Weddings & Honeymoons are profitable busi- ness, see pages 8-10. New world- class cruise facility boosts Durban, see page 4. Up-sell your Australia & New Zealand clients, see pages 5 & 7. THE FLIGHT Centre Travel Group has been recognised as an official travel educa- tion and training service pro- vider by South Africa’s of- ficial training and education body, CATHSSETA, with a new General Certificate in Travel learning programme to upskill the company’s own workforce and develop new external talent. Outside train- ing will start this month. Flight Centre Peopleworks General Manager, Sam van Gool, said: “It is critical to ensure that we as industry players actively contribute towards growing and main- taining a thriving and vibrant travel and tourism industry. “Our vision is to provide outstanding training expe- riences for students… and supply job-ready talent to the travel and tourism industry as part of our real-world edu- cation outlook.” The new programme in- cludes practical and theoreti- cal training. FCTG plans to add a leadership qualifica- tion at a later stage. Skål club leads Knysna relief effort Beachcomber Tours celebrated Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels’ 65-year anniversary last month. Beachcomber has credited the trade and the company’s trade-orient- ed strategy for its continued strong sales in the South African market. Pictured (front, l to r): Beachcomber Tours’ reservations team: Lucinda Robyn and Bernice Immelmann with Managing Director Terry Munro; Juan- ita Greeff and (back): Umr Khan; Katherine Coetzee; Natasha van Aardt; Janine Bouwer; Busiswa Peter and Damian Perrins. The operator has a special offer of five nights at the Mauricia Beachcomber Resort & Spa from R14,200, with flights, transfers and breakfast and din- ner daily, for travel August 15 – September 28. A 30-day advance purchase applies. SKÅL International Garden Route is seeking to establish and obtain support for a skills development programme at the Blackwaters River Lodge in Knysna, partially burnt down in last month’s Garden Route fires. The programme will increase employee skills for tourism enterprises af- fected by the disaster. Skål’s South Africa Presi- dent, Niel Els, said R240,000 was the overall target and the aim was to improve the em- ployment chances for those now out of work. More than 20 accommodation busi- nesses were damaged or de- stroyed in the fires, which spread to Plettenberg Bay and Sedgefield. The programme will be operated in partnership with the Francois Ferreira Acad- emy. Blackwaters River Lodge has offered its kitchen and rooms. Flight Centre launches travel qualification The Tourism Authority of Thailand joined suppliers for a three-city roadshow to en- courage more trade sales, which have been showing strong growth. Pictured above (l to r): Pataraporn Sithivanich, TAT Executive Director Europe, Africa and Middle East; Tanes Petsuwan, Deputy Governor for International Markets Europe, Africa, Middle East and Americas and local representative, Lesley Simpson. See next month’ s issue for a full report from local buyers at this year’s annual Thailand Travel Market. continued on page 4 New GDS fee discriminates against agents says ASATA Concerns that high-yield business could be lost BY SARAH CORNWELL AGENTS are searching for ways to combat the negative impact of new surcharges on GDS bookings. A coalition of internation- al trade associations has ap- pealed to the European Un- ion to intervene and examine the practice, which they say is a threat to the sustaina- bility of their business. The group also want regulation to control future consolidation in the airline industry. The outcry followed last month's announcement by British Airways and Iberia that a €9.50 fee per fare com- ponent would be applied to bookings via non-preferred channels starting November 1. Sales through direct and NDC-enabled channels or GDSs with NDC-enabled connections will be exempt. Lufthansa introduced a similar scheme that it said was to get ahead of third- party booking engines, like Google, in 2015. Iberia and British Air- ways’ parent company, IAG, said the new charge would also apply to certain routes operated by Vueling. Some markets could get special dis- pensation. Representatives for Iberia said China and Brazil were being considered for exemptions but a final decision was still pending. Franchise carriers such as Comair have so far not been excluded. Brian Kitchin, British Airways/Comair Executive Manager Sales, commented: “The news… did not come as a complete surprise as we know that negotiations had been ongoing for quite some time. At the moment we are consolidating all the infor- mation available to us and exploring our options. Once we have a plan on the way forward we will make an an- nouncement.” The fee, priced at US$10, £8, CHF10 and JPY1,100, will be collected through a Q charge on ticketing. BA and Iberia said the amount was subject to adjustment in future. Lufthansa did not imme- diately respond to questions about the development, or reports it plans to add an ad-
Transcript
Weddings & Honeymoons are profitable busi-ness, see pages 8-10.
New world-class cruise facility boosts Durban, see page 4.
Up-sell your Australia & New Zealand clients, see pages 5 & 7.
THE FLIGHT Centre Travel Group has been recognised as an official travel educa-tion and training service pro-vider by South Africa’s of-ficial training and education body, CATHSSETA, with a new General Certificate in Travel learning programme to upskill the company’s own workforce and develop new
external talent. Outside train-ing will start this month. Flight Centre Peopleworks General Manager, Sam van Gool, said: “It is critical to ensure that we as industry players actively contribute towards growing and main-taining a thriving and vibrant travel and tourism industry. “Our vision is to provide
outstanding training expe-riences for students… and supply job-ready talent to the travel and tourism industry as part of our real-world edu-cation outlook.” The new programme in-cludes practical and theoreti-cal training. FCTG plans to add a leadership qualifica-tion at a later stage.
Skål clubleads Knysnarelief effort
Beachcomber Tours celebrated Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels’ 65-year anniversary last month. Beachcomber has credited the trade and the company’s trade-orient-ed strategy for its continued strong sales in the South African market. Pictured (front, l to r): Beachcomber Tours’ reservations team: Lucinda Robyn and Bernice Immelmann with Managing Director Terry Munro; Juan-ita Greeff and (back): Umr Khan; Katherine Coetzee; Natasha van Aardt; Janine Bouwer; Busiswa Peter and Damian Perrins. The operator has a special offer of five nights at the Mauricia Beachcomber Resort & Spa from R14,200, with flights, transfers and breakfast and din-ner daily, for travel August 15 – September 28. A 30-day advance purchase applies.
SKÅL International Garden Route is seeking to establish and obtain support for a skills development programme at the Blackwaters River Lodge in Knysna, partially burnt down in last month’s Garden Route fires. The programme will increase employee skills for tourism enterprises af-fected by the disaster. Skål’s South Africa Presi-dent, Niel Els, said R240,000 was the overall target and the aim was to improve the em-ployment chances for those now out of work. More than 20 accommodation busi-nesses were damaged or de-stroyed in the fires, which spread to Plettenberg Bay and Sedgefield. The programme will be operated in partnership with the Francois Ferreira Acad-emy. Blackwaters R iver Lodge has offered its kitchen and rooms.
