Lufthansa Ahead Of Schedule

Lufthansa has confirmed that it will introduce its newest A380 aircraft to Johannesburg six weeks ahead of schedule.

From September 12, the Airbus A380 will depart Frankfurt for O.R. Tambo twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays returning to Germany on Mondays and Fridays. The remaining five days will be operated using the Boeing B747-400.The Airbus A380 has 526 seats in the best and most modern service classes offered by Lufthansa.

The completely revamped First Class, with eight generous seats on the upper deck, promotes a sense of individuality (I'll say). Business Class, with 98 seats on the upper deck, and Economy Class, with 420 seats on the main deck, provide unprecedented comfort and an impressive feeling of space. Lufthansa operate a daily non-stop service between Johannesburg and Frankfurt.

From October 26 until end of March 2011, a further daily non-stop flight from Cape Town to Frankfurt will be added to the airline’s timetable.

Source: SA Tourism Update

It's Not Only Our Whales We Need To Care Fur

International students say no to fur at the Design Against Fur 2010 competition.

The winners of the Europe & International regional competition have been announced. First prize went to Camille Clemmensen, Signe Andersen & Mai Mi Dahmlos Eriksen from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Source: Humane Society International

Where Are The Cape Whale Coast Whales?

In a bold and innovative manner, we at Southern Stroll Marketing have designed a competition to increase awareness and encourage holiday makers to visit the Cape Whale Coast. The competition was created to encompass the entire family, from Grand Daughter to Grand Mother.

The baby whales are up to mischief as usual and playing 'Hide and Seek'. Camo-Charlie is chasing Engine-Ernie and all mayhem is about to break loose. Visit the Cape Whale Coast website often to search for all the clues and keep an eye open for the Cape Whale Coast competition in the YOU magazine as well. Oh dear, Putting-Pat just missed a shot...

The End Of The Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe?

Transnet Limited has announced that the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe train service operating between George and Mossel Bay will be terminated as it has become financially unviable.

In its announcement Transnet said that it identified the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe service as one of its non-core assets in 2007. Following extensive studies and stakeholder consultation, the company decided to follow an open tender process to find a new operator for the service. ”Unfortunately, this process could not identify a new operator and as a result, Transnet was left with no option other than to terminate the service subject to the required approval by the Minister of Public Enterprises in terms on the Public Finance Management Act – this has since been finalised.” the statement said.

Commenting on the announcement Alan Winde, Western Cape MEC said that despite Transnet’s announcement, he remains resolute in his commitment to reviving the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe service and ensuring that it remains a vital part of the South Cape’s heritage and tourism offering. Winde continued to say that Transnet’s decision comes after an open tender process did not yield any positive applicants to take over its operations, which they state have become financially unviable.

SA Tourism Hosts 100 German Travel Agents

German tourist arrivals to South Africa has grown impressively this year. In the first three months of 2010, German arrivals grew 24% compared to the same period last year, giving every indication of a market starting to recover from the global recession and eager to begin long haul travel again. This trend is set to continue on this course with the arrival in South Africa this week of 100 DERTOUR delegates on a fact finding and familiarisation visit that will last nine days.

The objective of the DERTOUR visit is to give German travel agents the confidence they need to sell South Africa through personal experience of the destination.

DERTOUR is a major affiliation of German travel and tour operators. The delegates begin arriving in South Africa on August 24. They are here on invitation of SA Tourism and DERTOUR and they represent travel agencies across Germany who sell DERTOUR products and itineraries.
Their familiarisation trip of the country takes them to places as diverse as Zululand and the KwaZulu-Natal coast; the Kruger Park and adjacent private wildlife reserves; Cape Point; Oudtshoorn; the Western Cape winelands, Johannesburg and Soweto.

DERTOUR has approximately 10 000 retail travel sales offices across Germany. South African Tourism’s partnership with DERTOUR extends way beyond mega familiarisation visits. The DERTOUR delegation meets in Fourways on Tuesday and Wednesday (24 and 25 August) for an intensive destination workshop and for meetings with South African trade and product representatives. The mega familiarisation visit and associated workshops have been made possible through partnerships with DERTOUR, South African Airways, Southern Sun, AVIS and Drifters Adventours.

Mauritius Launches Campaign To Attract German Market

The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Agency (MTPA), in co-operation with Dertour and Travelzoo, has intensified its marketing efforts through a special flyer and an online campaign appealing to German travellers to visit the destination.

The special Mauritius flyer was enclosed as a supplement in each Dertour Indian Ocean winter catalogue for 2010/11. The catalogue has a circulation of 220 000 copies and will be distributed to all travel agencies of Dertour. The flyer contains eight pages of general information about Mauritius pertaining to nature, culture, cuisine, sport activities and other activities.

The online campaign is conducted with Travelzoo and aims to boost sales for the low season. The Mauritius destination page was sent out along with a newsletter to over 700 000 subscribers.

Source: SA Tourism Update

BA Passengers Pick Cape Town As Favourite Destination

British Airways has announced that its passengers worldwide have identified Cape Town as their favourite destination.

As of November this year, British Airways will offer a second daily flight between Heathrow and Cape Town ahead of the 2010 summer season due to increased popularity. The additional flight will see the introduction of BA’s new Boeing 777 for the Cape Town route.
British Airways Commercial Manager in South Africa, Sue Botes, says demand for flights to Cape Town was on the rise even before the FIFA World Cup, and the airline is accommodating the increasing demand by offering an additional daily flight.
Cape Town Tourism CEO, Mariette du-Toit Helmbold says, “An additional daily British Airways flight is very good news for Cape Town’s tourism industry. Cape Town’s popularity has been rising steadily over the past few years and with all of the positive 2010 FIFA World Cup coverage and word-of-mouth recommendations, the city’s popularity has sky-rocketed.”

Source: SA Tourism Update