ASATA to enforce pricing transparency and expose ... · ment, dealing with tender fraud, to be...

Authentic Abu Dhabi experiences not to be missed. See page 18.

Top-ranking Americas & the Caribbean tours to sell now, from page 14.

Inspire more MICE business with unique events in great locations. From page 9.

Published by TTG Southern AfricaTravel Industry Review

Beachcomber Tours Managing Director, Terry Munro, pictured front, joined the company’s top-performing retail partners for 2015 on a zip-lining excursion in Mau-ritius last month. Details on page 8.

Cruises International has launched its new sales brochure and the 2016 line-up for Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. There are more ‘firsts at sea’ introduced, new itineraries and even bigger builds to attract South Africans. Pictured at a launch event in Johannesburg, Cruises International CEO, George Argyropoulos, with Trade Relations Managers, Dionne Potiphar (left) and Debbie Georgiou. See page 15 for more tips for booking your clients’ first Caribbean cruise.

Win with Delta and TIR!Enter online now to win flights for two in economy class to any city in the continental USA that Delta operates to. A lucky agent and partner can have the holiday of a lifetime, from a choice of destinations such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Las Vegas. Details inside on page 5.

ASATA to enforce pricing transparency and expose fraudulent practicesBY SARAH CORNWELL

THE ASSOCIATION of Southern Afr ican Travel Agents is to enforce new fi-nancial reporting require-ments, subject to the out-come of a vote this month on changes to the associa-tion’s terms of reference and is threatening to expose those who do not comply. ASATA proposed new fi-nancial reporting require-ments for members at its annual general meeting last month, specifically the intro-duction of a special purpose audit to verify pricing tactics are transparent and in line with consumer laws. The audit would verify there are no mark-ups on

third-party taxes, that book-ing classes match, and that tax invoices are valid. Chief Executive Off ic-er, Otto de Vries, said the changes had been spurred by concern over pricing prac-tices and a “lack of disclo-sure to a consumer of pricing structures may likewise con-stitute a misrepresentation, with possible serious conse-quence”. He maintained there was no doubt there were members who may have intentionally or unintentionally done this and, following a grace period to give agents time to com-ply, those who did not do so would be expelled. Board members will vote on the proposed changes at

a meeting scheduled for No-vember 17. The association was obtaining legal opinion on a possible fourth amend-ment, dealing with tender fraud, to be addressed at the same meeting. The terms of reference would mean ASATA mem-

continued on page 4

Pictured: Zuks Ramasia, General Manager of Operations at South African Airways (left) and Acting Chief Executive Officer, Thuli Mpshe, on closing day of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa’s annual general assembly at Fancourt last month. The association called for the urgent alignment of public and private sector strategies to kickstart a re-bound in foreign and domestic travel across Africa. Local airlines want to strengthen and protect Johannesburg’s hub status. SAA is continuing to implement its Long-Term Turna-round Strategy, with much of the focus directed at growing revenues, said Ms. Mpshe, stressing: “Key for us is to have OR Tambo as the hub.” More on page 7 and 18.

New South America flightsto boost tourism from SATOUR OPERATORS fea-turing South America and inbound wholesalers are planning packages to benefit from new non-stop f lights linking South Africa and Brazil and increase tourism between the two countries and into the rest of South America. This follows last month’s announcement that the Latin American LATAM Airlines Group has applied to intro-duce scheduled flights from São Paulo to Johannesburg in 2016. The new flights will be operated by LATAM-owned

TAM Airlines. They will be the first f lights operated to South America by a foreign carrier since Malaysia Air-lines withdrew its Johannes-burg – Buenos Aires service in December 2011, after be-

continued on page 14

Industry faces long-term challengeto rebuild after visa rule damageBY DOMINIC WARDALL

THE tourism industry has called for the speedy imple-mentation and processing of

amended visa and immigra-tion requirements, which were announced at the end of last month, to support a new

continued on page 5

News Digest

bers would need to comply with Consumer Protection Act regulations “regardless of whether or not the CPA applies to the transaction in question”. “It is important to note that the Competition Act pro-hibits a decision by an asso-ciation of firms to the extent that such decision directly, or indirectly fixes a purchase or ceiling price. Nothing pro-hibits ASATA from regulat-ing the disclosure of prices, however ASATA may not seek to regulate the prices in itself,” the association stressed. “[When] travel agents or management companies are tendering for corporate or government business, offer-ing very low or no service fee charges… how are they recovering that money? Once they have secured the busi-ness, they might be marking up all sorts of things and not

ASATA to enforcepricing transparency...

continued from page 1 disclosing that to the cus-tomer,” said Mr. De Vries. “In my mind, that is il-legal [but] we are seeking legal opinion on that. It [legal feedback] won’t stop us ap-proving the other three…” Mr. De Vries said he also wanted to see non-member businesses toe the line. “As part of our campaign and the campaign of our ASATA members, you can be sure we are going to put a lot of effort into communicating [these points]. These are the things we are going to be telling corporates to ask their TMCs, to check their contracts… People will be exposed.” Gary Mulder, Club Trav-el Chief Financial Officer, endorsed the changes and potential spin-off for brand ASATA and its members. “I think it is exactly what the industry needs. The cred-ibility of the industry is vital. We cannot account for every

travel agent out there, but if we can make sure that every ASATA agent is checked, is clean, then… naturally they will get the business. “If a member is expelled then it is vital that ASATA’s consumer campaign is effec-tive,” he added. “There are certain cases where there isn’t a legal standing… but when it comes down to blatant tender fraud [and retailers] hiding their margin, that is fraud. That has been my biggest issue. TMCs have been ridiculous [when] pricing themselves…” Claude Vankei rsbilck, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at Tourvest Travel Service, added: “It provides credibility and, as an asso-ciation, we are adding more meat and muscle to the code of conduct.” He expected corporates to look more closely at the prac-tices of their service provid-ers. “It is not about auditing a firm completely,” he added. “It is saying: these are the pa-rameters… It can be done in a very meaningful way and doesn’t have to take too much time. We know exactly what we are looking for.”

World Leisure Holidays sponsored three holidays to Mauritius with flights, for auction at this year’s Adopt-a-School Founda-tion fundraiser. Pictured at the event: World Leisure Holidays’ Managing Direc-tor, Johann Strydom (right) with Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chairman of the Adopt-a-School Foun-dation and Miss South Af-rica 2015, Liesl Laurie.

4 TIR Southern Africa • November 2015

THE Association of South-ern African Travel Agents board will remain unchanged for another year and is to concentrate on the imple-mentation of 15 key projects intended to “future proof the changing travel industry”. This follows the associa-tion’s Annual General Meet-ing, held last month. Re-elected President of ASATA, Vanya Lessing, Chief Executive Officer of Sure Travel, emphasised the need for a strong consumer profile and warned: “This in-dustry is ripe for disruption.The value of ASATA’s stra-tegic role cannot be underes-timated… We need to be the agent of that change and it is imperative that we inform

the customer of the future of the value that we bring.” Johanna Mukoki, Travel With Flair Managing Direc-tor, was reappointed Vice President. James Sedgwick, Sure Travel, Fish Hoek, is Treasurer. Additional board members include Bronwyn Phillips, HRG Rennies Travel; Claude Van kei rsbi lck , Tour vest Travel Services; Johann Stry-dom, World Leisure Holidays and Lance Smith, Avis Rent A Car. ASATA has also recently created the role of General Manager to support Chief Executive Officer, Otto de Vries, and appointed Kim Koen to the position. She pre-viously worked with research firm, Kitso Consulting, and was involved in developing the new government procure-ment framework, in conjunc-

tion with ASATA. Mr. De Vries said the change would help speed up delivery, while the continuity of the board would help ASATA realise its strategic mandate, which was to “ensure compliance, consensus and confidence”. He added that the associa-tion was “working steadfast-ly to support our members in industry, government and media forums as they evolve to meet the changing needs of the 21st century travel-ler and to grow the stature and credibility of the associa-tion...”

12

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enews updates

Most Readstories from thepast month...

45

www.tir.co.za/enews

Agent endures months-long wait to renewauthorisation certificates

ASATA proposes new rules to stamp out‘unlawful’ pricing tactics and corporatetender fraud

African airlines at crisis point says AASA

SAA seeks another government guarantee

Skywise denies cancellations a sign ofproblems but plans fewer flights

AIR FRANCE CONSIDERS LONG-HAUL CUTSAIR France is planning flight and job cuts over the next two years, following the collapse of negotiations aimed at increas-ing productivity with its pilots and cabin crews last month. The productivity gains sought by the airline were intended to help achieve the targets in its Perform 2020 turnaround plan. The strategy calls for a reduction in operations in 2016 and 2017, with cuts to some of its unprofitable long-haul routes. Previ-ous statements reveal as much as half of long-haul routes are operating at a loss. The plan is currently to cut five routes and cancel 35 weekly frequencies by 2017. Air France said the schedule modifications would focus on routes where losses are the highest, principally Asia and the Middle East.

Re-elected board pledgesto ‘future proof’ ASATA

Kim Koen

Airlink adds Maun ex-CPTAIRLINK will launch a new direct service into Botswana in 2016, with five f lights a week between Cape Town and Maun starting March 11. The carrier will initially operate the service with an Embraer ERJ 135, 37-seat jet. Capacity will be increased in

line with demand. Flights will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, de-parting Cape Town at 10h35 arriving in Maun at 13h05. The return service will leave Maun at 13h35, arriving in Cape Town at 16h10.

Atout France launched a new logo and website for French tourism, france.fr. South African passport holders are currently receiving their short-stay tourist visas in under two working days. Pictured at a breakfast hosted by Ca-pago (l to r): Hélène Bezuidenhoudt, Regional Manager, Atout France, South Africa; Agnese Roda, Manager of the Capago office in Cape Town and Gaelle Loir, Deputy Consul, French Consulate, Cape Town.

