the 1st Global Tourism Thermal List campaign. The campaign, which was jointly held by the World Travel Broadcasting Union and Radio Beijing Corporation, called on tourism enthusiasts in China to vote for their favourite destination online.
Cape Town has been steadily marketing itself in the Chinese market since 2007. The city’s efforts have translated into numbers with Chinese annual arrivals to the Western Cape doubling from 2008 to 2010 with 20 724 arrivals in 2008 and 41 532 arrivals in 2010. Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO Cape Town Routes Unlimited, comments: “Next to India, China is the emerging market with everyone scrambling to get a piece of this lucrative market. Since 2007, Cape Town and the Western Cape have aggressively pursued this market.”
Gilfellan says CTRU adopted a three-pronged approach to the Chinese market with targeted media hostings; education of local property owners, service providers and tour operators on the needs of the Chinese market; and attendance at international platforms in the East.
He says that after studying the Chinese markets, it becomes clear that the Chinese trade is interested in the following experiences and products: the West Coast flowers, golf tours, shark-cage diving, experiencing a South African cultural village, motorcycle tours, wine farm tours, beach quad biking and sand boarding. He adds: “Although the Chinese trade has no problem with English, they strongly urged us to at least print some of our basic collateral in Mandarin. It would also help if at least one page of our website is translated.”

Sunday, 21 August 2011

Springbok Atlas Day Tour operations over the Festive Season

Springbok Atlas Scheduled Tours division will not be operating any German Day Tours for the dates 24 December 2011, 25 December 2011 and 01 January 2012. English tours will however not be affected.

In addition, we will not be running the half day Winelands, full day Cape Highlights and full day Winelands tours on 25 December 2011 and 01 January 2012 as the wine estates will be closed on these respective days.

The adventure tours will not be operational on 25 December 2011, 26 December 2011 and 01 January 2012.

The half day Cultural Tour will run on 24 December 2011, 31 December 2011 and 01 January 2012 (AM only).  No tours will run on 25 and 26 December 2011.

The full day Shark Cage Diving Tour will not be operational on 25 December 2011 and 01 January 2012.

New Package - David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa

Day 1
Depart Cape Town International Airport for your direct flight to Livingstone Airport.  On arrival you will be met by a Springbok Atlas Representative and transferred to The David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa.  Depart at 16h00 for a sunset cruise on the Lady Livingstone.  Overnight: David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa on a Dinner, Bed and Breakfast basis.

The luxurious, colonial styled four star David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa is situated 5km from Livingstone and a mere 10km from the magnificent Victoria Falls, also known as Mosi-oa-Tunya – the Smoke that Thunders.  Overlooking the mighty Zambezi River, this lodge serves as a perfect base from which to explore the Victoria Falls and surrounds.

Day 2
Today you will have the opportunity to participate in a Tour of the Falls on the Livingstone side.  The remainder of the day is at your leisure to explore the wonderful offerings of Livingstone.  Overnight: David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa on a Dinner, Bed and Breakfast basis.

Day 3
Another full day at leisure to explore wonderful offerings of Livingstone. Why not do a trip to Livingstone Island for a swim in the “Devil’s Pool” (time of year permitting) or a helicopter trip to view the Falls from a different angle?  Overnight: David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa on a Dinner, Bed and Breakfast basis

Day 4
Transfer from the Lodge to Livingstone Airport for your return flight to Cape Town (or extend to South Luangwa via Lusaka or Nelspruit directly – excluded from fare).

