18 October 2004

Thinking of visiting South Africa? Want information on how to get here, what to bring, where to stay, what to see ...? A one-stop, round-the-clock call centre is here to assist you in Dutch, English, French, German or Italian (with more languages to come).

South African Tourism has opened a state-of-the-art global call centre, based in Johannesburg, that offers information across the spectrum on travelling to South Africa.

Manned 24 hours a day by 17 native-speaking international operators, the centre offers information in Dutch, English, French, German and Italian. Mandarin will be added to the language offering in November, and there are plans to introduce Spanish and Portuguese in the near future.

The centre is expected to process at least 5 000 telephonic enquiries per month, as well as respond to e-mail and fax inquiries.

• International callers: +27 83 123 6789
• Fax: +27 11 461 9298
• E-mail: info@southafrica.net

The line is linked to SA Tourism's national database, which has up-to-date information on all services and products - accommodation, transport, activities, events and contacts. Tourists can phone the number for a range of queries, including advice on what to do in an emergency or bureaucratic pickle.

South African Tourism previously operated call centres in Germany servicing the pan-European market, the US during its deal-driven campaigns, and in Cape Town.

Chief operating officer Moeketsi Mosola said the organisation had decided to integrate and centralise its information stream in order to improve efficiency.

"This new facility will allow us to service our customers' needs for information about our destination much more efficiently", Mosola said. "It will also provide a live database of marketing information to measure and inform the communications and marketing strategy of SA Tourism.

"This will help us to know and therefore service the demands of our customers even better."

SouthAfrica.info reporter

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