Flight Centre launchestravel qualification
The Tourism Authority of Thailand joined suppliers for a three-city roadshow to en-courage more trade sales, which have been showing strong growth. Pictured above (l to r): Pataraporn Sithivanich, TAT Executive Director Europe, Africa and Middle East; Tanes Petsuwan, Deputy Governor for International Markets Europe, Africa, Middle East and Americas and local representative, Lesley Simpson. See next month’s issue for a full report from local buyers at this year’s annual Thailand Travel Market.
continued on page 4
New GDS fee discriminatesagainst agents says ASATAConcerns that high-yield business could be lost
BY SARAH CORNWELL
AGENTS are searching for ways to combat the negative impact of new surcharges on GDS bookings. A coalition of internation-al trade associations has ap-pealed to the European Un-ion to intervene and examine the practice, which they say is a threat to the sustaina-bility of their business. The group also want regulation to control future consolidation in the airline industry. The outcry followed last month's announcement by British Airways and Iberia that a €9.50 fee per fare com-ponent would be applied to bookings via non-preferred channels starting November 1. Sales through direct and
NDC-enabled channels or GDSs with NDC-enabled connections will be exempt. Lufthansa introduced a similar scheme that it said was to get ahead of third-party booking engines, like Google, in 2015. Iberia and British Air-ways’ parent company, IAG, said the new charge would also apply to certain routes operated by Vueling. Some markets could get special dis-pensation. Representatives for Iberia said China and Brazil were being considered for exemptions but a final decision was still pending. Franchise carriers such as Comair have so far not been excluded. Br ian Kitchin, Br it ish Airways/Comair Executive
Manager Sales, commented: “The news… did not come as a complete surprise as we know that negotiations had been ongoing for quite some time. At the moment we are consolidating all the infor-mation available to us and exploring our options. Once we have a plan on the way forward we will make an an-nouncement.” The fee, priced at US$10, £8, CHF10 and JPY1,100, will be collected through a Q charge on ticketing. BA and Iberia said the amount was subject to adjustment in future. Lufthansa did not imme-diately respond to questions about the development, or reports it plans to add an ad-
2 TIR Southern Africa • July 2017
News Digest
Most readstories fromthe past month...
tir.co.za/enews
enews most read
1 Duma to develop BEE affiliate network
ASATA blasts distribution ‘tax’ onagency bookings
Travel disrupted by political standoffwith Qatar
Fires devastate Garden Route accommodation
Flight Centre launches travel qualification
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Airlink to commence St. Helena serviceAIRLINK’S new service to St. Helena could include up to three f lights per week from Cape Town and Johan-nesburg. Negotiations with the is-land’s government were still underway but Airlink ap-plied to the Air Services Li-censing Council to operate three return f lights to and from both cities during the bid process (‘Airlink applies for St. Helena route’ – TIR
March 2017). The delayed service, which has been plagued by opera-tional restrictions at its new airport, will end the island’s total dependence on a mail ship ferry service, its only commercial transport link with the outside world. Comair came close to launching a scheduled ser-vice to the island in 2016 but plans stalled after a test flight highlighted serious concerns over turbulence and wind-sheer on approach.
Airlink will operate an Embraer E-190 aircraft on the route after a successful test flight. A special charter f light from Cape Town was operated in April. Airlink Chief Executive Officer Rodger Foster com-mented: “This is a significant vote of confidence in Airlink and we look forward to the next step in the process lead-ing to the formalisation of an agreement for what will be a historic step in St. Helena’s development.”
SAA receives fifth Airbus A330SOUTH African Airways has taken delivery of its fifth and final Airbus A330-300.The aircraft was delivered last month and will be used to operate the Johannesburg – Accra – Washington ser-vice. Other A330s have been positioned on routes to La-gos, São Paulo, Munich and Washington.
SAA’s new A330-300s are more fuel efficient and fea-ture an improved in-flight product.
BrieflyThe Travel Corporation has joined with VizEat to add more immersive and authentic culinary experiences tours operated by all of its brands. VizEat’s network includes 22,000 local hosts in 110 countries.
Knysna relief fundcalls for trade’s supportKNYSNA Tourism has made an appeal to the industry to help spread the word that it is business as usual after last month’s devastating wild-fires, which spread as far as Plettenberg Bay and Sedge-field. At least 20 accommoda-tion establishments were damaged or destroyed. To verify the status of accommodation bookings, agents should call Knysna Tourism on 044 382 5510 or email [email protected]. “Knysna is recover ing from the devastation of the fires but for local businesses to survive, tourism must play a vital part,” said Knysna Tourism chairperson, Elmay Bouwer. “We need to get the message out there that we are open for business and the Knysna visitor experience will be as good as ever.” Operations at popular ani-mal sanctuaries and tourist sites have resumed, including the Knysna Elephant Park, Birds of Eden, Monkeyland and the Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre. The Si-mola, Pezula and Knysna golf courses were also open.
The Featherbed Nature Reser ve suffered severe damage but Knysna Tourism said the company’s three res-taurants are fully operation-al, as well as all boat cruises. Skål International Garden Route has established a re-lief fund to support tourism enterprises affected by the fires. Members of the indus-try can deposit cash dona-tions to support the rebuild
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Bidvest acquires Cruises InternationalBY SARAH CORNWELL
BIDVEST has taken over Cruises International and aims to grow the potentially much larger cruise market by leveraging support from within the group’s other busi-nesses. The company is to create new opportunities to grow passenger numbers, including additional calls at South African ports and more itineraries around the continent. Cruises International cur-rently represents nine inter-national cruise lines but Bid-vest Deputy Chairman Allan Lunz said the objective was to attract more GSA clients. Chief Executive Officer George Argyropoulos is to remain for a minimum of three years. No other staff or operational changes are planned. Mr. Lunz said it was “business as usual” for travel agents, the source of the majority of Cruises Inter-national’s sales. The value of the acquisi-tion was not disclosed. How-ever, Mr. Lunz commented: “George and I were very committed to make this deal happen... it is very beneficial. Cruises is still stand-alone and Bidtravel is at arm’s length… [There are] no pref-erential rates (for Bidvest’s retail outlets).
“We are… talking to our principals [about] having a ship come around Africa during the different seasons. We have the rights for Royal Caribbean for sub-Saharan Africa,” Mr. Lunz revealed. “Bidvest buys successful companies and lets the ex-isting team carry on doing what they have always done to make it successful in the first place,” commented Con-temporary Brand Manager, Thaybz Khan. “By joining the Bidvest Group, Cruises International will be able to grow the mar-ket faster than before. That means more opportunities for our travel partners to sell more cruises and profit… We will also be able to offer add-ed-value by taking advantage of the offering of other com-panies within the group,” she said. “Our relationship with our agent and trade partners will not change.” Founded in 1992, Cruis-es International marked 25 years of operation last month. Travel agents who book any 2017 or 2018 cruise with the GSA until July 31 will be eligible to win a seven-night Mediterranean cruise for two onboard the Symphony of the Seas. The prize includes flights, transfers, port taxes and gra-
tuities. Each booking pro-vides one entry and the win-ner will be announced next month. A strong advocate of work-ing with the trade, which he has previously identified as key to growing the cruise
market in South Africa, Mr. Argyropoulos said: “This mile-stone would not have been possible without the support of our valued travel partners and we look forward to cel-ebrating this achievement with them.”
The aircraft are more fuel efficient and have been fitted with SAA’s latest in-f light
product and onboard ameni-ties, including slim-line seats in the economy cabin.
process. Banking details are: Skål – Garden Route, Nedbank Knysna, branch code: 114914, account num-ber: 1149 019 492. Kulula holidays provided alternative accommodation where bookings were affect-ed. Desmond O’Connor, head of kulula holidays and MT
Beds said all affected outlets had been closed for sale. He maintained: “We are very committed to the region and will definitely continue to promote what is available and acceptable. We would love to be able to help con-tribute to getting the region back on its feet where we can.”
Knysna Tourism said the Pick ’n’ Pay Oyster Festival, Momentum Forest Marathon and Cycle Tour, taking place this month, would bring more relief. Festival goers spent close to R110-million over 10 days last year, excluding event tickets. This year’s programme of activities lasts from July 7 – 16. Go to visitknysna.co.za for a directory of activities and add-ons to recommend to your customers and to keep abreast of other festivals happening in 2017.
BY DOMINIC WARDALL
for everyone
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Sell the most fastjet fl ights between 1 June and 31 August 2017 to enter.
