At a tourism indaba it became clear that Cape Town has become too overpriced.

CAPE TOWN — The strongest message that Cape Town hoteliers and tour operators took away from the recent tourism indaba was that the city had become overpriced, Cape Town Routes Unlimited CE Calvyn Gilfellan said yesterday.

As the marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape, Routes Unlimited closely monitors trends in the sector — which is struggling, not only from the approaching winter season and the strong rand, but because the city has become uncompetitive compared to other long-haul holiday destinations such as Thailand and Kenya.

Cape Town as a value-for-money destination was under threat, Mr Gilfellan said during a talk at an industry networking breakfast. He urged the industry to take a long- term perspective in reviewing its pricing structure.

European outbound operators had stressed during conversations at the tourism indaba in Durban that the whole package of air fares, accommodation and restaurants in Cape Town had become too costly.

This view was confirmed by the manager of Southern Sun’s Cullinan Hotel, Ravi Nadasen.

Mr Gilfellan highlighted the difficult times that local tourism businesses were experiencing. He reminded industry stakeholders that the recession was not yet over in Europe, which contributed about 60% of Cape Town’s international tourists.

Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece are in the grip of a financial crisis and the imposition of austerity measures that will see the contraction of the labour market and of disposable incomes.

Last year saw a 15% increase in international arrivals to SA and 14% for the Western Cape, a rise largely, but not exclusively, driven by the hosting of the Soccer World Cup.

However, since then the industry has been suffering, with five-star hotels in particular burdened with low occupancy rates.

Mr Gilfellan conceded that rising costs — for inputs such as electricity, water, rates and maintenance — had contributed to the rise in prices. While operators were under pressure to reduce prices, the increases in operational costs limited their ability to do so.

Joint tourism marketing agreement initiated

Cape Town Tourism, Johannesburg Tourism and Durban Tourism met at the 2011 Tourism Indaba this weekend to initiate a joint city marketing agreement between the three cities.

Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban are South Africa’s economic and tourism hubs and the joint marketing agreement will see them collaborate to maximise tourism development and marketing.

The three organisations agree that cities are the lead brands for countries. Cities are globally recognised as the prism through which countries are viewed and are described as a country’s most durable assets. Cities have history, heritage that has stood the test of time as well as promising developmental futures.

Out of the top 10 destinations in Tripadvisor’s Readers Choice Awards, nine were cities, of which Cape Town took the number one spot.

The joint agreement is the outcome of the three cities reassessing strategies and committing to go beyond the traditional to challenge compartmentalised marketing thinking. "Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban tell three very different and unique but complementary stories. I strongly believe that we add value to each other’s leisure and business tourism offering and I think that this will also go a long way towards providing the prospective international traveller with a seamless impression of destination South Africa. The time has come for us to use creative and innovative ways to maximise the domestic and international leisure as well as business tourism potential, for all three cities," says Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism.

Iceland's ash cloud heads towards mainland Europe

An ash cloud from Iceland’s largest volcano continues to move towards the UK and mainland Europe, and is expected to reach the eastern coast of Ireland and northern Russia. Flights in Scotland have been cancelled by regional airline Loganair on Tuesday as the Civil Aviation Authority warns that disruption cannot be ruled out.

Airspace over Iceland remained closed throughout Monday, and transatlantic flights re-routed around the country.

Andrew Haines, chief executive of the CAA, said: “Our number one priority is to ensure the safety of people both onboard aircraft and on the ground. I think we are far better prepared and we’ll have far better information and intelligence.”

“We can’t rule out disruption, but the new arrangements that have been put in place since last year’s ash cloud mean the aviation sector is better prepared and will help to reduce any disruption in the event that volcanic ash affects UK airspace.

Grimsvoetn began erupting late on Saturday, sending a plume of smoke and ash 12 miles high. By Sunday, it had spread to the capital Reykjavik, nearly 250m to the west, and all of Iceland’s airspace was closed.

Tourism Marketing SA announces travel trends for 2011

We would like to thank  Tourism Marketing SA  www.tourismmarketing.co.za  for the following information on travel trends for 2011.

Top Travel Trends in 2011

1.  Business travelers are looking for value: Companies are still limiting corporate travel and today’s “road warriors” are looking for a deal.  Free WiFi, complimentary parking, free breakfast and multiple stay discounts are important to them in 2011.

2. Escapism: People want to escape the stress of their everyday lives.  Although people have always wanted to “escape”, from day to day pressures today, escape means “unplugged” to many.  Don’t be surprised if guests arrive armed with smart phones, laptops or iPads, but then check technology at the door.  Many travelers want to adopt a slower pace.  They will use modern technology to find you, but many will power down and switch off and simply unwind. Health spas and off the beaten track destinations should do well in 2011.

3. Not Just Seeing and Relaxing but Experiencing and Learning – The popularity of adventure and educational travel will continue to thrive in 2011. Travelers are interested in learning and doing, not just seeing. If you can present yourself as a great resource for your guests to learn and experience new things while staying with you and in your location, chances they will book with you are higher.

4.  Family Re-unions and Celebration Vacations: When the budget is tight, people need a reason for travel. Weddings, anniversaries, graduations and birthdays are a great excuse for people to take a few extra days away.  Many will choose to add a few days to their trip to explore once they have “celebrated” with family. By offering family deals, and special packages, you can convince your ideal guests to stay with you.

5. The Luxury of Your Own Space: Relying on room-service from the 25th floor of a luxury hotel no longer satisfies todayís ambitious luxury traveler. Instead, travelers are looking to villa rentals to ensure that their time abroad is truly unique. Even in the budget segment, self catering holiday rentals are a very popular option to the traditional bed & breakfast options with limited space and privacy.

Please go to www.tourismmarketing.co.za/top_ten_resolutions.php to read more about their top 10 marketing resolutions for 2011.

Cape Town voted number 1

TripAdvisor has recently announced that Cape Town is NUMBER 1 on its list of “Top 25 Destinations in the World”. With its tagline “World’s most trusted travel advice”, Tripadvisor.com is widely recognized as one of the most authoritative online travel review and advice sites. The result of a vote of millions of TripAdvisor travellers around the world, Cape Town left the world’s biggest cities, party destinations, tourist and religious sites in the dust. With wildlife, natural splendour from the mountains down to the ocean, amazing weather, a cosmopolitan attitude and first class Cape Town accommodation, facilities and attractions, it really isn’t surprising! A self-contained mecca of variety for any traveller, Cape Town has delighted millions of travellers from all walks of life and Africa’s top destination is now officially also the top destination in the world! The runners up in TripAdvisor’s massive campaign were as follows:

2.            Sydney, Australia

3.            Machu Picchu, Peru

4.            Paris, France

5.            Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

6.            New York City, New York

7.            Rome, Italy

8.            London, UK

9.            Barcelona, Spain

10.          Hong Kong, China

Exhibitors and delegates are shuttled to Indaba 2011

Springbok Atlas, appointed the official shuttle transport provider by South African Tourism and Witch & Wizard for 2011 to 2013, is already transporting exhibitors and delegates arriving for Indaba.

This is a great honour and provides us the opportunity to showcase our fleet to the international and domestic tourism industry at Indaba.

We will run hotel, ICC and airport shuttles for the duration of Indaba by utilising a fleet of about 40 vehicles.

Indaba is one of Africa’s largest tourism marketing events and attracts thousands of delegates from across the world and showcases the best tourism products in Southern Africa.

To download the shuttle schedule please visit the Indaba website on www.indaba-southafrica.co.za