Nominations have opened for the 2015 ASATA Diners Club Awards and conclude November 20. See forms at: www.asata-dinersclub-awards.co.za.

News Digest

Enter to win with Delta & TIR!Delta Air Lines, in conjunction with TIR, is provid-ing two confirmed return tickets to a city of your choice in the Continental USA served by Delta to a lucky travel agent and partner. Enter by answering two questions from each of the September, October & November issues of TIR. The answers will be in news stories about Delta appearing in these issues. Entries will be done via tir.co.za and can only be submitted between November 1 and No-vember 30, 2015. All six answers will be required on the entry form, so make sure to keep a note of your answers from each issue – or use the archive of TIR editions when entering. Winner will be announced in the January 2016 issue of TIR. Below are the final questions...

Questions 5 & 6:Question 5: Which car manufacturer joined Delta Air Lines in its Breast Cancer Awareness campaign, which concluded last month?

* Competition only open to retailtravel agency consultants and staff.

Question 6: Which payment method did Delta Air Lines introduce last month in its Fly Delta app for iPhone users?

Industry faces long-term challengeto rebuild after visa rule damage

TIR Southern Africa • November 2015 5

Accommodation sector registers some growthFORWA R DK EYS sa id l a s t month that the hospitality busi-ness in sub-Saharan Africa had turned a corner after flat growth since August 2014, which it at-tributed to the impact of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The company’s hotel reserva-tions data presented at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum showed a 6.4 percent increase in interna-tional arrivals in September, with forward bookings to March 2016 four percent ahead of last year. The Tourism Business Council of South Africa also reported a stronger last quarter for the ac-commodation sector in its Q3 Tourism Index, published last month. The TBCSA said insufficient overseas leisure demand was hav-ing the biggest impact on local travel and tourism businesses, which have been operating be-low normal levels throughout this year. Its analysts expect business will remain under pressure into the new year. The overall performance index for Q3 rose to 92.4, up from 83.6 at the end of Q2, the TBCSA said. An index score of 100 would in-dicate normal levels of acceptable business performance. Next year’s outlook was neutral for the accommodation sector and slightly negative for other tourism businesses. Gillian Sun-ders, Grant Thornton’s Head of Advisory Services, cautioned “… longer term confidence is not evi-dent”.

international drive announced by Tourism Minister Derek Hane-kom to restore confidence in des-tination South Africa and revive demand for inbound travel. Despite the about-turn by the government, rebuilding the dam-age caused by the original ill-con-sidered regulations is expected to be a long-term project for in-bound and outbound businesses. The cabinet last month ap-proved recommendations from the Inter-Ministerial Committee tasked with reviewing the regula-tions. They will be applied in the next one to three months, three to 12 months and, in some cases, 12 months or more. The development has been called a “positive step in the right direction”, despite the planned piecemeal implementation and some grey areas about timelines and Home Affairs’ child policy, International Air Transport Association Vice President Af-rica, Raphael Kuuchi, said he was awaiting greater clarity on the specific dates of the changes but cautioned: “It is crucial the changes are implemented quickly, to avoid further lost opportuni-ties for South Africa’s travel and tourism sector… [It would] also support the combined marketing campaigns led by airlines and their tourism partners, which

continued from page 1 aims to restore consumer confidence in South Africa as a value-for-money destina-tion for business and leisure travel.” The Tour ism Business Council said “where there are gaps, we hope to positively address them through the Tourism Stakeholder Forum that we have recommended for establishment”. M matšat š i Ramawela , TBCSA Chief Executive Of-ficer added: “Our priority is

to address the uncertainty that is currently in the mar-ket... “Overall... we view today’s announcement as a step in the right direction and are pleased that the lines of com-munication with the Depart-ment of Home Affairs are open for further engagement and collaboration.” Home Affairs has posted a complete overview of the planned amendments on its website, www.dha.gov.za

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MANAGING EDITORSarah CornwellTel: 021 789 0053Mob: 072 772 [email protected]

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Industry ViewMobile growth in Africa spells big opportunity for agencies

CONGRATULATIONS to Rashmi Raga, from African Beat Tours in Cape Town, who was spot-ted reading TIR in Old Havana next to some classic American cars. Rashmi wins an American Tourister San Francisco 66cm Spinner suitcase, valued at R1,199.

Explore new horizons with American Tourister. With American Tourister, travellers can enjoy stylish, high-quality luggage without dipping into their spending money. With its own distinctive design and a young, casual look, the Ameri-can Tourister San Francisco is ideal for both corporate and leisure travellers. The range is available in black, blue and red. The American Tourister San Francisco is available from top luggage outlets.

ADRIAN Roodt, General Manager for Realtime Travel Connections and Mohsin Jassat, Di-rector Regional Sales at Travelport Southern Africa, addressed agents at the recent Airline Mini Fair in Johannesburg, discussing the evolution of online booking tools and the future of the online travel business. They identified mobile as one of the fastest-growing yet still under-utilised sales tools…

@AmTouristerSA

ASATA is showing its teeth by confront-ing the dodgy, opaque practices of some retailers and TMCs. Good for the credibility of the industry, the stature of members, the value of membership and the right thing to do.

The domestic airline scene in South Africa is currently a fraught place, going through one of its periodic crises. This time it is the drag on yields caused by too many players and the low-cost entrants. Something has to give.

The Finance Minister’s prognostications last month about a further forecast decline in growth follow what everybody else already knew. However, it is just another signal of soft trading conditions next year and a continuing weak rand affecting out-bound travel.

Tough times provide opportunities to excelAT a time when the rand ex-change rate is causing po-tential international travel-lers to pause, seek the most competitive options or even postpone or cancel what most South Africans regard as the almost divine right of the annual holiday, which they would previously have booked without hesitation, the big question for retail-ers and suppliers is how to address the situation most effectively. For the majority of the out-bound travel market in South Africa, the biggest consid-eration in the current climate is price. The pr ice level, which consumers can live with, obviously varies according to their aspirations, destina-tion, duration and quality but

the consideration boils down to product competitiveness in the same category, inclu-sions, discounts, perceived value, incentives and effec-tive promotion. It is no coincidence that some retailers and suppliers are currently achieving bet-ter sales results than ever, while others are struggling. The positive for everybody is that, despite pressure on customers’ travel budgets, it is clear the desire to travel has not diminished. Some suppliers have sen-sibly met the challenge of a shaky market with a long-term view and strategy to protect and even grow their market share and brand rec-ognition, with added fea-tures, rand price guarantees, discounts, new products,

innovative attractions, ag-gressive promotional activi-ties, increased travel agency relationship initiatives and relationship building and in-centives. Travel agents, who are weathering the storm best, are upping thei r service levels with added customer features and benefits, pro-viding new elements to their consulting role, boosting activity through their web-sites and social media, ne-gotiating with suppliers and jointly promoting with their preferred suppliers and being extremely selective with the suppliers and products they are choosing to recommend and sell to their discretionary clients. They are acutely conscious of the fact that the delivered

travel experience reflects not only on the suppliers but also the retailer and will inevi-tably impact on repeat busi-ness. That is well-proven by the agents who have come to the rescue of their clients during disrupted travel dur-ing the past year. The benefit of the diffi-cult trading climate is that it emphasises the value of the travel agency industry and should be regarded as an opportunity to prove the value of exceptional service, professional, informed ad-vice and the backup and flex-ibility, which only an experi-enced and dedicated retailer can provide. Hands-on, skilled man-agement, no matter the size of the business, training, di-rection and employee sup-

port is also crucial and that is clear to see in the independ-ent retailers, retail groups and suppliers, which are con-tinuing to thrive, as others flounder. The relationship between supplier and retailer is of par-ticular importance in times like these and works best for both parties and the cli-ent when it is regarded and implemented as a mutually suppor tive and respected partnership driven by prag-matism. It is a lesson still to be learned in some parts of the industry, despite a long history of examples here and abroad. We can already see that next year is going to be equally challenging, so it would be a mistake to miss manageable opportunities.

Compared to the major international mar-kets, South Africa still lags in terms of devel-opment. It is losing market share to new and expanding international online companies, more of which want to enter the travel field. Figures provided by Mr. Roodt showed online travel agencies [OTAs] generated more than US$35-billion in revenue each year. Big-name brands including Expedia.com and Priceline, are collectively responsi-ble for around 113 million of the room nights booked each year. In a snap poll conducted during the Johannesburg 2015 Airline Mini Fair, Mr. Roodt asked for a show of hands from travel agents whose business had an online pres-ence. While the majority of participants did, none had an online platform with booking functionality to complete the entire trans-action online. He said this was an accurate reflection of the South African market. The lag, he said, was not purely as a re-sult of “technological knowledge gap” but also due to the fear of online fraud, still a common concern among business owners in Africa. However, he maintained that risk could be managed. Mr. Roodt encouraged agents: “Booking tools are now reaching the stage where they are able to integrate the full work process and can considerably speed up booking process times. “ Internet access throughout Afr ica is growing at a very fast pace, particu-larly through mobile access. It is impera-tive to have a mobile friendly website in

this country.” The average South African mobile phone user owned more than one device. Social media remained a valuable but under-utilised sales tool, he added. “Understanding how to drive traffic to your website using SEO [Search Engine Optimisation] is also important,” Mr. Roodt explained. “This can be achieved through paid rankings, but metasearch sites must form part of the strategy to improve your online presence and drive conversion.” Mr. Jassat recommended business own-ers and agents adapt their existing websites to capitalise on the growth of online and, specifically, mobile penetration in Africa. The rate of mobile penetration in South Africa had surpassed 100 percent, currently around 135 percent, according to Mr. Jassat. This had vastly improved Internet access in the country. “In the US, mobile online bookings are expected to triple by the end of 2015… In Africa, where Internet access usage is ex-ploding, the potential is even greater,” he said. Mr. Jassat said technology could minimise the risk of fraud and he envisioned bio-metric finger scanning technology would eventually be introduced as part of travel booking payment checks.

