Despite countrywide reports of a tourism slump, arrival statistics published by Stats SA have shown growth in tourist arrivals for the month of January 2011.

Total arrivals for the period grew by 9.3% from 729,056 to 796,526 with overseas visitors accounting for 179,493 a 7% increase from the January 2010 total of 167,706.
Most European markets showed growth while their was a ditinct reduction from the UK.
Once again, worth noting is the growth from Brazil which is up 35% from 3,208 to 4,331. Brazil narrowly missed out on a Top Ten spot on our list of source markets.
Top Ten Visitor List:
UK down 7,6% from 42,246 to 39,041
Germany up 12.3% from 18,987 to 21,313
USA up 10.8% from 15,963 to 17,658
Netherlands down 4,4% from 10,882 to 10,400
France up 6,2% from 8,506 to 9,036
Australia up 32% from 6,469 to 8,544

India up 62% from 3961 to 6415
Sweden up 5,9% from 4,997 to 5,292
China up 33,1% from 3,737 to 4,968
Canada up 9,9% from 4103 to 4508

SAA To Trial In-Flight Mobile Usage

The ban on the use of cellphones on board aircraft might soon be a thing of the past.

SAA has confirmed that it is working with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to test the use of cellphones in flight mode on its aircraft.

The extent of the use will be during cruising phase and the airline stressed that did not mean that passengers would be able to make a call while in flight.

In a statement, SAA said that at this stage it was the only carrier in the country to work with the CAA to carry out the tests, which were currently under way.

A CAA spokesperson was quoted saying that the CAA received the airline’s programme in early April, which was due to be followed by a review before testing started.

The CAA further stated that although the use of cellphones was prohibited, technology advanced rapidly and the CAA realised this.

SA Set To Host World Golf Championship

South Africa is set to host the World Golf Championship from 2012.

The announcement follows extensive meetings between the US PGA Tour and the International Federation of PGA Tours, of which the Sunshine Tour in South Africa is a founding member.

The World Golf Championship will feature the top 70 players in the world golf rankings.

Said Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, Gareth Tindall: “This is without a doubt, the most significant milestone in the history of professional golf in South Africa, what is even more significant is that we have the commitment that we will host this World Golf Championship event for a period of five years. That has enormously positive implications for the game and for our country as a whole.”

The event will be closely linked to building awareness of poverty and the HIV/Aids pandemic in Africa and will be known as the Tournament of Hope.

In closing, Tindall said: “We now find ourselves at the beginning of one of the most exciting chapters in South African sport and we have plenty of work to do. We look forward to being able to make further announcements about the World Golf Championship event in due course.”

Source: SA Tourism Update

Air France will be launching a new thrice-weekly non-stop service from Cape Town to Paris from November 3.

Flights will be operated by a Boeing 777-200 with a total capacity of 309 seats, equipped with 35 seats in the Affaires cabin (business), 24 seats in the Premium Voyageur cabin (premium economy) and 250 seats in the Voyageur cabin (economy). The airline’s new business-class seat will be on board.

The Cape Town to Paris flight will depart at 01h15, arriving at 11h35 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, while the Paris to Cape Town return leg departs 10h40 arriving in Cape Town at 22h50 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

This brings to 24 the number of weekly services offered by Air France KLM between South Africa and the airlines’ two hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol as from European winter 2011. Air France already operates a daily A380 flight between Paris and Johannesburg, while KLM operates a daily B777 flight between Amsterdam and Cape Town, and a daily between Amsterdam and Johannesburg.

This new route launch is part of Air France and KLM’s expansion policy on the African continent, with four new destinations in 2011 including Freetown (Sierra Leone), Monrovia (Liberia), Bata (Equatorial Guinea) and Cape Town.

Meanwhile, Starting May 3 as part of its European summer operating schedule, KLM will reduce its weekly Cape Town-Amsterdam flights from daily to five weekly, until October 28. The airline has extended the daily flights to May 2, after which the Thursday departure changes to a Saturday departure for the convenience of travellers.

Source: SA Tourism Update

Cape Town Reports 'fair' Summer Season

Cape Town Tourism has released the results of its 2010/2011 Summer Tourism Survey, based on polls of member organisations, attractions and visitors between December 2010 and February 2011.