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T&C: The individual consultant who sells the most fastjet fl ights will win a return fl ight to SA and a R10 000 Sandton City shopping voucher. Sales fi gures will be aggregated over the campaign period – 1 June to 31 August 2017. The sales consultant with the highest aggregated sales of this period will win the prize.
42845_TIR.indd 1 2017/06/23 12:03 PM
News Digest
TMC Gold Travel has achieved a Level Two B-BBEE rating, having implemented a 52.5 percent black ownership structure and 31.5 percent black woman ownership in partner-ship with NetValue™ Equity Partners. The business has prioritised transformation and flagged the Tourism Sector Code’s slow pace of transformation. “Tourism is an integral part of the South African economy and transformation should be at the forefront of the industry. This marks a significant milestone in our transformation drive; we will continue to find ways of enhancing our B-BBE efforts,” said CEO Konrad Laker, pictured above with Gold Travel consultants. See the August issue of TIR for a special report on BEE accreditation and solutions to help businesses through the process.
Duma to develop BEE affiliate chainBY SARAH ROBERTSON
DUMA Travel is to develop a BEE affiliate network, with branded and non-branded op-tions, for well-run medium-sized agencies. The company has taken over the license for Uniglobe in South Af-rica, previously held by Mike Gray. Former XL boss Rod Rutter has been appointed head of acquisitions at Duma Associates. Duma Travel will seek to buy up to 51 percent of medi-um-sized travel agencies. Five
new agencies have already signed up. The business aims to have between 10 and 15 new partners operating under the Duma Uniglobe umbrella before the end of the year. Executives from Uniglobe’s EMEA off ice in London joined Themba Mthombeni, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Duma Travel, at a launch event in Johannesburg last month. Uniglobe currently records sales of more than US$5-bil-lion annually. It has 600 part-ners in 60 countries.
Mr. Mthombeni said affili-ates stood to prosper during this time of slow econom-ic growth, shrinking profit margins, escalating running costs and reduction in travel volumes and from the com-pany’s BEE status. Duma claims benefits in-clude efficient distribution systems, market ing sup-port, technology and ongo-ing training and networking. Another new division, Duma Tech, will provide e-com-merce solutions. Mr. Mthombeni said the
Duma Associates model “is a win-win situation for ex-isting agents who receive a cash buyout in addition to increased business opportu-nities available through level 2 BEE status”. “Par tners also receive
assistance from the Duma Shared Services team, who can assist with centralised services such as ticket issu-ing, invoicing, after-hours support and have experience with BEE sales presentations and tender processing. We
want to reinvigorate the in-dustry through black share-holding and collaborative measures. This industry has seen too much myopic, com-petitive behaviour and it is now the time to collaborate,” he said.
Takes over Uniglobe franchise in SA
Pictured above (l to r): Patrick Hooft, Uniglobe Regional President British Isles; Derek Hearl-Maunder, Uniglobe President and Chief Operating Officer, EMEA Territory; Themba Mthombeni, Chief Executive Officer, Duma Travel and Nomvula Mthombeni, Managing Director, Duma Travel.
BrieflyWhile ASATA was still awaiting the outcome of its submission to SAQA to be recognised as a professional body last month, the as-sociation revealed it had applied for one designation – Travel Practitioner – which would be awarded to applicants, subject to qualifying cri-teria. ASATA Pro-gramme Manager, Jacqui McKnight, said Travel Professional and Certified Travel Professional, with an industry-related exam, could be added later.
FASTJET has increased the number of f lights between Johannesburg and Harare and added a fifth seasonal flight from Harare to Victo-ria Falls. From July 1, the airline will operate up to three daily return flights on its strategic route between Harare and
Johannesburg. The new fre-quency between Harare and Vic Falls will operate on a Monday from July 17 until September 11. “[It] also pro-vides out passengers with in-creased travel option choices to visit the Falls during one of its peak seasons, when its water is at its lowest,” com-
mented fastjet spokesperson, Hein Kaiser. One-way fares to Harare are from R1,333, including taxes and charges. The air-line now quotes all-inclusive fares on its Zimbabwe routes and said best available rates were usually available 21 days ahead of departure.
MSC to operateDurban terminalMSC CRUISES South Africa will have a 70 percent stake in the new cruise terminal planned for Durban, which it will develop, manage and maintain in partnership with black-empowerment com-pany, Africa Armada Con-sortium, jointly trading as KwaZulu Cruise Terminal Pty Ltd (KTD). The contract will be valid for 25 years. Capital invest-
Rusmice appointsSA representativeLLOYD Orr has opened a specialist MICE division to service niche overseas ter-ritories and DMCs and has signed two new clients, in-cluding Russian specialist Rusmice and another com-pany in the UAE. Lloyd Orr Managing Di-rector Wendie White and Rusmice Managing Direc-tor Natalia Stolyarova held meetings with South Afri-can agents last month. Ms. Stolyarova said the company, which has been operating for 10 years, was planning to capitalise on Russia’s new visa-free policy for South Af-rican passport holders. Products feature a focus on
Natalia Stolyarova (left), Rusmice Managing Director with Wendie White, Lloyd Orr Managing Director.
ditional GDS surcharge, this time for ancillary baggage services. The introduction of piece-meal systems and other new fees by more carriers would make retailers’ back-end re-porting far more complicat-ed. Retailers say compari-son shopping is negatively impacted when agents are forced to book outside of their preferred channel. The Association of South-ern African Travel Agents said it was disappointed IAG was unable to negotiate down its distribution costs to avoid passing on the “tax” and said agents were being unfairly discriminated against and that transparency would suf-fer. Marco Ciocchetti, Chief Executive Officer of the XL Travel Group believes oth-er airlines will follow. The group is developing technol-ogy to help combat the devel-opment, he revealed. “These surcharges added to the point of sales restric-tion are making it essential to look beyond the traditional GDS option. The general feeling, however, is that only the traditional GDSs give the agent the control over the booking that is so impor-tant,” commented Richard Beadle, XL GSTA Corporate Travel Services. While retailers initially threatened to boycott Luf-thansa ai rl ines when its charge was introduced, Mr. Beadle commented: “Divert-ing sales away from a carrier is a dangerous tactic, espe-cially if it is not in the client's best interest. It must be a fac-tor, however, when consider-ing which airline to push.”