There are other growing trends for agents to capitalise on. Mr. Jassat said: “Surveys reveal that lounge access and priority boarding are ver y important to passengers and yet very few agents offer their clients these fa-cilities as part of their service.”Mohsin Jassat and Adrian Roodt.

News Digest

Helilagon confirms rates for 2015/6 Reunion island helicopter flips.Agents can book Helilagon helicopter flights over Réunion island online at www.helilagon.com. Tours include a 15-minute flip departing Saint Gilles and flying over the bay of Saint-Paul and Mafate cirque, from €95 per adult. Longer tours last between 25 and 55 minutes, priced between €210 and €319. Rates are valid until October 31, 2016. All bookings are commissionable.

Réunion Tourism promotes locally packaged breaks.Réunion island’s tourism office is inviting agencies, tour operators and wholesalers packaging the destina-tion to upload their content, itiner-aries and new booking specials to blog.welcometoreunionisland.com. Email details to reunionisland.za@

atout-france.fr. Travel agents can visit the blog for ideas and recommended add-ons, accommodation options, dining and transport services.

Busabout launches 2016 with new Hop-On Hop-Off loop and festival line-up.Busabout has launched its 2016 programme with 20 percent discounts on all Hop-on Hop-off trips and 12 percent on all 2016 Haggis & Shamrocker tours booked before January 28 and when a R1,000 deposit is paid. The new Hop-on Hop-off Loop itinerary is for Eastern Europe, with fourteen stop options.

Book 50-plus international and domesticdestinations via kulula.com.Kulula holidays has improved its online portal for travel agents, following the recent merger of the Holiday Tours and kulula holidays brands. Agents can book more than 50 local and international destinations via the new agents.kulula.com plat-form. There is real-time booking functionality with instant booking confirmation. Online sales are commissionable. Inventory is divided into nine different holiday categories, but agents can also contact the call centre for tailor-made options and itineraries: 0861 102 137 or 021 468 6600.

Welcome Tourism Services launches finished‘experiences’ guide.Welcome Tourism Services’ latest sales guide showcases its “extraordinary” itineraries and tourism products. There are nine dif-ferent categories with options for families, adventure, food and wine enthusiasts. To download: www.welcome.co.za/experience

The latest product sales, marketing and training resources for travel professionals.Sales Resourceth

e

Imperial appointsnew CEODAWN Nathan-Jones will step down as Chief Execu-tive Officer of Imperial Car Rental Division, which oper-ates Europcar and Tempest, at the end of this year. Corné Venter, current Chief Execu-tive Officer of Imperial Auto Pedigree and Imperial Auto Body, will take over. Ms. Nathan-Jones has been with the company for 35 years and was appointed CEO of Imperial Car Rent-al in 1999. She oversaw the rebranding of Imperial Car Rental to Europcar, which was completed in 2009.

Delta campaign in the pinkDELTA Air Lines wrapped up its annual Breast Can-cer Awareness campaign last month, which featured employees wear ing pink uniforms and selling pink products onboard and in Sky

Clubs. The campaign also includ-ed a unique partnership with Porsche to transport connect-ing high-value customers in the high-value cars at eight airports.

Opportunities in Africa buthurdles too, say airlinesBY SARAH CORNWELL

THE AIRLINES Associa-tion of Southern Africa has warned the industry is at crisis point, battling weak demand and poor profit mar-gins. It urged a closer align-ment of public and private sector policy to safeguard the industry and stimulate tourism, during the organi-sation’s 45th Annual Gen-eral Assembly in George last month. AASA Chief Executive, Chris Zweigenthal, expected passenger growth in Africa and Southern Africa would average four percent this year, compared to the global average of five to six percent. For South Africa, he fore-cast growth of three percent, made up of seven percent growth in domestic travel and international passenger

volumes at negative two per-cent. Delegates at this year’s meeting debated the most ef-fective means to grow local passenger markets in South Africa and the rest of the con-tinent. But delegates warned flat overseas leisure demand was having a major impact on business. Despite the government’s u-turn on visa and immigra-tion policy, which came later last month, Mr. Zweigenthal cautioned: “Our industry, specifically in our region, is staring down the barrel of a gun. While airlines in the rest of the world are see-ing rebounding growth and a healthier four percent av-erage profit margins, most African airlines have been unable to follow suit and re-main stuck on an average 0.8 percent (US$1.59 per pas-

senger) profit margin, with IATA forecasting a com-bined return of US$100-mil-lion across the continent this year. When one considers the size of the potential market, it is clear that this performance is hardly the basis for a sus-



News Digest

MasterCard launches new multi-currency card optionBY SARAH WHITESIDE

MASTERCARD’S first cash passport foreign currency card has been launched and is able to support 17 curren-cies at the same time. The cash alternative is billed as a safer and more reliable option for overseas travel. Cardholders also ben-efit from a fixed exchange rate, locked in at the time a card is purchased. Free re-placements are provided in up to 48 hours and cards are chip and PIN protected. The flexibility of the card was demonstrated by a 10 course ‘around the world’ tasting menu, representing

currencies such as the British pound, the Swiss Franc, the Mauritian Rupee, the Japa-nese Yen, the US Dollar, the Thai Baht and the Austral-ian Dollar, which can all be loaded on the card. Japie van Niekerk, Bidvest Bank Managing Director, encouraged agents to con-sider the new product. Sales are commissionable. He remarked that the rand was performing better than other emerging currencies but said it was difficult to see a sustained recovery and that prepaying for currency in ad-vance could mean substantial savings for South African holidaymakers.

Pictured at a launch event for Bidvest Bank’s new Mas-terCard Multi-Currency World Currency Card in Gauteng last month (l to r): Lauren Strachan, Bidvest Bank Mar-keting Manager; Rajeev Kumar, MasterCard Prepaid Management Services, General Manager; Hanlie van Wyk, Head of Sales and Relationships, MasterCard and Japie van Niekerk, Bidvest Bank Managing Director.

Mango to strengthenits agency businessBY SARAH CORNWELL

MANGO is seeking to devel-op new international routes and new partnerships with other international carriers. The strategy coincides with the proposed realignment of its domestic route network f rom over- t r aded t r u n k routes. The car r ier suspended f lights between Cape Town and Por t El i zabeth la s t month, in order to increase its Johannesburg – PE sched-ule. The airline has also been boosting operations at Lan-seria and Durban. Forward bookings on the Cape Town – PE route are being reaccommodated on SA Express. Mango said a future code-share agreement between the two carriers was on the cards. Chief Executive Officer, Nico Bezuidenhout, said last month that 2015 had been a “good year, despite tough conditions” with a 23 per-

cent growth in passenger vol-umes. Although the ai rl ine’s market share has also grown this year, he maintained fares on some of South Africa’s most competitive routes were unsustainable and demand on local routes remained flat. “Joburg to Cape Town is where most of the additional capacity has been added… I’ll play elsewhere,” he said. Mango is planning a big push to grow its agency-gen-erated business in the com-ing weeks, he said, which would be a “substantial focus of ours going forward”. The airline is consider-ing new long-haul interna-tional routes with approvals already in place for Mauri-tius and Kilimanjaro. How-ever, Mr. Bezuidenhout com-mented, any potential new routes would probably only be added in the latter part of next year and “we would first need to figure out how we would serve [the Kenya route]”.

UK aims to boost trade support in SAVISITBRITAIN is to carry out a series of marketing ini-tiatives in South Africa to build on the publicity and interest in the country gen-erated by the Rugby World Cup. It has appointed Lloyd Orr Communications to carry out the mandate for the next six months and Lucy Mus-sett has been named account manager. VisitBr it ain withd rew from South Africa in 2011 as part of its global cost-cutting drive. “South Africa became a ‘nurture market’, which meant it was looked after but there was not any prod-uct promotion,” commented Wendie White, Lloyd Orr’s Managing Director. “They believe they need to have a presence here… It is about

finding new travel compa-nies and tour operators to feature Britain on the web and in their brochures.” Destination and product training seminars are being planned for Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg ear-ly in the new year. Visitbritain.org has a num-ber of additional trip plan-ning resources and sales tools, with a dedicated trade portal at http://trade.visitbrit-ain.com. Travel agents can “shop Britain” online, Ms. White explained, with vari-ous passes, sightseeing op-tions and promotions avail-able through the trade portal. Visits to the UK in the f irst half of 2015 reached 16.8-million, the highest recorded over the first six months of any year.