The report suggests that there is cause for optimism as traditional markets begin showing signs of recovery, while new source markets are increasingly becoming interested in Cape Town.

Accommodation establishment respondents had mixed feelings about performance during the Cape Town 2010/ 2011 summer season, with 45,8% stating that the period had met their expectations, while the rest said it was average or below average.

Almost 18% (17,60%) of accommodation establishment respondents operated at 81% to 100% occupancy during December, dropping to 12% of respondents for the same levels in January and increasing to 20,70% for February.

The majority of local bookings were received from Gauteng (75,6%), followed by the Western Cape (46,3%) and KwaZulu Natal (26,8%). Internationally, the traditional source markets of the United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands and the US performed well.

The tour operator member base of respondents noted a general increase in bookings for the period December to February when compared with the same period in previous years, with the international market being the source of the majority of their visitors. Traditional markets from the UK, US, Germany and The Netherlands led the pack. The most popular booking methods were via direct e-mail by returning guests, telephonically, and bookings through travel agents, in that order.

CEO of Cape Town Tourism, Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, said: “We have experienced a fair summer season for 2010/ 2011. It has been a season dominated by many unpredictable factors and perhaps inflated expectations after the World Cup. The biggest trends Cape Town Tourism has noticed are the slow recovery of international tourism due to various global crises, an encouraging growth in domestic tourism, and a significant increase in online and last-minute bookings, the use of social media and user-generated websites.”

Source: SA Tourism Update

South Africans saved 350 MW – enough electricity to power the city of Bloemfontein – when they switched off their lights during Earth Hour this weekend, power utility Eskom said on Tuesday.

As part of its support for the Earth Hour campaign, Eskom measured the reduction in electricity used during the hour against typical consumption for this time on an average Saturday evening.

Eskom’s support is in line with the 49M movement launched recently by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe to mobilise South Africans to save electricity.

“We encourage every South African to ‘lift a finger’ − which is all it takes to switch off a light when it is not in use. Simple actions, such as using compact fluorescent lamps instead of incandescent globes, keeping unused appliances switched off, adjusting the thermostat on your geyser and switching it off when we leave for work and turning it on before we go to bed. Reducing electricity wastage can have a dramatic impact on electricity consumption. If you are not using it, switch it off,” said Eskom CEO Brian Dames.

In 2010, Eskom measured an estimated reduction of approximately 420 MW during the hour-long campaign.

Source: Engineering News

New Star Grading Plaques Launched

A new star grading plaque, together with a universal accessibility plaque, has been introduced by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA). The launch of the new plaques is being hailed as a major milestone in the TGCSA's bid to overhaul its grading criteria, minimum requirements and operating systems.

The previous grading criteria were originally introduced in 2002. Inconsistencies in the application of the grading criteria and minimum requirements, coupled with inadequate management processes and systems, led to a lack of uniformity in the awarding of stars.

Speaking at the unveiling event held at the King Edward Hotel and the Forest Hall Guest House in Port Elizabeth, Chief Quality Assurance Officer, Thembi Kunene, said: "The new plaques will help protect our brand and put a stop to the illegal use of stars as they are now trademarked."

On the new plaques the stars are placed above the category name. A critical inclusion is a sentence stating that the plaque is the property of the TGCSA, which will allow officials to legally enter a property to remove a plaque if necessary. Each plaque also features a unique serial number linked to the membership number of the property.

Also in attendance at the unveiling was Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, who said: "Our grading plaques are a symbol of the assurance we provide to tourists, both local and international, that they can rely on star graded establishments when making their choice of accommodation or conferencing establishment. A significant amount of time and energy was spent during this process in fine-tuning the criteria to get them right for the industry. The aim was to not only ensure that South Africa can maintain its international competitiveness as a tourist destination, but indeed to show that we can be world leaders in terms of quality assurance."

"But a system is only good as the people who are participating in it. The public are not only on the receiving end, but also an active player in the system. As South Africans, we tend to accept poor service, but we are asking that the public not only complain, buy also provide feedback on where improvements can be made," said Van Schalkwyk