Travel Assignment Group Director Jonathan Gerber said TAG would challenge the introduction of these charges by any means pos-sible. “There are systems that can look at various booking platforms and make neces-sary choices,” he said. “Yes, we are really there...” Mr. Gerber asserted: “In terms of concept, I think it points to the fact that airlines and agents are no longer part-ners. How else would you explain forcing a mechanism onto agents that will ulti-mately be harder for them to fulfil? I think that the GDS and the airlines need to sit down and discuss how the GDS impacts on them from a cost perspective. The GDS... remains a wonderful tool for inventory and I believe that this is a service that should be paid for. I would love to know what the development costs on all of these new booking platforms is. Bottom line is that airlines want to own the client. I think that it is all actually quite a sorry state of affairs. The wheel is turning where they used to own the GDS, sold them off and now want to develop an NDC to bypass the GDS ef-fectively. “I am not sure that there are actual cost savings [for airlines]. How much is it to develop these different sys-tems? As an agent though I can tell you that it is im-possible to have a different booking platform for every airline; it is ridiculous.” Mr. Gerber said it would be “horrific” if every airline went the same route. “There is no doubt this strategy hurt LH. We will
continue to monitor and to do what is best for our clients. We cannot, however, have a situation where we are forced to book on various platforms; it just does not make sense. There is currently a central booking system; it is called the GDS. [I am] still not sure what’s wrong with that plat-form? “Clients will be charged the fees as agents can’t pick these up,” he added. Travelport said it regretted the development while Sabre suggested IAG had jumped the gun and it “will continue to seek an agreement that delivers value and meets the revenue needs of the IAG airlines – including looking at opportunities to integrate their NDC-based content – while balancing needs for choice, t ransparency and convenience demanded by travel agencies and consum-ers”. Amadeus said it was work-ing with IAG to find a solu-tion to its distribution needs. It said the charge was not in the best interest of travellers. The GDS maintained: “Travellers today are look-ing for consistency, trans-parency and choice and we as an industry can deliver that best by connecting and integrating all players with all content in all channels... Amadeus strongly believes that indirect distribution re-mains the most cost-efficient solution for all parties on a global scale.” And it warned airlines that high-yield busi-ness could be lost. “TMCs provide a great value to both travellers and airlines. Indirect distribution channels represent an esti-mated 50 percent of all global
New GDS fee discriminates against agents...continued from page 1 airline bookings – includ-
ing LCCs. In addition, indi-rect distribution represents a higher yield per passen-ger because many indirect bookings represent corporate travel, complex itineraries and long-haul travel.” Ama-deus estimates 34 higher on average. “The travel industry is a growing industry and we believe there is room for all players to grow within it. Travel and Tourism is ex-pected to grow by four per-cent annually over the next 10 years and distribution pro-viders have a space in that growth. “In 2016, our travel agents bookings rose 5.9 percent to US$534-million…” it said. BA did not comment be-yond the written update it distributed to agents at the time of the announcement. BA said the charge would re-cover additional costs applied through the relevant channels and that there would be no change to current distribu-tion agreements with retail partners. A detailed guide was made available on the airlines’ trade websites: batraveltrade.com, speedbirdclub.com and iberiaagencies.com.
Imperial Russia to the Soviet Union and today’s Russia, including sports tours and special interest programmes. A networking event for the trade, hosted by the Russian consulate, is planned for later this month. “What we have established
Pictured above: artist’s impression of the new Durban cruise terminal.
ment costs are expected to be R200-million. MSC Cruises currently operates cruise terminals in various international ports, including Naples, Genoa and Marseille. KwaZulu Cruise
Terminal’s proposal is in-tended to turn Durban into a world-class cruise port with world-class facilities, which will encourage passengers to explore wider tourism expe-riences in KwaZulu-Natal. Transnet National Ports Authority Chief Executive Richard Vallihu said: “De-spite the pressures of the global economic climate on disposable incomes, the
global luxury cruise sector remains one of the fastest growing segments in the tourism industry and has the potential to grow the econo-my and create jobs.” The Durban cruise mar-ket had grown from 75,947 passengers 10 years ago to 191,412 last season. “Already we have at least 20 interna-tional cruise liners operated by 14 cruise lines calling at South Africa’s ports,” Mr. Vallihu said.
is that... value for money and attention to detail that the [MICE] agencies look for,” said Ms. White. Information and sample itineraries can be found on-line at visitrussia.com or rusmice.com.
TIR Southern Africa • July 2017 5
Product Update
Australia to attract more youth businessBY SARAH CORNWELL
AUSTRALIA is targeting more young international travellers, with a AUS$10-million over-seas youth campaign and Working Holiday Maker pro-gramme. Although South Africa re-mains a secondary market, the tourism board is using competitive deals to entice
more young travellers in var-ious overseas markets. There are resources and domestic partnerships the intermediar-ies can use to capitalise on the new theme. While cruising and VFR are the more popular mar-ket segments in South Af-rica, internationally, young travellers are being targeted with special discounts and a
long list of adventure tourism product. Tourism Australia Manag-ing Director, John O’Sullivan, said: “Youth travel is a price sensitive market and we have been very mindful of that fact as we have gone about developing partnerships for this campaign. This is the most comprehensive package of youth-focused travel offers we have ever had...” Overseas, the tour ism board has par tnered with STA Travel to offer f lights at reduced rates. Visas are available at special rates in some markets, but not in South Africa. TA said, for the year end-
ing June 2016, 1.98-million international youth arriv-als were recorded, includ-ing 320,000 working holiday makers who spent AUS$3.3-billion. Market research in the US showed 18 – 35 year olds were most likely to use a travel agent the tourism board claimed. And, in May, a report by Skift on a Google consumer survey showed 87 percent of American travel-lers had “never communicat-ed with a travel provider such as a hotel or airline using a messenger app such as Fa-cebook messenger of What-sapp”. “It would be a huge benefit
to have the tourism board support us and we would love any assistance in the form of reduced visa rates,” com-mented Kelly Jackson, Con-tiki South Africa General Manager. “Any promotion or incen-tive to travel to a destination can only bolster its appeal. We f ind that Australia is more popular for VFR trav-el.” Contiki highlights special stays in its Australia tours for the 18 – 35s market. Beaches & Reefs,14 days ex-Cairns, includes overnight stays on a working cattle farm, surf school at Contiki's surf camp and sailing add-
ons through the Whitsundays to Cairns on a private yacht. “A few years ago, Aus-tralia ranked as one of the most expensive tourism des-tinations in the world and clients often returned home with horror stories about how
BrieflyAustralia received 8.4-million interna-tional visitors in the year ending March 2017. Spend reached AUS$39.8-billion. Tourism Australia said latest stats showed total inter-national aviation capacity to Australia grew nine per cent.
continued on page 7
Tourism Australia launchesbusiness events portalTOURISM Australia has launched a new business events website to connect visitors and planners with business events suppliers and destination representatives, www.australia.com/busines-sevents.
Resources for inspiration and practical tools include images and film footage. According to Tour ism Aust ra l ia , i nte r nat ional events visitors spend three times as much as leisure visi-tors during their stay.
Cunard adds 2019 Aussie round tripsCUNARD Lines’ recently released world voyages for 2019 feature new itineraries for all three of its ships, with departures from Cape Town. There are sectors ex-Cape Town to Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. The programme also includes 12-night round trips out of Melbourne and Sydney and 14-night East Asia sectors. Local GSA W hitest a r Cruise & Travel said Cunard had surveyed its passengers’ preferences, with the oppor-tunity for travel agents to source competitively priced f lights for their clients to connect with the cruises. Shaun McCarthy, Whit-
estar Cruises & Travel Gen-eral Manager, said: “We know the Australian and East Asia sectors are hugely popu-lar with the South African cruising market. This allows
agents to package their air-fares with our commission-able cruise fares.” Cunard is providing com-plimentary spending money for bookings before the end
of July 2017. With the popu-larity of the Queens’ Cape Town departures, Mr. McCa-rthy advised early booking. “The Cunard 2018 world cruises are almost at full ca-pacity, so we are encourag-ing agents to start looking at 2019 now, especially with the new, desirable round-trip sectors,” he said. Highlights of the 2019 Australian roundtrip sec-tors include voyages through New Zealand’s fiordland; the Northland and Waipoua For-est from the Bay of Islands; the port of Picton, gateway to the marine and forest at-tractions of the Marlborough Sounds.
Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary 2, recently revamped, in Sydney. 2019 World Voyages include sec-tors from Cape Town to Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.
Shangri-La will open a new hotel in Melbourne’s CBD in 2022. The five-star property will have 500-plus rooms and a sky lobby, pool, spa, restaurants and ballroom.
Qantas has revealed the names of the first three of its eight new B787-9 Dreamliners: Waltzing Matilda, Boo-merang and Quokka. The first aircraft is due in October.