Included in this package
  • Flight from Cape Town to Livingstone return
  • Three nights’ accommodation at The David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa
  • All meals as specified
  • Sunset cruise on the Lady Livingstone
  • Tour of the Falls on the Livingstone side
  • Return transfers from Airport to lodge

Excluded from this package
  • Airline taxes, subject to change until time of ticketing
  • ZAWA levy
  • U$ 20 park entrance fee to Victoria Falls
  • U$ 10 park entrance fee for the Zambezi River Cruise
  • U$ 30 departure tax
  • All other meals, accommodation, transport and activities
  • All porterage
  • Personal expenses such as tips for meals, gratuities for guides/game rangers, all alcoholic and other beverages, telephone calls and laundry
  • Any other services not mentioned above

Optional Activities at Additional Cost
  • Livingstone Island Tour (three times daily)
  • Helicopter flights
  • Elephant Back Safaris
  • Walk with the Lions

Rates (Commissionable Rack Rates)
  • ZAR 8550 per person sharing at The David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa
  • ZAR 1510 single room supplement

THIS SPECIAL IS VALID FOR TRAVEL UNTIL 31 DECEMBER 2011 AND IS SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF ALL SERVICES AT THE TIME OF BOOKING

Notes
  • Rates are rack & commissionable to international inbound tour operators
  • Accommodation is  based on standard room type only
  • Clients require a yellow fever certificate and malaria prophylaxis are recommended

Flight details
  • Cape Town to Livingstone: departs 08h00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
  • Livingstone to Cape Town: departs 14h00 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays

Contact your consultant for a rate for this package based on a lodge of your choice

E-Tourism Africa Summit in Cape Town next month


The fourth annual E-Tourism Africa Summit will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on September 15 and 16. Both SA Tourism and Cape Town Tourism will sponsor the event.
The summit will feature international speakers and presentations from leading online travel companies, including TripAdvisor, Expedia, Google, and Visit Britain. Day two of the summit will include a day-long workshop on online tourism.
Delegates attending the summit will receive the new Online Tourism Textbook, written for the South African market.

Saturday, 13 August 2011

SAT says ‘hundreds of thousands’ of tourists will be enticed by new campaign

SA Tourism says its latest destination campaign will entice hundreds of thousands of overseas tourists to visit SA over the next few years.
The new campaign, which it says is a natural extension of the first phase ’20 Experiences in 10 days’ campaign that ran last year, is being flighted on BBC World and CNN International. It will launch soon on National Geographic. “When all these elements are in place, the larger campaign will reach more than a billion people a month,” says SA Tourism in a media statement.

The campaign features four couples, one each from China, Germany, Angola and Brazil, travelling through South Africa. “This campaign speaks to target consumers in their own languages, in Mandarin, Portuguese and German in the instance of this, the second phase, of the campaign. Strong online content creates talkability about South Africa,” says Roshene Singh, Chief Marketing Officer at SA Tourism. “Our ambition with the campaign is quite simple. We wanted to use ordinary people to show how accessible our destination is; to show how much they enjoy the experiences South Africa offers. In using regular members of the public, we successfully position South Africa as accessible to billions of travel consumers the world over. Nothing is scripted and nothing is acted. It’s all real, spontaneous and authentic. We’re very proud of this campaign, and we are satisfied that BBC World and CNN International will take our message to the widest, and most appropriate global audiences,” says Singh.

The larger campaign will include special deals that will be accessible from SA Tourism’s website and in partnership with the travel trade in each of South Africa’s key markets. 

 
The campaign can be seen on the South African Tourism homepage (www.southafrica.net).

Source: http://www.tourismupdate.co.za/NewsDetails.aspx?newsId=60298

Saturday, 30 July 2011

Trees for Tourism Initiative

A new initiative, Trees for Tourism (TfT) has been introduced for tourists, tourism operators and other companies and institutions affiliated with the tourism industry in South Africa, to counter-balance their tourism-related footprint.

TfT facilitates the ‘purchase’ by tourists and tourism-related companies of indigenous trees, to be planted in appropriate areas to recreate forest eco-systems. By increasing the surface area of existing indigenous forests, the initiative aims to help restore the Cape’s biodiversity while countering the effects of climate change.

TfT has selected Platbos Conservation Trust as the operator for the selection and preparation of appropriate re-forestation sites, planting of trees and decade-long maintenance of the sites to protect the juvenile forests from fire and re-encroachment by alien invasive vegetation.

