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.”

Taken from: http://www.tourismupdate.co.za/NewsDetails.aspx?newsId=60415

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.

Taken from: http://www.tourismupdate.co.za/NewsDetails.aspx?newsId=60395

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

Upcoming Events in South Africa - August 2011

National Boat Show 2011  12-14 Aug 2011 (annual) - North Riding

Divas in the City  12-13 Aug 2011 - Cape Town

Evita se Perron August 2011  13-28 Aug 2011 - Darling

Haal Asem Kwagga Tour Stellenbosch  13-13 Aug 2011 - Stellenbosch

South Africa vs New Zealand Rugby  20-20 Aug 2011 - Port Elizabeth

Clanwilliam Wild Flower Show 2011  25-31 Aug 2011 (annual) - Clanwilliam

SEXPO Durban 2011  25-28 Aug 2011 (annual) - Durban

The Baby Expo MamaMagic Durban 2011  26-28 Aug 2011 (annual) - Durban

Flower Power Festival 2011  27-29 Aug 2011 (annual) - Shelley Point

McGregor Food and Wine Festival 2011  27-27 Aug 2011 (annual) - McGregor

Source: http://www.safarinow.com/destinations/south-africa/events.aspx/2