Work is underway to transform Auckland’s Waitema-ta Harbour Bridge with a permanent, solar-gener-ated light display. Tourism officials say the project will transform the city and will be completed later this year.
Sell TheseEmirates Holidays has a Perth, Margaret River and the Southwest Coast self-drive tour over six days, from R18,481 with flights ex-JNB, five nights’ accommodation and car rental from day two to five.
Inspirations Travel & Tours has a three-night city sight-seeing package with accommodation at the Park Regis City Centre Hotel in Sydney, transfers and a hop-on, hop-off bus ticket, from R4,340 until November 30.
Wandering Free has a 10-day East Coast Explorer package from Sydney to Brisbane, visiting Byron Bay and Fraser island. Includes accommodation, break-fasts, four lunches, a dinner, sightseeing and tour leader.
Qantas provides free stops in up to three cities for the price of one (ie. two free stops in Australia for the same base fare as one city). Multi-stop fares include Jo-hannesburg – Brisbane – Melbourne – Sydney, from R14,380. It also has limited economy fares to Sydney from R13,900.
While it is not an advantage the inbound industry would want to exploit, the rise in crime and the increasing incidence and fear of terrorist incidents in many other countries have suddenly helped South Af-rica appear an attractive safe haven.
The devastating fires on the Garden Route last month have caused long-term dam-age for many tourism enterprises and tour-ists will have been deterred from booking the area. But the industry has rallied to provide much-needed support.
Now it emerges even SA Tourism has a Gupta connection, paying their UK PR representatives R9.6-million since 2014. More alarm bells and wheels within wheels. If it quacks like a duck, we can be forgiven for thinking it is a duck.
CONGRATULATIONS to Ngwako Tsetsewa, representative for LATAM Airlines and Lima Tours, who was spotted reading TIR at Macchu Piccu. Ngwako wins an American Tourister Bon Air Spinner suitcase, valued at R1,699.
American Tourister has added new on-trend colours to its best-selling Bon Air collection. New Bon Air pastels include mint green, lilac, fresh pink or porcelain blue; the range is ideal for hip, long-distance travellers wanting an exceptionally strong suitcase in a fashion-able colour. This zipped polyprop collection prevents brittle breakage. The design features a well-organised interior, soft-touch handles and TSA locks. The American Tourister Bon Air range of spinner suitcases is available at leading luggage outlets or at:www.houseofsamsonite.co.za.For more information, call:031 266 0620.
Industry ViewIATA warns of government protectionism
tir.co.za
THE International Air Transport Association has warned the industry is at risk of protec-tionist measures being implemented by governments and called for better collaboration to meet rising security challenges, avert a looming infrastructure crisis and build smarter regulation.
Recession heats up sales competitionSOUTH Africa is now of-ficially in recession. Nobody really needed to tell us that. Unofficially, we have all felt it has been a recession for a long time and have been feel-ing the pinch in our personal lives and in our businesses. Just to rub it in, Moody’s whacked us with another downgrade last month, tar-geting businesses, including banks and parastatals. The economy is in a mess. Many travel agents and suppliers have been experi-encing the same number of customers but a decline in per person spend. If suppli-ers ever needed agents, they certainly need them now. One encouraging aspect
is that there is clearly still the desire to travel, even if it means tightening the belt. GDP growth this year is unlikely to be more than 0.5 percent, if there turns out to be any growth at all. And the forecast for the next two years is not much better. The position could change, of course, if President Zuma did the honorable thing and resigned – highly unlikely – or was forced out and re-placed with an able, prag-matic and honorable politi-cian with an understanding of economics and without the baggage of favours owed. They are few and far be-tween. Please, no Zuma Mark 2.
The ANC conference in December will be a water-shed event for South Africa, tipping us towards potential recovery or a descent into a Zimbabwean state. Meanwhile, business has to do its part to keep inflation down and avoid manipulat-ing whole sectors to make excessive profits and pay out-rageous bonuses, the evident danger in a society like ours which is dominated by just a few giant conglomerates, often disguised by an array of brands and subsidiaries. South Afr ica is a very small market in global terms, so competition is limited and we do not feel the resultant benefits which many other
countries enjoy, or the ben-efits of economies of scale. The rand naturally creates its own challenges, ref lect-ing the economy, so when we travel overseas, we are paying the same price in the local currency with which the overseas suppliers are op-erating, making the product here more costly for travel-lers than for those paying in stronger currencies. It is all a challenge for South African operators and retailers and it is commend-able that they have frequently managed to maintain and some even grow the out-bound market as well as they have. Some retailers have surprisingly been reporting
record results in the first half of this year, particularly in their leisure business, and others have experienced cus-tomer and revenue growth in specific months. So the business is there, if elusive, and they have been doing something right and have been very active in identifying opportunities and the way to capitalise on them. Evidently, South Africans with the means are travel junkies and will thankfully continue to economise in other areas in order to get away. But intensified sales and promotion efforts will be needed to keep the desire and momentum going and to compete.
IATA’s 73rd Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit, held in Can-cun last month, identified looming chal-lenges facing the airline industry. The association said airlines are forecast to generate profits of US$7.69 per passen-ger this year. In 2017, IATA expects the global airline industry to post a US$31.4-billion profit on $743-billion in revenues. But Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO, main-tained: “To deliver aviation’s many benefits, we need borders that are open to people and trade. “Today we face headwinds from those who would deny the benefits of globalisa-tion and point us in the direction of protec-tionism. This is a threat to our industry.” IATA also called for an urgent solution to current bans on large portable electronic devices on some flights from the Middle East and North Africa. “We must trust that valid intelligence underpinned the UK and US decisions… But, the measures themselves test the con-fidence of the industry and the public,” said Mr. de Juniac. “We need to get security right. “There is a clear duty for governments to make sure that the measures are logi-cal, effective and efficient. That is not the case with the current PED ban. And it must change.” Recommended alternatives include more intense screening at the gate and skills training. IATA said, in the medium-term, faster and more advanced explosive detec-tion technology would combat evolving bomb threats. However, it warned, “pain-fully slow certification processes must be accelerated so that we can actually use it”. The AGM passed a resolution calling for governments to work more closely with the industry and among themselves to keep flying secure. It also strongly endorsed the efforts of ICAO to establish a Global Avia-tion Security Plan, which will lay the foun-dation for more effective collaboration on
security. “Security is ultimately a government re-sponsibility. But airlines also have a big stake in the matter… We could achieve better solutions by working together,” Mr. de Juniac maintained. “An infrastructure crisis is looming. In-frastructure in many parts of the world can barely cope with demand today. And devel-opment plans are not ambitious enough to accommodate the 7.2-billion passengers we expect in 20 years’ time.” IATA also called for governments to fully implement the IATA Worldwide Slot Guide-lines to fairly and efficiently manage scarce capacity and said the guidelines were not a substitute for building capacity where de-mand exists. It urged governments to be cautious when privatising aviation infrastructure assets, saying privatisation had failed to deliver promised benefits in many countries such as India, Brazil, France and Australia. Mr. de Juniac maintained: “The conces-sionaire makes money. The government gets its cut. The airlines pay the bill – usu-ally a big one. And passengers and the lo-cal economy suffer the results of higher costs. When governments privatise critical infrastructure, economic regulation is es-sential… Finding the solution is an impor-tant piece of work that needs government and industry collaboration. It is the only way to balance the investor’s need for profit with the community’s need for cost efficient connectivity.” Flying remains the safest form of long distance travel by a wide margin, IATA said, and, in 2016 the industry performed 40.4-million flight sectors with 10 fatal accidents. Another major achievement on safety performance last year was in Sub-Saharan Africa, which had no jet hull losses. The airline industry plans to achieve carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and to cut its net emissions to half of what they were in 2005.
