China tourism pushes Port Elizabeth
15 October 2008
A Chinese destination marketing organisation visited Port Elizabeth to shoot a promotional documentary that will be aired on a Chinese television channel. Showcasing some of the tourist attractions in the area, the video aims to encourage Chinese tourists to visit the city.
According to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, the visit by the delegation this week follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism and the China Travel Services, which focuses on establishing a mutual relationship regarding tourism promotion and exchange programmes.
Of specific focus are tourism-related marketing and promotion programmes in order to motivate travelers from the respective countries and relevant cities to visit each other.
Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism chief executive officer Fezekile Tshiwula said this was an excellent opportunity to showcase the city and all its beautiful attractions to the Chinese community.
"This visit will also assist in cementing the relationship that the Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism has forged with China Travel Services," he said.
Township tour
According to Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism trade promotions coordinator Jonker Fourie, the Chinese delegation were taken on a tour of the metropolitan area, with the township tour and a visit to the city's blue-flag beaches being the highlight.
"The township tour was insightful," he said. "Experiencing the aspects of township life that they're not accustomed to and seeing the cultural differences between the Chinese ways and the locals was quite an eye-opener for the delegation."
Grace Peng, a representative from the Consulate General's Office in Shanghai said that while the media crew had been able to get great footage during the tour, they still wanted more.
"They would still like to visit some of the local craft markets to shoot the variety of crafts on offer," she said. "This would be a great way to showcase the destination back home."
The video will be broadcast on the Chinese Provincial Television Tourism Channel.
The delegation was also scheduled to visit the metropolitan municipality's heritage sites, including the Donkin reserve, Fort Frederick, the Red Location Museum, Uitenhage's Volkswagen Autopavillion, the Despatch brickworks chimney and the construction site of Port Elizabeth's multipurpose 2010 World Cup stadium.
The exchange stems from the signing of a sister-city agreement between the City of Ningbo in the People's Republic of China and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in 2003.
SAinfo reporter and BuaNews
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