Beachcomber commits to continued agency-exclusive sales strategyBY SARAH CORNWELL

BEACHCOMBER Tours rec-ognised its top-performing retail partners from South Africa last month, with an awards t r ip to Maurit ius marking another year of growth. The company has reported sales growth of 14 percent for the financial year that ended September 30, with forward bookings also positive. The top consortium for 2015 is Pentravel. Exotic Vacations was named top-performing retail agency for another consecutive year, fol-lowed by Beachtag; Travel Connections; Flight Specials – Just Mauritius; ResAfrica and Simply Travel; Flight-Site/Travel Latitude; Pentra-vel Cresta; Webtours Geta-ways; Pentravel Tygervalley and Pentravel Fourways. Joanne Visagie, National Sales & Marketing Manager, described the Mauritius mar-ket as highly competitive but expected a strong finish to the year. “Rates are higher due to the weaker rand but bookings are still strong. Possibly cli-ents are choosing Mauritius

before Europe, as they can budget accurately with all the inclusions...” Beachcomber’s “best-for-families” Le Victoria was the company’s top seller this year, although Ms. Visagie said South Africa’s new im-migration policy, specifically the new unabridged bir th certificate requirement for families travelling to and from South Africa with chil-dren, had negatively impact-ed bookings. “Even though our turno-ver has increased, we know we have lost bookings due to these negatives,” she said. Beachcomber has com-mitted to continue working exclusively through the trade and hosts regular education-als as a critical part of its sales strategy. Ms. Visagie estimated 500 consultants have stayed at a Beachcomber resort this year, either independently or by joining one its fully-hosted familiarisations. The company credits con-tinued growth in South Afri-ca on a high volume of repeat business, with most South Africans opting to return to the same hotel or another in

Beachcomber’s portfolio. The group has several new enhancement projects under-way in Mauritius to attract new business, including a new adults-only area at Di-narobin, opening this month, and the refurbishment of

Pictured above (front, l to r): Kaitlyn Ferguson, Pentravel Cresta; Joanne Visagie, Beachcomber Tours National Sales & Marketing Manager and Bernadette Berriman, Pentravel Fourways with (back row) Chad Le Helloco, Pentravel; Bianca Lewis-Williams, Pentravel Tygervalley; Terry Munro, Beachcomber Tours MD; Marelize van Zyl, Pentravel Tygervalley; Karen Azevedo, Pentravel Cresta; Kendra-Lee Coleridge, Pentravel Fourways and Sean Hough, Pentravel CEO.

parts of Paradis. “Clients... have made some really positive comments,” sa id Ms. Visag ie. “The adults-only area is an attrac-tion… whether you prefer an

adults-only experience that is more sophisticated and quiet-er or want a break – not only from your own kids – but all kids,” she said. Renovated features at Par-adis include the Mini Club, with new swimming pool,

a new boathouse with yoga platform, new decor in the reception area, completely renovated Brabant buffet and main bar and improvements to the spa and sports centre.


Bespoke conferences and events more prevalent in 2015BY SARAH WHITESIDE& SARAH CORNWELL

THE Meetings, Incentives, Con-ferences and Exhibitions sector is under pressure from exchange rates, so planners say all-inclu-sive rates and more personalised, tailored itineraries closer to home will secure more business in 2016. South Africa’s new immigra-tion regulations, specif ically the biometric visa application requirement for foreign visitors, has also left a dent. Despite gov-ernment’s decision last month to ease the process, stakehold-ers maintain there will still be some lasting impact. Grant Sandham, Group Sales and Marketing Manager, Pre-mier Hotels, said: “… Interna-t ional conference organisers will choose a destination that is delegate friendly.” However, the rand’s weakness had made South Africa a more appealing option. Jana King, General Manag-er, Songhai Events and Travel, Dreams’ sister company, com-mented: “Corporates have been very conscious of not appearing to spend. We have seen a decline in international travel over the last couple of years but slowly this seems to be changing. Afri-can countries have been a popular alternative.” “The weakened rand makes people less certain they want to travel internationally and exam-ine their budgets more closely,” said Joanne Visagie, National Sales & Marketing Manager, Beachcomber Tours. The com-pany had seen an increase in bookings for its Mauritius and Seychelles resorts this year, with all-inclusive rates increasing in popularity.

“The weaker rand has definitely impacted on MICE travel. How-ever, saying that, I believe Mauritius has gained business, as the groups that used to go to the US, Europe and other far-away destinations… are redirecting to the Indian Ocean islands,” added Michelle Hunter, World Leisure Holidays General Manager: Groups, Weddings and Incentives. Sugar Beach and Long Beach re-sort are two of World Leisure’s most popular MICE resorts in Mauritius at the moment, Ms. Hunter said.

New options are being contracted in the company’s two new Indian Ocean island destinations, Réunion and Seychelles. Most buyers and planners com-mented that the downsizing of events in recent years had continued in 2015. Tabitha Forrest of Pickled Ginger, a conference entertainment supplier, remarked: “While larger events have definitely been toned down, we have seen a trend towards smaller, more regular events, such as corporate roadshows.

“Clients are reaping rewards on both sides, saving costs and person-alising a smaller show for clients where they are, rather than spend-ing money on accommodation and transport for all the delegates.” “… The groups have got smaller for a shorter stay or stayed local and many of the corporates have gone to the Rugby World Cup,” said Enid Maullin, Group Sales Execu-tive, Beachcomber Tours. She ech-oed Ms. Visagie’s sentiment after a “Good year... due to f lexibility, all-inclusive, good resorts on great

sites… our hotels are extremely geared for the groups market.” “Our venue spaces offer flexible solutions and… our clients appre-ciate this f lexibility,” said Jeremy Clayton, General Manager of The President Hotel, Cape Town. The hotel has strengthened its MICE business with competitive packages and value-adds, Mr. Clay-ton added. He expected demand for personalised and bespoke services to continue in 2016, with demand for more “tech savvy, innovative


A backup power supply has been installed at the David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa and Victoria Falls Conference Centre (pic-tured below), as well as at the Victoria Falls Water-front, to ensure services continue undisrupted dur-ing power outages due to frequent load shedding.

New hotel development projects were confirmed at the 2015 Africa Hotel In-vestment Forum in Addis Ababa last month, includ-ing Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts’ debut in three Af-rican markets, with upscale hotels opening in Kenya, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire between 2016 and 2019.


and flexible venue solutions to accommodate greater net-working and bigger group sizes”. Premier Hotels has also concentrated on providing tailor-made options. “We need to understand what the client’s objectives are for hosting the event and what their desired outcomes are. This will mean that we be-come more solution-focused and that events are custom-ised,” Mr. Sandham said. Trafalgar recently appoint-ed Natalie Farnell as Groups Business Development Man-ager. The company has seen good demand for guided itineraries, which cater for groups of up to 50. Buyers can choose from special in-terest, educational groups, family reunion, sports, his-tory and cultural events. According to Ms. Farnell, the lead time for group book-ings is currently four to six months. There are savings for groups, which may be combined with Trafalgar and its sister brands’ regular ear-ly bird savings for new pro-grammes and Preview Tours. Past passenger discounts also apply. “… Costs have risen year on year. However, compa-nies out there want to know what value they are getting and they want to travel with a name they can trust,” said Theresa Szejwallo, Trafal-gar’s Managing Director.

continued from page 9 “I think the biggest buyers in 2016 are going to be politi-cal parties, trade unions and NGOs,” said Greg Waspe, General Manager, the Ko-panong Hotel & Conference Centre. “They have budget and, with elections looming, I think we will see a drop off in government spending, while corporate and para-statals are under severe cost cutting exercises.” Mr. Waspe commented: “I have not seen any major impact from the rand/dollar exchange rate yet but... inter-national convention business is usually booked around two years in advance." Fulfilling client expecta-tions is going to become even more important, specialists agree. “In this business, you have to think on your feet, be creative, innovate and act fast,” said Robyn van Staden, General Manager at cievents, a division of Flight Centre. The company had to find an out-of-the-box solution to a shortage of beds at a Mau-ritius hotel that had been booked for a recent incentive trip. The solution: cievents worked with the hotel and its wholesale furniture suppliers in Mauritius and bought in an additional 40 single beds, which were donated to the Mauritian SOS Children’s Village after the group had left. “It was the perfect solu-tion,” said Ms. Van Staden.

“… If the job demands you go furniture shopping, you go furniture shopping. It’s that simple. You do what you need to do… Of course it makes the entire situation even happier to know that we helped needy children through the donation of beds after the incentive trip. Eve-rybody won.” “... Budget is definitely a big thing. Everyone seems to be very nervous of what the f inancial future holds and are starting to get a little more thrifty when it comes to events - similar to the trend a few years back. I do feel that suppliers need to be more creative in their offerings, give the clients something that they can’t get anywhere else and be open to working within the client’s needs and expectations,” Ms. Forrest advised. Ms. King was also opti-mistic targeted marketing initiatives would grow busi-ness in 2016: “The prospects for the MICE industry are looking very bright. With the economy improving, there is once again a renewed demand for exhibitions, meetings and events. What is needed here is to recognise the changing way in which the world is conducting business. Assim-ilating these changes seam-lessly and responding to it with strategic initiatives will only make the MICE indus-try stronger than before,” she concluded.

Bespoke conferences and events...

The Swami Vivekenanda International Conference Cen-tre in Pailles.

BY SARAH CORNWELL& SARAH WHITESIDE

THE Mauritius Tourism Pro-motion Authority is lever-aging the island’s growing events calendar and activities line-up in order to develop more niche and MICE busi-ness from overseas source markets, including South Af-rica. The organisation shared recently it would be engaging with tour operators here on a new marketing strategy for 2016 after consistent growth for six years. According to Kevin Ram-kaloan, MTPA Director, and Arnaud Martin, the organisa-tion’s Chairman, speaking during a recent visit to Jo-hannesburg, arrival numbers have grown to around 90,000

per year. The organisation expects around 15 percent more visits in 2015 and be-tween 11 and 13 percent ad-ditional growth in 2015/6. South Africa is currently the island’s fifth-largest in-ternational source market, the officials said. Cha r ma i ne Appe na h , South African representa-tive for MTPA and Account Director at Edelman SA, said incentive travel had been “prioritised” for 2016. The island’s vast num-ber of conference facili-ties, mix of accommodation options and good ground and air transport networks were key selling points for groups, conference and meet-ings planners, Ms. Appenah agreed. “Most hotels offer packag-

es to facilitate the organisa-tion of conferences, seminars and other motivation trips. The island enjoys modern in-frastructure, well-developed logistics as well as state-of-the-art technology, not to mention the beautiful and relaxing environment, thus positioning itself as a favour-ite destination for this type of event. “The Swami Vivekenanda International Conference Centre in Pailles is also well-equipped to welcome inter-national conferences and even big concerts,” she said. The MTPA is also target-ing more MICE business from other SADC countries, with the MTPA directors pointing out good airline connections through South Africa to Namibia, Botswana

New promotions and activitieselevate brand Mauritius in SA

and Mozambique. Mr. Martin added that, although international busi-ness has rebounded, rate in-creases for this market were being kept down due to the fact of South Africa’s peak travel seasons often differ from Europe’s peak dates. The Mau r it ian Rupee has also devalued in recent months, at a similar rate to the rand, he said, “… result-ing in prices remaining fairly stable for South African cli-ents”. Rebates are being provided to attract more film-markers to the island, with new events being scheduled to attract a more even flow of business

throughout each year. One of the new highlights for 2015/6 is the inaugural festival of lights, Porlwi, in Port Louis from December 3 – 6. It is set to become an an-nual event and a “very good incentive option”, according to Ms. Appenah. Driven by the desire to

revitalise the cultural aura of Port Louis, the focus of the Porlwi festival is to give the capital a national and in-ternational reputation on the contemporary art scene. “It is a celebration of the intellectual and architectural history of Mauritius,” said Ms. Appenah.