TIR Southern Africa • July 2017 7
much a shared pizza cost in the outskirts of Sydney. While the Aussie dollar has weakened, we still find that the destination at-tracts a wealthier market seg-ment,” said a representative for Wandering Free. “Youth Travel is primarily driven by VFR motives and itin-eraries are generally designed on a hub-and-spoke basis, centred around friends and family home bases in either Perth or Sydney,” the company said. And, “the youth market tends to gravitate to tours that journey along the coastline or travel into the remote central regions [and] while Middle Eastern carriers offer fantastic fares... travel time
Australia to attract more youth businesscontinued from page 5 on these routes is long and tiring,
so we find that Asian carriers do well on South West Pacific rout-ings… any reduction in visa costs and application hassles would be well-received by the South Afri-can market.” Qantas Sales and Marketing Manager Lauren Egger said a key message was the airline’s direct flight ex-Johannesburg and multi-stop fares. “Less f ly time equals more Oz time... Qantas customers get to spend more time
in the destination.” One of the most popular com-binations is to fly from Johannes-burg to Sydney then on to Bris-bane, Ms. Egger explained. “Australia can be an afford-able holiday option... There are many free things to do in each of the cities and with a little re-search, some great bargains can be found... you can see up to three cities in Australia for the same fare.” “Australia offers endless op-
portunities for the youth travel-ler,” said Stacey Rampersadh, Inspirations Travel & Tours. “If I had to put together a short bucket list for Australia, it would be: climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge; an outer barrier reef cruise; camp-ing safari in the outback; the Great Ocean Road’s scenic coastline with the Twelve Apostles and, if one can get to Tasmania from May to September, a glimpse of the southern lights, Aurora Aus-tralis,” she said.
Product UpdateGuinness World Records has award-ed the Vivid Sydney installation, Dreamscape, with the title for the world’s ‘Largest interactive lighting display’.
A new ibis Styles hotel opens in Ho-bart this month. It will be the city’s largest hotel, with 296 rooms over 10 floors and views of the River Derwent.
Thompsons' short city stays are four days and include airport transfers. The Sydney & The Blue Mountains pack-age includes a harbour lunch cruise.
Sell TheseCunard has round-trip sail-ings available ex-Sydney and Melbourne, as well as world voyage sectors to Australia ex-Cape Town. Bonus on-board spend is included for bookings until the end of July (see page 5).
Norwegian Cruise Line’s new Norwegian Jewel will op-erate a round-trip Sydney voyage, visiting Burnie and Hobart. Fares from US$612 for five nights. Departs No-vember.
Astor cruises between Aus-tralia and the UK via Cape Town in March 2018. Fares for Cape Town – Australia start from £2,419. Between Cape Town and the UK from £3,129 pps.
Contiki’s East Coast of Aus-tralia Beaches & Reefs 14-day tour is from R28,123.
The best of Australia starts with Qantas
Visit qantas.com
Aussie specialist trade programme revampedTOURISM Australia’s global on-line training programme for trav-el agents, Aussie Specialist, has been revamped in all key markets and 11 languages, with a new dig-ital platform and expanded team of Aussie specialist coordinators and trainers in-market. Agents can register for access to e-newsletters, trade event up-dates and information about fa-miliarisations in various parts of Australia. Interactive modules have been added. There are itinerary build-ing tips and modules for each state and territory, including spe-cial interest sections. An interac-tive map is included, providing travel times and highlights. Consultants who complete the programme can identify them-selves as experts to their custom-ers, qualify for discounts and are eligible for educationals South African agents can reg-ister for the international English version at www.aussiespecialist.com/en.html.
Honeymoons: what four travelagents chose for their own
TIR’s Richard Holmes chatted to four consultants about their own honeymoonexperiences and the do’s and don’ts for clients…
Warren Grisselle,Flight Centre Team Leader
Where did you spend your honeymoon?“I went on honeymoon to Mauritius in June 2006. Now I absolutely love planning honeymoons, especially surprise honeymoons for a wife-to-be!”Why Mauritius?“As an island Mauritius has always stood out to me as a perfect destination. My wife and I stayed at Beachcomber Le Mauricia and found the location to be ideal… in the heart of Grand Baie on the North Coast.”Best part of the trip?“The sheer number of activities Mauritius has to offer. From the Colourful South day trip, which covers the whole south of the island... Chamarel Waterfalls, Seven Coloured Earths... The room we stayed in was quite simple, but we were far more interested in exploring the island and the sights.”Any hiccups along the way?“We went on a day trip to one of the smaller islands for a Mauritian barbecue, however the boat ride there was a bit bumpy due to some bad weather and probably isn’t some-thing I would like to experience again. Mauritius is still one of my favourite destinations and now I take my family there on holiday every year. There is never a dull moment and we experience something new each time we visit.” Top tips for planning a perfect honeymoon?“Know your spouse-to-be and what their likes and dislikes are. Budget is always a factor, as this will determine the type of honeymoon… [and] elements you should prioritise. De-cide what is important to you in terms of accommodation and what type of island or city you want to experience.”
Susan Williams-Knill,Susan’s Travel
Where did you spend your honeymoon?“We spent one night at the Palazzo Hotel Monte Casino in Fourways and then flew to the Oyster Box Hotel in Um-hlanga Rocks for a week.”Why those two hotels?“I chose the Palazzo as I got dressed there on my wedding day and had all my pre-photos in the gardens, as I loved the Italian theme. The Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga Rocks was always going to be my first choice for a honey-moon as it is the type of property to make you feel like the most special guests in the world. The attention to detail is unparalleled. The location is also amazing, being right on the beachfront with the iconic red and white lighthouse in front of you. Also the variety of restaurants with awesome service and amazing cuisine, and the Lighthouse Bar...”Highlight of the trip?“We were given a beautifully decorated room with the most magnificent view... we had access to wonderful spa treatments, two pools, walks along the beach and on-site movies in the private theatre with all the bells and whistles. We were chauffeured to and from the airport, so we felt like celebrities!”Advice for agents planning honeymoons?“Keep it simple but choose the destination wisely which adds value, as you need to relax and unwind with your spouse after all the wedding build up and stress. A wedding is a very costly thing, so the last thing you want to do is over extend your budget on a ‘wow’ honeymoon.”
Mel Tester,Pentravel Hillcrest
Where did you spend your honeymoon?“I got married at the Beachcomber Mauricia Hotel, and then honeymooned at Beachcomber Sainte Anne Resort & Spa in the Seychelles.”Why those two resorts?“I absolutely love all Beachcomber hotels. I have been to Mauritius many times, and for me, they are the best! Service, location and attention to detail; everything you need and expect and more from a Mauritius holiday. I had a fairly big wedding by Mauritian standards. There were 73 of us in total. I chose Mauricia based on location, not everyone wants to beach all day, and Mauricia is basically a beach in the city. I loved that my guests went out to local bars, restaurants and shopping whenever they wanted and no one needed to worry about taxis etc.”What about cost?“Budget was also very important. When you have so many guests with different budgets, this great four-star hotel is perfect for everyone.”Top honeymoon tip?“Make sure you put your clients in the right resort for them, not what is good for you. Some people want quiet, some people want adventure. You can find the perfect honey-moon within people’s budgets. We need to remember when consulting it is the most special holiday they have ever planned, and may ever take.”
