SA tourism set for bumper 2008
16 January 2008
South African Tourism has committed more than R160-million to a global advertising campaign and more than R18-million to further grow domestic tourism this year.
"Our arrivals are looking exceptionally good," SA Tourism CEO Moeketsi Mosola said in a statement last month. "There was a nine percent increase in arrivals between September 2006 and September 2007, with particularly strong growth from North America (nine percent) and Asia (14%) which is above the current global average of 5.6%."
This success, he said, could be attributed to numerous factors, including SA Tourism's joint marketing agreements with the global travel trade and a growing number of "Fundi" graduates, or destination South Africa specialists.
Domestic tourism was a critical component of the industry, he said, and SA Tourism would commit R18-million to growing this market over the next three years.
Business Tourism
Business
Tourism was also a vital growth sector, contributing more foreign spend per tourist than leisure tourism.
As such, Mosola said SA Tourism was determined to take a more active role in growing business tourism, and in September had acquired Meetings Africa, a premier regional business tourism exhibition.
SA Tourism intends to increase the number of both international trade participants and exhibitors attending the show over the short to medium term. "This acquisition will enable us reach our goal to make South Africa one of the top 10 global conference destinations by 2010," he said.
Exhibition stands for each of the host cities have been designed; fact sheets have been compiled and published; a tour operator programme that is designed to boost tourism during the World Cup was launched in November; and SA Tourism hosted 12 major global media agencies, who came to the country on a Fifa fact-finding mission in November.
Planning and preparedness was also going
very well for 2010, with a consumer web portal to be launched soon. More than 50 000 accommodation establishment and tourism products have been registered on the SA Tourism website and a database of 700 events is accessible online.
"The preliminary draw … in Durban was an unqualified success," Mosola said. "It sent strong messages about our capability and readiness for the championship to the rest of the world."
According to SA Tourism, it will continue working with both public and private partners to overcome specific challenges around airlift capacity, skills and training, improving statistical collection and tourist safety.
Increasing direct flights
Numerous successes have already been achieved in each of these areas. For one, the country's airlift strategy has seen Delta Airlines flying direct to Johannesburg from Atlanta in the US, and the airline has plans to introduce a service between New York and Cape Town this
year.
South African Airways introduced a service between Munich and Johannesburg, and Emirates Airlines now flies into Johannesburg 18 times a week and will soon be flying direct to Cape Town and then to Durban.
China Eastern has opened the route to China, and Thai Air has re-established the route to Bangkok.
There have also been requests from two UK airlines, as well as air carriers from South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, Mozambique, Angola and Nigeria, for direct flights into South Africa.
SAinfo reporter
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