Inspire more business with unique eventsBY RICHARD HOLMES

RU N-OF-THE-MILL in-centive itineraries are being shown the door but planners and suppliers say customers are increasingly focused on their return on investment when it comes to incentive and conference travel. “We work very closely with the client to get a very detailed brief, so that we can source and recommend the most suitable solution,” said Jana King, General Manager, Songhai Events and Travel, Dreams’ sister company, which specialises in MICE business. “Corporates are moving towards out of the box destinations and events with unique, tailor-made itin-eraries,” she said. “Companies are looking to get a return on invest-ment from their conferenc-ing spend,” remarked Grant Sandham, Group Sales & Marketing Manager, Premier Hotels & Resorts, which also operates the International Convention Centre in East London. “Breaking away from the more conventional failsafe options creates an opportunity to extract maxi-

mum value from each del-egate, as they are more likely to be engaged with what is happening in the conference rather than what is happening in the office. In order to re-main competitive, companies need to encourage creativ-ity as this is when new and

imaginative ideas become reality.” But it is crucial to un-derstand client objectives, said Mr. Sandham: “A well thought out, less predictable, conference in an unusual destination is where creativ-

ity begins.” “Southern Africa is al-ready seen as an exotic des-tination for some clients,” explained Yolanda Woeke-Jacobs, Director: Sales & Marketing, Dragonf ly Af-rica, which specialises in in-bound incentives. “Locations

outside South African bor-ders are seen as more exotic or unusual.” “Self-drive adventures in Namibia and Botswana are becoming increasingly viable for small incentive groups. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda

is also a unique MICE ex-perience for clients wanting a true African adventure,” added Ms. Woeke-Jacobs. Those could be a lit tle adrenalin-packed for some clients, but adding a dose of ‘wow’ can be as simple as choosing a new way of exploring tried-and-trusted options. Kariba Dam house-boats are an alternative to Victoria Falls, a fly-in safari gives game viewing an edge. For Swaziland, Stacey Barnett, Dreams Sales & Marketing Manager, recom-mended the Royal Swazi Spa hotel for its “comfortable accommodation options… ideal for family, executive, romantic and group getaway experiences”. Dreams also packages the Lugogo Sun hotel, which is also suitable for families couples, sports groups and conferences. “Attractions include wild-life encounters, adventure activities like rafting and mountain biking, and a col-ourful local culture. Swazi-land has fantastic communi-ty tourism projects that allow you to experience Swazi cus-toms and hospitality, while its small size makes for eas-ily accessible adventures into unspoiled bush landscapes. “In the Ezulwini Valley you wil l f ind breathtak-ing mountains and rolling plains. There is a unique list of things to do, from sce-nic drives around the coun-tryside, to exciting arts and crafts, as well as hiking, river rafting, and game drives. “Hlane Royal National Park is home to the Big Five; at Ngwenya Glass, which is regarded as Africa’s most

Air Mauritius Helicopter operates sightseeing, photo/filming and heli golf tours as well as transfers. The latest 2015/6 rates are now available online at airmauritius.com/helicopter.htm. Air Mauritius’ local office has also revealed it is working on corporate rates for the helicop-ter services, which will be commissionable.

prestigious glass factory, you can pick up signature works here at wholesale prices and have them shipped interna-tionally. You can also watch the glass blowing process f rom a viewing platform above the workshop. Swazi-land is also home to Sibebe Rock, the second-largest ex-posed granite dome in the world, which is estimated to be over three-billion years old,” she added. Cruising is popular with planners, as cruise operators take care of all the logistics. “There is a tendency to seek something out of the ordinary, or more unique, of interesting experiences and destinations,” said Gaynor Neil l , General Manager, Cruise Vacations. “Expedi-tion cruising offers a com-pletely different experience for planners looking for something with wow fac-tor… and is, of course, huge-ly motivational.” Popular expedition desti-nations include the Galapa-gos Islands and Antarctica, but the length and expense – particularly to the polar re-gions – can be prohibitive for many clients, in which case Star Clippers is an excellent alternative.

“This is a fantastic product for incentive travel,” said Ms. Neill. “Star Clippers voy-ages tend to be seven days, so normally more in keeping with incentive travel require-ments. Star Clippers also of-fers itineraries throughout the Mediterranean and Car-ibbean, and from late-2016 will return to southeast Asia for the first time since 2010. Due to the size of the clipper ships – between 179 and 220 passengers – they are also very popular and well-suited to full charter.” “Royal Caribbean, my big-gest seller, has adapted and evolved in such a way that the ship itself is an unusual ex-perience,” explained Dalene Oroni, Groups and Incen-tives Manager, Cruises Inter-national. “[Activities include] skydiving at sea, bumper-car riding… ice skating or even just watching the latest Broadway show.” “I would most definitely recommend our Asian cruis-es on our newest and latest Quantum Class ships… the vessel offers the wow factor,” said Ms. Oroni. “ We also offer cruises from Dubai, Windstar cruises in Tahiti or a luxury yacht in the Sey-chelles.”

Agent SpecialAir Mauritius is offering agents and companions fares from R900 ex-JNB and R1,200 ex-CPT and DUR (excluding taxes). Valid for travel until the end of November.

Avis Rent a Car has signed a new partnership agree-ment with Skywise, which will enable corporates to book car hire on the airline’s website.

The Riverside Sun (pictured below) on the Vaal River, 40 minutes outside Johannesburg, has been refurbished and there is a range of venues and conference packages available, from larger meetings rooms for up to 500 people, to two log cabins.


ing on the route for 20 years. Although South African Airways operates the same route, TAM will be the only Latin American airline oper-ating into Africa. “Currently, there is only South African Airways op-erating between here and Brazil but if we are serious about BRICS and developing this as a trade block, the one sure way of developing trade is making sure you are de-veloping connectivity,” com-mented Linden Birns, owner of Plane Talking. “If I was… making the big strategic decisions, I would want to develop this market before Angola does… before they steal it out from under our nose.” He was referring to grow-ing pressure on Johannes-burg’s hub status, as other cities in Africa become in-creasingly competitive. “Our best sellers in South America are Brazil and Ar-gentina,” added John Ridler, Thompsons Holidays. He said most demand was for FIT travel.

“Highlights for Brazil are Rio de Janeiro, Iguazu Falls, the Amazon and then Buzios for beach breaks. There is also a demand for the Rio Carnival each year. High-lights in Argentina are Bue-nos Aires, Iguazu, Calafate, Mendoza and Bariloche, as well as the famous Andes boat crossing into Chile over two days. “The cost of t ravel to South America has risen over the past few years but still represents good value and offers amazing scenery and

activities [but] the most dif-ficult hurdle at present is the lack of flights and choice of carriers into South America. Onward f lights within the continent are also very cost-ly.” Mr. Ridler said the new service would open up the route and possibly introduce onward f lights into South America at competitive rates. “This will certainly im-prove our ability to promote South America as a top and affordable destination,” he maintained.

continued from page 1

Visit the Copa Sul in Rio, the Falls Gali in Iguassu, Corco-vado, Sugarloaf (pictured) and the Brazil and Argentine Falls with Thompsons Holidays from R18,483 (land only) valid for travel November 3 – December 26, 2015.

New South America flights to boost...

Rand fails to deter travellers to the US Briefly.

Thompsons Holidays has seven nights at one of Disney’s All-Star Sports Resorts with

flights to Orlando, passes, transfers and some meals from R19,952 ex-JNB, excluding taxes or R26,777 with taxes.

BY SARAH WHITESIDE

AIRLINES and tour opera-tors have reported sales to the Americas have grown or been maintained, depending on destination, during 2015, despite the weakening of the rand against the US Dollar and the introduction of the unabridged birth certificate requirement affecting popu-lar family destinations such as Disney World. The South African market to the region is small and at-tracts less promotional sup-port but operators and sup-pliers promote the region by focusing predominantly on the wealthier traveller and the growing youth travel cat-egory. Margaret Copeland, Com-mercial Di rector South-ern Africa and Angola at Del-ta Air Lines said Florida was still the most popular des-tination for South African visitors visiting the US. “San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York also remain long-standing popu-lar destinations and we have also seen some recent growth in traffic to other southern states,” she added. Annemarie Lexow, Sales and Marketing Manager for Travel Vision, John Ridler, Media and PR Manager for Thompsons Holidays and Megan D’A rcy, P roduct Manager US, Europe and

Contiki’s top-selling US itinerary for 2015 in South Africa is its Best of USA tour, a 13-day easy paced option, visit-ing Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and New York. From 48,899 pps.

Cruising for kulula holidays ranked Walt Disney World in Orlando as the top-sell-ing destination, followed by Miami and Fort Lauderdale for Caribbean and Bahamas cruises.

Kulula holidays and Travel Vision report that the mar-ket was evenly split between adult FITs and family book-ings. Thompsons and Travel Vision said their sales were predominantly four-star.

“The US is a popular destina-tion for South African trav-ellers and despite the weak rand demand has grown.

