1.2m foreign arrivals in SA for July

StatsSA reported on Monday that more than 1.2 million travelers from other countries came to South Africa in July 2013. Compared to last year, this is an increase of 12%. 

"A majority [90.1%]... were in South Africa for holidays, compared to only 6.5%, 1.8% and 1.6% of tourists who were in South Africa in transit, for business, and for study purposes respectively."

Of the tourists who visited the country this year, 204 120 were from overseas, and 564 460 were from Southern African Development Community countries.

The data indicated that a total of 3 285 691 travellers - arrivals and departures - passed through all South African ports of entry in July 2013. This was about 200 000 more than last year.

To see full article see here 

Kirstenbosch Chelsea Flower Show at the V&A Waterfront

When the Kirstenbosch Chelsea Flower Show Exhibition was launched at the V&A Waterfront on Friday 30 August, 2013, the overall sentiment of the visitors was: “It”s blooming beautiful!”.

The inspirational exhibition, which runs daily from 09h00 to 18h00 at the Mother City’s premier seaside shopping destination V&A Waterfront until Tuesday 24 September 2013, is free to the public and features the gold medal winning exhibition within the Clock Tower precinct.

A 33 time Chelsea gold winner, this year’s spectacular exhibit is themed 'Come into the Garden', and the achievement has particular poignant meaning as both Kirstenbosch and the Chelsea Flower Show celebrates their centenaries in 2013.

The exhibition is a snapshot of South Africa’s distinctive botanical heritage. Come and experience the beauty and tranquillity of being surrounded by the Dell and Cycad Amphitheatre on one side and the Protea Garden and mountain skyline on the other of the circular exhibition.

Other highlights include South Africa’s indigenous fynbos such as the protea and Mandela’s gold strelitizia, as well as the oldest plants in the garden.

See the full article see here.

Durban: see more for less

                                  
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest cityin South Africa. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism because of the city's warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches.

Visitors to Durban can now see more for less, with the launch of the iVenture Card “See Durban Attraction Pass”.

With its purchase, tourists are able to plan fun days with the family, whilst also enjoying a significant saving of up to 40 percent.

There are eighteen key tourism attractions that iVenture Card users can visit, including iconic experiences such as the Moses Mabhida Stadium, uShaka Marine World, KZN Sharks Board, Mini Town, Phezula Safari Park and Ocean Ventures to name a few.

To see the full article on iafrica.com, please click here

South Africa Outperforms 2010 Global Tourism Market

South Africa recorded a remarkable 15% increase in tourist arrivals to the country in 2010 – outperforming the global average by 8%. And while the Fifa World Cup in June and July played a role in the increase, tourist arrivals were buoyant all year round.

Last year saw just over eight million (8 073 552) tourist arrivals compared to slightly over seven million (7 011 865) in 2009, comparing well with international standards.

Figures from the UN World Tourism Organisation showed that global tourism arrivals were estimated to have grown by 6.7% in 2010. This meant that South Africa outperformed the global market by 8%.

For the full story, on SouthAfrica.info click here.

Some great wildlife photo's

Vist http://www.findingafrica.com/ for safari holidays in Southern Africa and taylor made photographic trips to Namibia.

Shelly Point - West Coast

Shelley Point is located on a private peninsula and fringed by three bays – Stompneus, Shelley and Britannia - with beaches, world-class surf and clear water in one of the calmest bays on the West Coast. There is a golf course and spa at the four-star Shelley Point Hotel, Spa & Country Club.

Next door is Britannia Bay, named after the British ship Britannia that struck a reef in October 1826. The bay is fringed with 4km of sandy beach. Also nearby is SAS Saldanha where there is a choice of four nature trails from 4km to 14.5km. Each one is colour-coded and clearly marked however finding them is the difficult part.

Bird-watching: the best place to observe the waders is at low tide from the bird hides at Geelbek located in the West Coast National Park. From Geelbek’s bird hide it is possible to spot long-legged godwits, whimbrels and curlews, knot, sanderling, little stint, ruff, marsh, terek, curlew sandpiper and many others. There is also the chance of seeing osprey and chestnut banded plovers. Geelbek was home to the Khoi people who lived here thousands of years ago. This Cape Dutch building was renovated three times since it was first built in 1744.

For the rest of this article please click on Finding Africa.

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.”

“CUP GETS 9/10 FORM TOURISTS”

Cape Times
Babalo Ndenze

2 July 2010

An overwhelming majority of World Cup visitors from 13 countries have given the city and the province almost full marks, with more than half indicating their desire to return with their families after the tournament, a snap shot exit poll by the provincial government has found.

The poll of 50 visitors from 13countries,all here for the World cup, was conducted on 30 June in the international departure lounge of the Cape Town International Air Port. They were from the United States, England, Dubai, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Mexico, Scotland, China, Montenegro, Cayman Islands, Singapore, Switzerland and Germany.

Among the visitors surveyed, 38% perceived the destination as safe, 36 % felt really safe and 16% felt very safe. The remainder (10%) felt either unsafe or very unsafe.

The top attractions in the Western Cape are Table Mountain (84% visited) and Cape Point (68% visited).

Those surveyed had listed these icons as their top three non football experiences, “but in a substantial twist, the third most popular positive experience of World Cup tourists, were the people of the Western Cape, whom they said were friendly, fantastic, helpful, polite and hospitable”.

For the fill story, click here.