Where did you spend your honeymoon?“We flew to Mauritius and split our seven-night stay be-tween two of Beachcomber’s properties: five-star Paradis and five-star Trou Aux Biches.”Why those two resorts?“We wanted a stress-free relaxing holiday. Mauritius of-fers the best value-for-money if you are looking for an all-inclusive holiday. This is exactly what we needed after a very stressful year of arranging a wedding.”The highlight of your stay?“Our beachfront suite with pool and outdoor shower at Trou aux Biches. Having our own pool was fantastic. Also the full-day catamaran trip we did to Gabriela Island where they literally braai on the catamaran while you can jump off and do snorkelling.”One thing you would go back and change?“Book the early flight ex-CPT to JNB then connect to Mauri-tius. We had an overnight in Johannesburg on the outbound as we wanted the earliest flight out to Mauritius, but had a horrible stay in Johannesburg and would rather arrive later in Mauritius than having to stay in Johannesburg again.”
Sell theseKulula holidays’ honeymoon specials include seven nights at the five-star Crest Resort & Pool Villas in Phuket from R11,815 with flights and extras.
Travel with Options has a honeymoon package for LUX* Saint Gilles from R35,830 and an Essential Reun-ion seven-night package from R17,830. Valid for travel until the end of October.
Honeymoon market stays strong
8 TIR Southern Africa • July 2017
Newlyweds will save where they can but won’t call off the honeymoon BY SARAH ROBERTSON
DESPITE concerns the re-cession could stifle interna-tional leisure travel, the hon-eymoons market is proving one of the most resilient. And agents booking honeymoon couples on a successful trip frequently benefit from re-peat business, dubbed the ‘halo effect’.
Beach holidays are among the most popular. While some couples are cutting back on extras and reducing the level of accommodation, many are discovering the value in in-clusive packages and alterna-tive payment options which make the honeymoon more affordable. Amazing Holidays Chief Execut ive Off icer Br ian
Singer said, in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius and Zan-zibar account for most book-ings. Thailand and Bali are also selling well, while Sey-chelles and the Maldives con-tinue to attract more sophisti-cated and well-heeled clients. Kulula holidays Senior Product Manager Chantelle Browne said the operator had seen an increase in honey-
moons to Europe, catering for newlyweds looking to do something different. Checkout Tours and Har-vey World Travel also noted an increase in domestic hon-eymoons, which are usually regarded as cheaper option, even though that is not neces-sarily the case. Ms. Browne said couples
wanted value for money and a honeymoon was seen as one of the most important trips a couple will take together in their life-time. Monica Horn, Marketing Man-ager Harvey World Travel, said, with the current state of the econ-omy, many parents were unable to pay for their offspring's wedding, meaning couples were having to find the budget for a honeymoon on their own. “Bridal couples are often look-ing for the best deals available and we need to ensure that we have used our preferred suppliers to guarantee a once in a lifetime experience with great value adds included.” “We found that extensive so-cial media marketing brought in the best results for people looking for honeymoons. We also have various niche websites focusing on... destinations which attract a specific market,” said Giles Clin-ton, Director Checkout Tours. While most Harvey branches use mainstream marketing chan-nels such as social media and mailers, Ms. Horn said some outlets also participated in local wedding expos.
... market stays strong “The impor tance of value added benefits can’t be stressed enough,” Ms. Browne main-tained. “Any additional value that the resort offers for honeymoon-ers must be brought to the client’s attention and an active compari-son between offerings should be made in order to highlight this.” The Singer Group has invested in FOMO Travel, a digital version of the lay-buy payment system and honeymoon couples can pay
off their honeymoons in monthly instalments over a period of time, said Mr. Singer. “Travellers can also share their travel goals on social media and crowd fund contribution options for family and friends are avail-able, which reduces the couple’s final costs. We anticipate that FOMO Travel will place more international honeymoons within the reach of a greater number of newlyweds.”
continued from page 8
Industryfeeback
Is the Weddings &Honeymoons market being impacted by fluctuations in
the rate of exchange?“When the rand goes on a walkabout, it becomes a lit-tle quiet but the market is not too bad at the moment.” – Jane James, Seyunique Head of Marketing
“Business is very soft at pre-sent, and not just for hon-eymoons and weddings. The general economy and especially the rate of ex-change, have had a negative effect on converting leads to sales.” – Des O’Loghlen,Mauritius Holidays
“Rate of exchange changes are always a challenge but South Africans remain re-silient and an unstable rate of exchange has led to more upfront full payment rather than excluding international travel.”– Chantelle Browne,kulula holidays
“The market trends have been in our favour and we have seen a stable growth for travel within the Indian Ocean Island region this year so far.” – CandicePerry, Thompsons
“Market fluctuations will of-ten bring a number of cou-ples requesting all-inclusive packages… Our ‘adult only’ hotels are very popular with honeymooners.”– Cathie Bester, WorldLeisure Holidays
B e ac hcomb e r Tou rs hosted Pentravel’s new-est consultants last month in Mauritius. Pic-tured with their mascots during a pedestrian ral-ly (front, l to r): Shelley Daniels, Beachcomber Tours; Joanne Le Roux, Pentravel Gateway; Nicci Scheepers, Pentravel City Bowl and Marcia Moshodi, Pentravel The Glen with (back): Roxan Elliott, Pentravel Canal Walk; Kirsty Godwin, Pentravel Ballito; Lauren Basson, Pen-travel Canal Walk; Pieter Schutte, Pentravel Menlyn; Annarie Coetzee, Pen-travel Garden Route; Rebecca Elliott, Pentravel City Bowl; Monique Jansen van Rensburg, Pentravel Clearwater; Gillian Guercio, Pentravel Clearwater and Simone Conradie, Pentravel The Glen.
AccommodationFacilitiesFoodLocation
ServiceAttitudeValue (x2)Overall rating
908090100
909590
91/100
THIS is now the choice for future visits to New York. Customer contact staff in all departments were outstanding. The hotel has the warm ambience of a boutique property, tastefully decorated - none of the hideous carpets found in most hotels - nicely furnished and a very spacious room compared to most Manhattan hotels. Location in mid-town perfect for walks in Central Park, shopping on 5th Avenue, gal-leries, Broadway theatres and numerous excellent restaurants. Randolph’s Bar served very good food and is a comfortable spot for a pre-lunch drink or nightcap. Murals on 54 is exclusively for breakfast which is, unfortunately, a buffet and overpriced. The “facility charge” of US$25 a day is mandatory and irritating and most guests would prefer it to be incorporated in the room rate. Service very good and friendly. Opt for a room on a higher floor due to the police and ambulance hobby of turning on sirens in the early hours. Overall, highly recommended and better value than most equivalent properties in New York.