Virgin Atlantic, kulula.comink new interline agreementV I R G I N A T L A N T I C has signed a new interline agreement with kulula.com. Flights will be issued on a single ticket but the agree-ment will also extend to bag-gage transfers, with a one-stop check-in. Brian Kitchin, Executive Manager, Sales and Distri-bution at kulula said the air-line was “excited about the potential opportunities… to expand our airline partner

network through the inclu-sion of Virgin Atlantic”. Pr ior to Virgin Atlan-tic’s inaugural Boeing 787 Dreamliner f light to Johan-nesburg last month, Coun-try Manager, South Africa, Liezl Gericke, said: “...This partnership with kulula will allow us to open up oth-er convenient connections from multiple destinations across the country to London Heathrow.”


Photo: Contiki

MORE than 230 vessels currently operate in the Caribbean, according to estimates by the Cruise Lines International Association. Thaybz Khan, Contemporary Brand Manager for Cruises International, answers

our questions about choosing the right ship, itinerary and departure for your customer…

Clearly this is a destination favoured by the wealthier segment,” said Mr. Ridler. While FIT city stays and self-drives are the most pop-ular products, Ms. D’Arcy noted a resurgence in the popularity of cruises. “Baha-mas cruises are short and of-fer a great add-on to Disney / Miami packages...” “There is no US tourism board based in South Africa, so there is not a lot of mar-keting material or support available to either the trade or passengers looking for brochures and advice,” said Ms. D’Arcy. “Kulula holi-days has good, long standing relationships with our trade partners and airlines and we look to them for support for marketing campaigns...” Ms. Lexow perceived the US tourism bureaus as help-ful but still came across ob-stacles when implementing new marketing initiatives. The US has been a core prod-uct for Travel Vision and the operator is planning to host an educational to the US in 2016, she said. “...f lights to the States are limited and operate on full capacity most of the time, which means that we are seldom offered dis-counted airfares to initiate trips to the region.”

Rand decline failsto deter travellers...

continued from page 14 T homp son s Hol id ays hosts frequent in-house agen-cy training on the Americas, and kulula holidays’ 2016 market ing budget had a strong focus on the US. A number of years ago a Discover America Commit-tee consisting of US embassy delegates and tour operators was put in place to boost awareness. Ms. Copeland recalled the committee was initiated by the then Senior Commercial Off icer from the US Embassy in Johannes-burg. “All companies with an interest in travel to the USA were invited including airlines and tour operators. It was successful at the time but the market changed and the people involved changed too,” she said. Although no plans to re-establish a similar commit-tee have been made, opera-tors said they would support one as any initiative to boost interest in the US would be beneficial. “We tend to think that the US sells itself, and to a cer-tain extent this is true due to the versatility of the offer-ings... However, if we want to look at increasing the US product, collectively as an industry, we need to ensure that the destination is top of mind.

ON THE

SPOT

Advice for cruising the Caribbean

What are some of the more popular Caribbean itinerar-ies and your top seller for 2015?

“Eastern/Western Caribbean are always the most popular itineraries for South African travellers.”

What is the best time of year, weather-wise, to cruise in the Caribbean?

“The Caribbean is a great destination to visit all year round. June, July, August is their summer.”

What happens if an itinerary is disrupted by severe weather conditions?

“The ship will arrange to spend an extra day at the port that it is currently docked in. If this is not possible, there will be an extra day at sea. If the disruption is known ahead of time, the ports affected by bad weather are replaced with some-thing else from the region.”

What can we expect in terms of pricing in the Caribbean for 2016?

“Pricing will be fairly the same; we do not foresee a huge increase for the Caribbean cruises, if there are any. In fact, pricing at the moment is excellent.”

And for the newer product being introduced in the re-gion? How competitive are those fares?

“As with all new products, the pricing will be a little higher. However, these fares are still extremely competitive for the new ship. A seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise onboard the new Harmony of the Seas, for December 10, 2016, cruise-only fare is from $929 per person sharing.”

What advice can you offer to help agents match their customer with the right ship or product?

“Ask if they are travelling with a family. This is always a factor that dictates which product or cruise line will be suitable. If it is a couple or people not bound to peak season holidays, then off-peak cruising is always a nicer option for them, pro-vided it is suitable with their travel dates and times. “Budget: explain the booking and payment process of a cruise holiday. Clients are often under the misconception that a cruise holiday will cost them a lot of money upfront. “It is always advisable to narrow a choice down to three brands of cruise line [and] is extremely important for agents to spend time explaining what the differences are. It is the onboard cruise experience that makes all the difference, choose the cruise line that matches.”

What is your top budgeting tip?

“Give your clients a cruise holiday! In these tough economic times, it is still one way of travel that allows you to get more bang for your buck. The value, inclusions and convenience of a cruise holiday is unparalleled…”

And planning shore excursions in the Caribbean islands?

“Caribbean shore excursions can be booked with the cruise line ahead of time.”G Adventures has partnered with National Geographic

on a new National Geographic Journeys collection, featuring 70 ‘experiences’, which will be published De-cember 15, 2015. Departures begin January 5, 2016. Itin-eraries include a 14-day Costa Rica tour from US$2,099 pp. A portion of the proceeds will go towards the Na-tional Geographic Society’s non-profit work.


Demand for New Orleans is risingBY RICHARD HOLMES

NEW Orleans is the birth-place of jazz and the home of the annual Mardi Gras but, in August 2005, the city also became famous for Hurri-cane Katrina. The storm devastated low-lying New Orleans, flooding 80 percent of the city and causing US$100-billion in damage. In the years that followed, the f loodwaters washed away a large chunk of the city’s lucrative tourism industry. In 2004, the city had more than 10-million visitors; in 2006, the year after Katrina, that dropped to just 3.7-million. 10 years on, New Orleans is back. In 2014, visitor num-bers had almost tripled to 9.5-million. Today the bars of the French Quarter are abuzz with tourists, live music ech-oes out of the clubs on Bour-bon Street, and locals and

tourists agree that the good times are rolling again. “New Orleans has a rich history and is a melting pot of different influences rang-ing from French and Span-ish to several cultures from Africa and the Caribbean,” said Megan D’Arcy, Product Manager, kulula holidays,

which has a range of escorted and self-drive packages to New Orleans. “This has cre-ated a unique cultural and architectural heritage, with tourist attractions ranging from the European architec-ture in the French Quarter to shops selling traditional voodoo merchandise.” “New Orleans is for the more cultural traveller, and music lover,” added Anne-marie Lexow, Sales and Mar-keting Manager, Travel Vi-sion. She said the city was rarely booked as a stand-alone dest inat ion, rather combined with New York, Las Vegas or Nashville. Alongside the atmospher-ic Vieux Carré, the French Quar ter, other highlights include histor ic Jackson Square, the Old Warehouse District, Old Marigny and Bywater. Fortunately, most of these were relatively un-scathed by the hurricane.

“New Orleans tends to be on most travellers’ wishlist, and popular with those also travelling to Las Vegas and the west coast,” said John Ridler, spokesperson for Thompsons Holidays. “The French Quarter has chnged little over the years and has a superb Southern charm with

Photo: NewOrleansOnline.com

Bourbon Street

Photo: NewOrleansOnline.com

Mardis Gras

a French twist.” While there is no shortage of history to discover, it is the food, wine and jazz that draw most tourists. “New Orleans is famous for its musical heritage and offers many clubbing and bar areas like Bourbon Street. There are live music venues throughout the city, present-ing a wide array of blues and jazz... ,” added Ms. D’Arcy. “[It] also offers a wonderful mix of culinary experiences and food is a huge attrac-tion... [with a] mix of Creole and French cooking.” “Mississippi Mud Pie, the vibe of New Orleans, the ex-cellent Creole cuisine and the jazz are just some of the temptations... ,” said Theresa Szejwallo, Managing Direc-tor, Trafalgar, which has a 10-day At Leisure guided holiday, Tastes and Sounds of the South. “New Orleans is a highlight on this itinerary and our guests get to spend three nights here.” The city “is a popular destination for guests trav-elling to the southern parts [of the US] in search of the famous Southern hospital-ity, the food and the music,” added Pieter Beyers, General Manager, Insight Vacations, which features two itinerar-ies. “On the Sumptuous Soul of America tour our guests visit one of the most famous bars in New Orleans for a mixology class where they learn how to mix up the city’s most famous cocktail – the Sazerac… [and] an interac-tive cooking class where they get to discover the f lair of Creole cuisine. Dinner with a lively jazz trio at Arnauds, one of the Big Easy’s prized restaurants, is also on the cards.” The Mardi Gras festival is an annual highlight, but don’t automatically add it to your client’s itinerary. “Passengers should keep in mind that, over the Mardi

Gras period, hotel rates in-crease and some hotels may have minimum stay require-ments,” warned Ms. D’Arcy. “We suggest clients trav-el outside of this period,” agreed Mr. Ridler. “The ac-commodation is sold out well before the event. The streets and facilities are very crowd-ed.” However, for clients set on attending the ‘Fat Tuesday’ celebrations, a guided holi-day is a good idea. “We have two February departures on our Tastes and Sounds of the South trip that include tickets to the Mardi Gras parade,” said Ms. Sze-jwallo. “… [and] in April... the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on one of our departures.” While the city has plenty

of attractions, there is a mix of add-ons and excursions to recommend. Excursions could take in the swamps and bayous of the Missis-sippi River, a paddle steamer cruise on the Natchez or a visit to an elegant plantation house. “Popular escorted tours in the area include The South-ern Belle, an eight-night tour

which starts in Atlanta and takes in elegant Charleston and Savannah en-route to New Orleans,” suggested Mr. Ridler. “Or the six-night Roman-tic Trails of the South which moves from New Orleans to Atlanta via Natchez, Jackson and Memphis to visit Grace-land, Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta.”