For more information visit http://www.treesfortourism.co.za/

Friday, 29 July 2011

Sports and Events Tourism Exchange at the CTICC


Springbok Atlas Charter Transport is one of the exhibitors at, as well as a sponsor of, the Sports and Events Tourism Exchange currently being held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). The 3 day event, which opened on Wednesday, 27 July 2011, is the first of its kind to be held in South Africa.

This “confex” is focusing on the world class standard of facilities and services that South Africa has to offer as a host, for all top level international events and the exchange between sports tourism and the events industry. It also provides a prestigious platform for the marketing of the many products and services related to this niche market, both on a local and international front.
 
South African Tourism has identified the Sports and Events Tourism Exchange as its annual sports and events tourism platform. They have endorsed the event and will be actively involved in marketing the project internationally.

Pictured here from left to right: Craig Drysdale, CEO, Springbok Atlas Charter Transport; Zingisa Mapasa, National Sales Manager, Springbok Atlas Charter Transport and Gary Lotter, CEO, Springbok Atlas Tour Operations


Wednesday, 27 July 2011

Springbok Atlas Charter Transport –new training initiative!


After months of preparation and hard work, each of our South African branches (Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban) is thrilled to have a driver assessor to assist operation managers with new driver assessments and continuous driver training.

“This not only strengthens our current in-house driver training, but will set us apart from our competitors in the long run and prepare our drivers mentally and physically for the impending AARTO (Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences) demerit system coming into effect soon.” Says Craig Drysdale, CEO, Springbok Atlas Charter Transport. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Emmanuel Ngesi – our National Driver Trainer - for initiating and embarking on this journey with the selected drivers in each branch and making us proud - well done Emmanuel!  This is truly a skills upliftment project we can all be proud of.”

Friday, 22 July 2011

Springbok Atlas attends Namibian Tourism Board Roadshow


The Namibian Tourism Board Roadshow was held on 18 July 2011 at Southern Sun Grayston in Johannesburg and 19 July 2011 at Southern Sun Cape Sun in Cape Town.

Springbok Atlas Namibia was represented by Birgit Rabe. "I think it was a great opportunity to re-introduce Springbok Atlas Namibia to the South African Market and to make everyone aware of all our services offered. Cape Town was better attended than Johannesburg but in total there were 172 attendees."

Birgit went on to say, "It was very well organized by the Namibian Tourism Board and it was obvious that a huge amount of work and effort was put in to the show."

Wednesday, 20 July 2011

Cape Town is a top bicycle-friendly city


Cape Town is one of the 15 most bike-friendly destinations in the world, according to a CNN feature on cities around the world "where drivers use all five fingers when they wave at you". African cities "aren't the first that spring to mind for bike friendliness, but Cape Town is doing its best to change that," CNN noted in an article earlier this month featuring South Africa's "Mother City", among the likes of Amsterdam and Barcelona in Europe, Chicago and San Francisco in North America, and Beijing and Bogotá. "The South African hub is committed to creating cycling lanes, dedicated bike parking and public commuter showers," CNN said.  

Cape Town Partnership MD Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana said that being compared to "benchmark pedestrian and bike-friendly cities such as Berlin, Paris, Chicago and Barcelona is very encouraging." 

Lead SA, an initiative that encourages South Africans to celebrate the country's achievements while taking responsibility for its problems, said the CNN mention was recognition of Cape Town's commitment to making cycling lanes efficient and safe in order "to assist in alleviating congestion and pollution by cars. Less cars and more convenient, eco-friendly access to the city is key to making Cape Town a more liveable city," Lead SA said in a statement last week. "What Capetonians should also know is that the new MyCiti buses operating in various areas from Tableview and within Cape Town allow cyclists to take their bikes on board with them and also to leave them at secure lock-up points close to the stations." According to Lead SA, Cape Town's new cycling lanes mirror the MyCiti bus routes, by running to the right of the existing bus lanes along the northern route, which includes Blaauwberg, Table View and Milnerton. The cycling lanes are three metres wide and evenly paved for a smooth ride. The paved lane stretches for 16 kilometres. 

Source: