Trade Newsletter Q1/SO Contact Us

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1 Trade Newsletter Q1/SO Contact Us

2 In This Issue Wessa & Tourism Blue Flag Launch SAT Speed Marketing A resounding success Marketing Magic Where you can find us... In Dashing Good Speed Dates to Diarise A destination in itself? Wessa & Blue Flag Launch Tourism Blue Flag Initiative The awardees of the prestigious Blue Flag beach management programme will be officially announced at a ceremony to be held at Marina Beach on 7 th October The important occasion organised by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) and Ray Nkonyeni municipality, will be attended by the Minister of Tourism Mr Derek Hanekom, and other industry players in the tourism sector. In another first to take this programme to another level, this year s event will coincide with the launch of the Tourism Blue Flag Project. The project will see youth placed in fifty Blue Flag beaches across the country. The young people will be trained in various aspects of tourism management including monitoring of Blue Flag criteria, recycling, eco-friendly waste management practices and tourism awareness. Special Thanks to our Patrons

3 South AfricaN Tourism Speed marketing A Resounding Success With a huge thanks to South African Tourism & SATSA for making it happen, the South Coast saw 23 Tour Operators and Travel Agents being treated to three days of thrills and spills on the South Coast. The guests who came from all parts of South Africa travelled throughout Scottburgh through to Port Edward & the hinterland and met with over 40 local Tourism members at 4 separate Speed Marketing Events. With huge thanks to the hosts Selbourne Estate, Umthunzi Hotel, The Outlook Trading Post, The Estuary and Leopard Rock and to Louis Boshoff and Lake Eland. A message from SATSA COO Ms Jenny Mewett ``On behalf of SATSA, a huge Thank You to each and every one of you who were part of the interesting Speed Marketing on the KZN South Coast last week! It was wonderful being with you all and I am very confident that more business will be flowing your way in the coming months and years. Let this be just the brand new start of our relationship with South Coast Tourism!

4 Marketing Magic Budgets were tighter than ever this year, and the marketing team really had to work extremely hard on their industry contacts to help promote the Sardine Season. Success is evident in the Newsclip reports showing over R worth of exposure in 3 months alone. This included the highly successful Silence of the Sharks campaign. Also extending sincere thanks to Olivia Jones Communications and African Dive Adventures and all other partners who made it such as success (Note - if it wasn t for African Dive Adventures inviting us to Germany, we would never have been involved with Silence of the Sharks!) Where you can find us... Our next expos Come visit us & lets collaborate Gauteng Getaway 23 rd 25 th September, TicketPro Dome, JHB Sports and Events Tourism Exchange 25 th 27 th October, Protea Hotel Fire&Ice, Menlyn, Pretoria 3 awesome industry events celebrating tourism month With thanks to TKZN, a fantastic live broadcast took place with Metro FM (the 2 nd largest radio station in South Africa) with additional print media journalists in attendance, at Wild 5 Adventures in Oribi Gorge last week- for the Mahhala Friday initiative. In addition, plans are being finalised for the Tourism Month Celebration function to be held next week, and hosted by the MEC himself. It has also been confirmed that the partnership with Eastern Cape Tourism and the Wild Coast Sun will see the launch of a shared Visitor Information Centre being opened on the 28 th September.

5 In Dashing good speed CemAir ups their fleet and flights and USCT new vehicles are there to greet them! Flying high - From 2 flights a week to 10 flights a week, CemAir, the privately owned airline has now also increased the size of their carrying capacity. At a recent event held at the Margate Airport, a new Dash-8 Q300 was added to the fleet. Already people have taken to the skies between OR Tambo and Margate and the new 50 seater plane is sure to see those numbers double in the near future. Ugu South Coast Tourism flank Margate Airport staff along with Mr Miles van der Molen, CemAir CEO, and Pilot of the day. Visitors were treated to their first time flight and are joined by Ray Nkonyeni Municipality Mayor Nomusa Mqwebu and CemAir CEO Miles van der Molen. In attendance at the function, to greet the new plane, were dignitaries and members of the community. Free flights were also offered to locals who had never experienced the luxury of air travel. Ambassadors were also present at the event in the form of Ugu South Coast Tourism s (USCT) new vehicles, proudly branded Ít s Paradise, and were standing by on the runway to welcome the Dash-8. Now in its 3 rd year, USCT has had the privilege of a partnership patronage deal with CemAir and is taking this one step further which will see Paradise being taken to the skies. A joint branding exercise will see the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast name being proudly flown to key points around South Africa and other parts of Africa, including tourism destinations such as Plettenberg Bay, another of CemAir s routes.

6 Dates to Diarise Ramsgate Literary Festival 24 th September 2016 Matat2Pont 21 st 24 th September 2016 Hibiscus Arts Festival 1 st October2016 Wild Coast MTB Challenge & Trail Run 29 th and 30 th October 2016 For a full calendar of events please visit

7 Is KZN a Destination in Itself? Article by Tessa Reed on Tourism Update There s plenty to see and to in KwaZulu-Natal, but can it be pitched as a standalone destination to overseas visitors? Some members of the trade make a compelling argument for standalone packages, while others suggest creating wider circuits. While the province remains a difficult sell in the international market, some tour operators make a compelling argument for positioning KwaZulu-Natal as a standalone destination. Both Craig Drysdale, GM: Global Sales of Thompsons Africa, and Rung Button, Sales and Operations Director at Inspirations Travel and Tours, say KZN can be packaged as a standalone destination, arguing that, with its diverse offerings, there is plenty to entice overseas visitors. KZN has enough attractions to give clients a very varied and complete South African experience, says Button. We don t have Winelands, but apart from that, we tick all the boxes that other provinces are offering. Other operators are reluctant to package the province on its own, not because its offering is lacking, but because people travel far and want to see as much as possible. Tourism KZN CEO, Ndabo Khoza, agrees that there s more than enough to keep visitors busy. In the province, visitors can spend more than seven days without visiting other cities outside KZN, he says. Fairmont Zimbali Resort, Marketing & Communications Manager, Joanne Crow says there is something to suit all tastes and budgets. As a province we have a lot to offer within one area and visitors to the province are able to experience different things without travelling too far. Penny Rice, Marketing Manager at Isibindi Africa Lodges, also emphasises the province s adventure offering. She describes KwaZulu Natal as an adventure destination par excellence. Activities include zip lining at Oribi Gorge on the South Coast, canopy tours in the Karkloof, hiking and mountain climbing in the Drakensberg, surfing, shark cage diving, snorkelling and excellent mountain biking. Speaking to operators, two compelling selling points stand out: year-round great weather and the combination of bush and beach. Scenically it s very varied, weather-wise it is a year-long destination and it has an intriguing mix of rural charm and first-world elements, says Smith. Rice says the weather is the province s biggest asset. We have summer 365 days of the year. Crow agrees: The mild weather is a definite selling point as are the extremely friendly and tourist-orientated people. Isn t that just what we say about the South Coast 365 weather, diversity in paradise and great people? Continue Reading tp