US specialists offer interesting itineraries showcasing more of the city’s historic features

Sell theseInsight Vacations’ nine-day Southern Grace overnights in hotels such as the historic Monmouth Plantation and Roosevelt New Orleans. From R41,940 pp twin-share. 10 percent early payment savings will apply until November 27.

Kulula holidays’ Flavour of New Orleans option includes three nights at the Holiday Inn Superdome, a city tour, three-hour cooking class at New Orleans School of Cook-ing and dinner jazz cruise. Valid until March 31, 2016. From R6,385 pps.

Trafalgar's 10-day Tastes and Sounds of the South includes full breakfast daily and five dinners with a Be My Guest experience in Natchez. From R35,500 pps. Depar-tures from February through November 2016. Extend with a seven-day Mississippi River cruise from New Orleans to Memphis.

Travel Vision's New Orleans Mardi Gras 2016, includes three nights at the Wyndham New Orleans in the French Quarter; private return airport transfers and a Cemetery & Voodoo walking tour, from R6,029 pps. Valid February 9 – 12, 2016.

Fly Delta features Apple PayDELTA Air Lines’ latest up-date to its Fly Delta app in-troduced functionality for iPhone users to book and pay

for f lights using Apple Pay, as part of its strategy to ex-pand and invest in mobile technology.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s new ship, the Norwegian Escape, launches this month and will operate weekly, seven-day Eastern Caribbean itineraries out of Miami from No-vember 14. It is the first ship in the line’s new Breakaway Plus Class and will feature the largest ropes course at sea, an expanded Kids Aqua Park, studios for solo travellers and the ‘ship-within-a-ship’ Haven by Norwegian complex.

The Norwegian Epic returns to Florida this month and operate a series of Eastern and Western Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries, from three, four, six and seven days.

The Norwegian Sun has 10-day itineraries departing Buenos Aires and Rio in December 2016, Februar y and March 2017. Departures also from Buenos Aires.


Opportunities in Africa but hurdles too...continued from page 7

tainable industry. “What is missing is an alignment of government’ policies and strategies to let airlines safely, efficiently and affordably carry more people and goods on more routes linking more towns and cit-ies, more frequently, across the continent.” AASA said the divided ap-proach to policymaking had meant unintended, harmful consequences for the region’s airlines. South Africa’s visa and immigrat ion regula-tions had been a prime ex-ample, with Home Affairs’ requirements hampering the country’s competitiveness, despite the weaker exchange rate.

“For too long, Africa’s aviation potential has been overlooked… Two decades ago, Africa’s market had the same potential as China’s,” added Hussein Dabbas, In-ternational Air Transport Association Regional Vice President, Middle East and Africa. “Africa still has that potential and it must be de-veloped correctly.” “What African govern-ments do not understand is that, if you tax too much, you get your money but it is at the expense of jobs, invest-

ment and more airlines,” said Raphael Kuuchi, IATA Vice President, Africa. “What Af-rica needs is air services, air connectivity, not [national] airlines,” he added. The strength of overseas markets had also restricted effor ts to promote South Africa abroad, with South African Tourism Chief Ex-ecut ive Off icer, Thulani Nzima, telling delegates that the organisation’s marketing budget had been seriously constrained by the devaluing rand.

Associat ion of South-ern African Travel Agents’ Chief Executive Off icer, Otto de Vries, appealed for a strengthening of the airlines’ relationships with interme-diaries, specifically travel agents and the wholesale sec-tor, which had increasingly become “agents of the cus-tomer”. SA Express Chief Execu-tive Officer, Inati Ntshanga, was elected Chairperson. Co-mair Chief Executive Offic-er, Erik Venter, was named Deputy Chairperson.

AASA Chief Executive Of-ficer, Chris Zweigenthal (pic-tured right) called for action from governments, in order to create opportunities for tourism and advance air-lines in the region.

Pictured right: Rodger Fos-ter (right), CEO of Airlink, illustrated the role South African Airways plays in marketing brand South Africa abroad. He main-tained business from inter-national markets, includ-ing in Europe and the US, where Airlink had had no direct marketing presence showed: “… a bum on the seat of an SAA aircraft is a bum on the seat for Airlink too… The job they are doing, nobody is gong to do that”. In a panel debate on Africa’s potential for tourism growth and what the sector could do differently, Comair CEO, Erik Venter (left) said: “You don’t have to spend dollars to market yourself [online].”

News Digest

New developments to position Abu Dhabi as the cultural hub of the UAE BY SARAH CORNWELL

ABU DHABI is competing for a larger share of GCC traff ic and more interna-tional arrivals from South Africa, as it moves into the next phase of its tourism de-velopment strategy, with new builds and openings creat-ing additional unique selling points. The Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority has raised the destination’s profile in South Africa significantly, with local representation ap-pointed last year. Long-haul ar r ivals are growing and suppliers are reporting higher occupancy levels in the capital city’s mostly upscale hotels this year. There are regular incen-tives to entice stop-over busi-ness and TCA Abu Dhabi is working with MICE planners and buyers, as well as golf specialists, to develop niche markets from this region. More than 2.25-million passengers passed through the Abu Dhabi International Airport in August, the facil-ity’s busiest month on record. Locally, Air Seychelles has said it is targeting more stop-over business to and from South Africa, while Thomp-sons Holidays’ spokesper-son, John Ridler, revealed the operator was promoting combination itineraries that featured Abu Dhabi and a stay on one of Seychelles’ islands, as well as trying to encourage longer stays. There has been plenty of product development in re-cent years, with a number of attractions and activities

found nowhere else in the world. But Abu Dhabi is still, in many respects, a city un-der construction. Yas Island, with its Grand Prix circuit, Ferrari World theme-park, Yas Waterworld, sports and shopping centres, has its own unique calling cards. Saadiyat Island is the city’s new cultural centre. Plans for Saadiyat Island include the Louvre Abu Dha-

bi, expected to open this year, the Zayed National Museum, opening next year and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in 2017. The island will also house a performing arts cen-tre and a maritime museum. The nearby Manarat Al Saadiyat ar ts and culture centre, which has been open for around five years, houses smaller international exhibi-tions, as well as an impres-sive interactive display and

architectural models of the new museum developments. There is luxury resor t-style accommodation and kilometres-long, white-sand beaches in front of the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas on Saadiyat. More than 180 hawksbill turtles, on the red list, hatch there each year. The Park Hyatt on Saadi-yat has superb accommoda-

tion, with spacious rooms and enough capacity to ac-commodate larger groups. There are more than 200 natural islands in Abu Dhabi and road transfers connect-ing the larger developed Yas and Saadiyat islands with the city’s main centre takes only minutes. The layout makes it easy for day-trippers and short-stay or cruise passen-gers to explore. A new cruise terminal in

the Zayed Port is under con-struction, due to open by the end of this year. It will have a capacity of 2,500 passen-gers and accommodate three ships at a time. Abu Dhabi Airports is de-veloping another new facil-ity, the Midfield Terminal Building, to handle the in-crease in passenger traffic. It will make commuting to the main part of town even

easier. The Midf ield Terminal Building will be 70 percent complete by the end of 2015 and overall airport capac-ity in Abu Dhabi will rise to 45-million passengers a year when it is completed in 2017. Operators in South Africa already package Abu Dhabi’s big-name annual events and annual calendar highlights include the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, the Abu

Dhabi Deser t Chal lenge cross-country car rally and the Formula 1 Etihad Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which takes place at the Yas Marina Circuit. Cultural highlights in-clude the Sheik h Zayed Grand Mosque, rated one of the most important architec-tural sites in the UAE and Abu Dhabi’s most-visited tourist site. There are 20 state-of-the-art attractions at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, while the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, which opened in 2007, has a fascinating public pro-gramme, which could easily be paired with an afternoon at sea. Another activity to recommend is the Belevari Marine catamaran cruise

programme. Depending on the tides, the vessel will an-chor at or just off a private island. After dark, there is a vi-brant culinary scene that has taken off. The plush Emirates Palace features gold-dusted cappuc-cinos and Jumeirah at Etihad Towers provides a view of the corniche and marinas from the observation deck on the 74th floor. The Jumeirah has some of the best restaurants in town. The Southern Sun Abu Dhabi, which opened in 2014, is a four-star hotel, rare for this city, and has its own

noteworthy selection of res-taurants. The foundry steakhouse is a popular choice, and dinner at Kahraman, which serves Middle Eastern cuisine with a twist, is an experience not to be missed. Southern Sun Abu Dhabi was one of the hotel brands that joined TCA Abu Dha-bi and ground handlers for South Africa’s first product roadshow earlier this year. General Manager Pierre Delfau said the leisure mar-ket was stronger than the ho-tel’s corporate business from South Africa but that busi-ness was growing. With the planned new museum open-ings and attractions and the destination’s good quality product, Mr. Delfau said the

trend would continue. “Two major museums in one city doesn’t exist,” he commented. “That is the sort of tourism we are trying to attract here. “You have got some su-perb five-star [hotels] in Abu Dhabi; some superb prop-er t ies. As Southern Sun, we wanted to bring a good quality brand to the market. There is nothing quite like it in the city yet… We hope the new guys coming in will keep raising the bar. “We are trying to create a destination first and then [we will] focus on the brand,” said Mr. Delfau.

Pictured at the Manarat Al Saadiyat arts and culture centre (l to r): Natalia Rosa, TCA Abu Dhabi; Alisher Ahmedov, Visitor Engagement Specialist at Tourism & Culture Authority of Abu Dhabi; John Ridler, Thompsons Holidays and Cleona Becker, Director of Operations at Megatrav / MegaMice.

Pictured above: the Qasr Al Sarab Resort & Spa by Anantara in Abu Dhabi’s Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter). The resort has contemporary Arabian-style rooms, desert dawn dune walking and camel trekking activities. Visit qasralsarab.anantara.com. The Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority is seeking to grow South Africa’s MICE business, with educa-tionals for wholesalers, MICE buyers and planners, as well as local golf specialists.

Photo: TCA Abu Dhabi

Personally Speakingby John Wardall

Transparency enhances reputation of any business

T he latest move by ASATA to put a stop to hanky-panky, which misleads customers and lacks transparency by

overcharging for taxes and air fares, is an attempt to enforce ethical transparency, and it is a good one. Nothing is more damaging to an indus-try than when word gets out that there is surreptitious over-charging and devious means of gouging customers. There are already too many examples in other industries, exacerbated in South Af-rica, where it is so common for services and products to be controlled by monopolies or near-monopolies and a pathetically weak consumer movement. Transparency in retail travel can only en-hance the role and reputation of the travel agent – in fact, retailers and suppliers in any business.

A recent survey for Travelzoo in the UK shows that holidaymakers are avoiding pre-viously preferred destinations, which they now perceive to have risks to their safety. They are switching to safer destinations they would not have ordinarily chosen to visit. Three quarters of the 2,000 respond-ents said they would no longer visit Islamic countries. This was attributed in large part to the shooting of British tourists in Tunisia. The Greek islands have also taken a hit, due to the influx of migrants claiming to be refugees. It is pretty obvious that adverse publicity and the extent of it is the major influenc-ing factor in establishing a destination’s reputation. I have seen it before when there has been just one serious violent criminal incident. So the impact of crime can, apart from anything else, have major economic consequences. I can even recall when there was a common aversion to visiting New York because of its reputation as a violent city. When Rudi Giuliani became Mayor and took a zero tolerance approach, doing an amazingly effective job of cleaning up the city, it was transformed and tour-ism boomed. Now I have no hesitation in travelling on public transport or walking on the streets late at night. Unfortunately, the current mayor is pandering to the PC liberal luvvies and things are starting to deterio-rate. People never learn.

America is where most business innovation starts, so I have been watching how the changing airline scene has been affect-ing travellers and new solutions, which are developing. One, which is addressing the frustra-tions many frequent flyers experience is an operation called Surf Air in California. It has introduced an air travel model, which I think would appeal to regular business flyers on heavy commuter routes in South Africa and lightly-travelled routes where there is cur-rently no direct or non-stop service. The carrier operates a schedule to about a dozen destinations in California, including airports close to San Francisco and Los An-geles, with seven-seat Pilatus PC-12 aircraft. They are small airports, with no queues and passengers only have to arrive 15 minutes prior to flight time. They are met by a con-cierge and, within minutes, are escorted to the aircraft. There is a free checked baggage allow-ance of 30 lbs, complimentary parking and wifi and no change fees. Passengers take out a membership with the airline, which costs from US$1,750 per month depending on route, and that pro-vides them with an unlimited number of flights a month. There are no other charges for anything. For a regular commuter, that sounds pretty good to me. Skywise introduced its own version of “unlimited flying” on its Johannesburg-Cape Town route for R7,999 a month, although the total product is totally different from Surf Air’s private flight concept. Skywise claims it has been effective here and is continuing to offer the option. I am always a bit wary of the viability of new concepts until they have a proven track record but Surf Air has been operating since 2013 and was rated 27 on Forbes list of America’s 100 most promising com-panies for 2015. Companies break their necks to get on that list, so it is a convincing recommendation. I must confess that I have not, so far, looked in any depth at the practicalities or economics of such a product here, but the concept is certainly appealing.

Another US attraction, in Las Vegas, caught my eye last month, when I received a note from SpeedVegas, which is due to open in March next year. It caught my attention after an adrena-lin-inducing experience blasting through the Mojave Desert in a Lamborghini during my last visit to the neon city.

SpeedVegas is a new, 100-acre speed complex and supercar experience, with a 2.4 km track just 10 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip. Cost is US$49 – 89 per lap, depending on the car chosen, including Shelby Mus-tang GT500s, Audi R8s, Corvettes, Ferrari 458 Italias and Lamborghini Aventadors. The US$30-million complex has meet-ing facilities and a variety of dining options and looks like a great idea for incentive and meeting groups, as well as individuals looking for something different from the casinos and shows in the non-stop city. It is certainly something I would recom-mend to clients visiting Las Vegas – as long as they don’t have a heart condition!

We are all watching developments in the Lufthansa booking fee saga and wondering how it is going to conclude. Despite arguments in favour of cost savings, I instinctively have doubts about schemes which put hurdles in the way of sales from any channel and in any business. They rarely produce the desired benefits in any industry, although a lot smarter people that me have evaluated the potential fall-out in this case. I may be wrong – I usually am – but, if I was running any other airline, I would not rush to emulate Lufthansa’s initiative and would bide my time while the scenario plays out. Over many years observing the travel industry, I have seen many attempts but have yet to see a supplier benefit from ig-noring input and the interests of the travel trade. There is a common misperception that technology is the magic solution to every-thing. It isn’t; people are.

It was good to see VisitBritain appoint Lloyd Orr last month to capitalise on the benefits of the Rugby World Cup. So many tourist boards have reduced their overseas offices over the past 20 years and I think it is a big mistake. They historically had a hugely beneficial impact on the growth of tourism, which has never been fully replaced by the role suppliers play on their own. The World Cup has been an enormous success, producing some of the most entertaining rugby I have ever seen, despite England’s early departure, so keeping up the exposure and interest in Britain is bound to pay dividends.

To the growing list of countries plagued by terrorism, we can now add Turkey. The country has ISIS on its doorstep in Syria and the continuing conflict with Kurdish resistance groups. Last month’s incidents certainly won’t help tourism and it is becoming clear that international tourists are becoming increas-ingly shy of visiting countries they regard as posing a safety risk. Palestinian terrorism in Israel is an even more exaggerated threat, which generates disturbingly widespread and ignorant sup-port in South Africa. It is a sad reflection when I can recall immeasurably pleasurable and rewarding travels in many parts of the Middle East, which are now virtually no-go areas for tourists. The situation benefits no-one and pre-cludes a prosperous and harmonious life for everybody who lives there for this and probably generations to come.

I was thinking a visit to North Korea might be an interesting, if horrifying, experience.


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Pictured at The Holiday Factory’s offices in Rivonia last month (l to r): Prod-uct Manager Jacqui Carr with Liz Berry of destina-tion management com-pany, Destination Asia; Flora Fubbs, The Holiday Factory’s Senior Manager: Contracting, Marketing & Operations and Lesley Simpson, representing the Tourism Authority of Thai-land. The Holiday Factory, Destination Asia and the TAT have partnered to promote the “hidden gems of Thailand”. Ms. Simpson maintained there was “so much more” than standard beach packages, with numerous lesser-known cultural and wildlife experiences available.

News Digest

In the next issue ofTravel Industry Review...

However, after listening to the anti-im-perialist, anti-Western, media-controlling, wealth-taxing, International Criminal Court-ignoring, visa-imposing, tottering economy-ignoring rhetoric coming out of the ANC’s national general council meeting last month (catering included), it seems all I will have to do is wait a few short years to get the same experience here.

The government’s stubborn refusal to eat a bit of humble pie and scrap the immigra-tion regulations, despite mountainous evi-dence of serious damage to the economy and employment, has entered the realm of reality after international airlines warning of reduced South African schedules. I guess, when you fly around in private jets at taxpayer expense, you don’t care.

The growing determination in the ANC to push through the establishment of a media tribunal to counteract its obses-sion with the “negative narrative” on the organisation, supported by the army of the professionally and perennially offended, is very worrying. It would seriously restrict the freedom to express opinions and even satirical and ironic humour. The sentiment is also growing in other, supposedly more enlightened societies. This month, Britain’s secretive and unac-countable Privy Council which, unknown to most people, has the authority to overrule parliament and the courts, will introduce a Royal Charter to regulate the Press. Goodbye exposés on nefarious politi-cians and their cronies. Nobody expressed the issue better than George Orwell when he wrote: “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they don’t want to know.”

continued from page 19

Transparency enhances reputation...

SAA’s latest financial results were held up last month while another bailout was in process. No doubt part of it was to cover the R9.4-million the airline has spent on pur-chasing copies of the Gupta’s New Age for distribution on its flights. Clearly suitable reading for passengers, who would not be subjected to the “negative narrative” found in more subversive publications, albeit more credible.

After Skywise was suspended for a day last month by ACSA, due to outstanding pay-ments, I listened to a most extraordinary and confrontational interview on Cape Talk with the airline’s Co-Chairperson, Tabas-sum Nadir, in which she rattled on about strawberries and other assorted fruit. I have absolutely no idea what she was talking about but it was a classic of how not to participate in a media interview. It certainly didn’t inspire much confidence.

Entries close at the end of this month for a chance to win the two tickets to anywhere in the Continental United States that Delta Air Lines flies, so get those answers in via TIR’s website. It is an opportunity to see some of the most fabulous sights and experiences in travel. The answers to the final two questions can be found in this issue of TIR and, if you missed the previous answers, go to the ar-chive on TIR’s website www.tir.co.za, where they appear in the September and October issues and where you can enter the compe-tition.

... insider’s plan the ultimate itinerary in our Luxury Travel feature, while we check-in with SA’s most successful entrepreneurs in travel, in the annual Selling from Home report.

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PSThe Hilton Northolme resort on the northwest coast of Mahé in the Seychelles has added 15 new Grand Ocean View Pool Vil-las, which open November 15. There is also a two-bedroom Presidential Villa with infin-ity pool. The resort is geared for

couples and honeymooners, catering for children older than 13. The Holiday Fac-tory has pay five, stay seven night packages, including flights, airport taxes, transfers, breakfast, welcome massage and romantic turndown, from R41,700 pps. Valid November 15 – December 24.

kulula.com has added Stretch Zone seating (pictured) to its ancillary line-up, providing three to four inches extra legroom, available for pre-purchase. The seats are located in front of and behind the over-wing emer-gency exit rows. Surcharge is from R100.

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