Hotel Check The Warwick, New York
More couples opt to say ‘I do’ at seaBY RICHARD HOLMES
CRUISE holiday sales are growing in South Afr ica amongst wedding and honey-moon couples. Wedding ceremonies on-board are still rare but cruise lines have various packages and inclusions, with many
special value-adds. MSC Cruises maintained: “Perhaps the biggest draw card is [the] sheer simplicity.” “We have even become the wedding planners for the wedding planners,” added MSC Cruises South Africa Managing Director Ross Volk. “Our symbolic cere-
monies at sea are incredibly romantic; they are planned to perfection by our team, and all the bride has to do is show up.” MSC Cruises has various packages but “you will have the full personal assistance of MSC’s wedding plan-ner while onboard… Eve-
ry detail, every moment, is planned for you. “Packages are surprising-ly affordable. In fact, you’d have quite an impossible time trying to find a land-based match for the same value,” the company maintained. Cunard has developed a comprehensive programme with ceremonies conducted by the captain, a commemo-rative certificate and menu and other value-added fea-tures. “Star Clippers and Sil-versea will accommodate a request for an onboard bless-ing,” said Gaynor Neill, Gen-eral Manager, Cruise Vaca-tions. “Star Clippers offer a package which includes a ceremony with the captain, canapés, champagne and cake. Silversea Cruises han-dle requests on a bespoke basis...” “Norwegian Cruise Line offers wedding at sea pack-ages via a third party, Royal Ocean Events,” commented
Ian Mathews, Sales and Mar-keting Manager, Triton Cape Sea Travel. “Fred.Olsen of-fers a renew of vows package but not a wedding product.” Depending on price, MSC Cruises packages can include floral arrangements, French champagne, a professional photographer, wedding cake and personalised memora-bilia. Weddings at sea are par-ticularly attractive for small wedding parties. “Wedding groups on Cu-nard ships average 12–20 guests,” said Sheridan Royal, head of Marketing, Whitestar Cruise & Travel, who rec-ommended agents “always provide as much information as possible... More is always best!” And given the size of mod-ern cruise ships, wedding parties “can be as large as you want. We can book the guests as a group and add in cocktail parties, dinners, etc, but these all come as payable
extras” said Mr. Mathews. He advised that clients need to consider the practicalities of a wedding at sea. It is also important that they research the legalities involved, as often weddings on board are ceremonial rath-er than legally binding. “The ship’s captain will conduct a vow/blessing ceremony but is generally not legally quali-fied to officiate,” said Ms. Neill. “It is generally the case that the couple are officially married on shore...and hold a blessing ceremony onboard.” “Cunard strongly recom-mends guests seek matrimo-nial legal advice to determine the logistics of marriage at sea under Bermudian law,” said Ms. Royal. “Cunard host several weddings at sea per annum, but we have found the South African market has fewer applicants than the UK or US. This is most likely due to the distance passengers often have to travel to join the ships.”
Seyunique’s Seychelles honeymoon pack-ages include seven nights at the Paradise Sun on Praslin in a Superior Room, from R25,916 pps. Includes flights, taxes, dinner and breakfast.
Seyunique also has seven nights at the
Kempinski Resort Seychelles with din-ner, breakfast, flights and transfers, from R23,504 pps.
Seven nights at the Constance Ephelia resort on Mahé with breakfast, dinner, flights and transfers is from R28,474 pps.
Sell these
continued on page 12
W
by John Wardall
Sophie performed a heroic actPersonally Speaking
TIR Southern Africa • July 2017 11
hat a terrible dis-aster in the Knys-na and Pletten-berg Bay area ,
my favourite spots on the Garden Route. A fabulous house overlook-ing the beach that I stayed at in Plett a couple of months ago, and was planning on returning to, was one that went up in smoke. Tourism is the lifeblood of the region and the devastating fire last month, which destroyed a number of tourist accommodations is go-ing to take a long time to recover from and will affect the livelihood of most people and businesses in the tourism industry there. Many may never recover. A cousin of mine and her family are planning a visit to South Africa next month and a trip along the Garden Route was on the itinerary. I am encouraging her to contin-ue with her plans and hope most people will not be dissuaded from visiting by the media coverage, including the shocking pictures and videos, which were distributed widely overseas.
The Middle East staggers from one mess to another. The diplomatic spat, which has pit Egypt, Saudi Arabia and most of the Gulf states against Qatar, has to make people think twice about visiting the re-gion and, if tensions ramp up any more, even connecting through the Gulf to other destinations. The claim by the other countries that Qatar, a strong ally of Iran, has been supporting and provid-ing financial assistance to terrorist groups is something most impar-tial observers would agree with. Very strange as the United States Air Force has a large base there. After the epidemic of attacks in Europe and the UK, you begin the wonder where is a safe country to visit anymore. South Africa and the Indian Ocean islands come to mind and are probably already benefitting from the current state of global security, although none would want to appear to be purposely
taking advantage of the situation.
I was reading an article recently in a US magazine, which detailed the astonishing number of South Africans, who are industry leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs in the US, in everything from auto-mobile and space to medicine, IT and energy. The question arises, why are they there and why aren’t they do-ing their thing here? Imagine what a difference they would make to South Africa. It can only be the social , political and business climate and the perceived oppor-tunity and future for them and their fami-lies. If the pol it icians were interested more in the country’s future than jumping on the patronage and entitle-ment gravy train, they might wake up and encourage an envi-ronment which would keep these people here, who could better the life of every South African.
Mayday, Mayday! Britain has de-clared a calamity. Like most coun-tries now, including South Africa and the US, the UK is irreconcil-ably divided. Well, one thing about the British election result last month is that it is going to be cheaper to visit, as the pound plunged and is unlikely to recover until political stability returns. That isn’t even close to the horizon and won’t be at least until after another election. Once again, voters have pro-nounced that they are fed up with the political establishment and aren’t going to put up with it any-more. It is quite shocking that the pro-
test vote provided so much sup-port for a raving Marxist ideologue, who has been on the security services’ radar for 20 years, with an economically illiterate mani-festo and a long history of being a sympathizer and apologist for anti-British movements, includ-ing terrorist groups such as the IRA, Hamas and Hezbollah. All of those Corbynistas must have been smoking some serious product from Colombia. What a calamity for Britain. The-resa May, who ran an awful cam-paign, is mortally wounded and will not survive to lead another election campaign. The Eurocrats,
who are as committed to genu-ine democracy as Kim Jong Un, must be laughing all the way to the trough. Yet another election is on the cards before Brexit negotiations are concluded and anything could happen then. It was a quite extraordinary miscalculation by the Conserva-tives whose priority, like all po-litical parties, was more about re-taining power than having real convictions. Ironically, that’s what that dreadful gnome Jeremy Cor-byn had, even though they are all wrong, and that’s why I am in fa-vour of Donald Trump. At least he has the courage of his convictions.
JC, like JZ, wants more interven-tion in people’s lives and a Marxist paradise. And it just goes to show that all you have to do is promise a bunch of things you will never be able to pay for and a lot of naive people will vote for you. Politics is easy, isn’t it? It has resulted in a continuously growing interference in personal freedoms by an increasingly unac-countable political machine and political elite. It is the mantle of the left, which essentially man-dates you can think whatever you like, as long as it agrees with what I think.
The Proteas choked yet again – I know they all hate that word, but it’s true – in a major inter-national tournament last month, when they crashed ignominiously out of the Champions Trophy in England. It was agony to watch the supposedly best one-day team in the world because it has become such a habit.
I have been ponder-ing a replacement for Sophie, my faithful
wheaten terrier, who preceded me to South Africa and performed a heroic act on the farm she was staying at, pending my ar-rival, when she fought off a casual worker who attacked one of the women who resided there. Ex-traordinary, as she was the most gentle of dogs. Her predecessors tended to be an embarassment. There was Mac, the Scottish terrier, who took a piece out of the postman’s left buttock and Mac 2, the dachs-hund, who got into the neighbour’s chicken coop and left only feath-ers behind. Unfortunately, the neighbour was my father’s commanding of-
ficer and I don’t think poor old Dad got promoted for the next 10 years. Buttons was a spaniel, when we lived next to the 18th green of the local golf course. It was a raised green, so golfers could not see where there balls landed and were perplexed when their perfectly placed shots were nowhere to be found. All was revealed when the irate course manager demanded entry to the garden and discovered a hole in the fence and a collection of dozens of Titleists in a hollow behind a bush. Haggis, my trusty Skye terrier, fell head over heels for a buxom news anchor, who came to the house to interview me about a la-bour dispute for the evening news. After behaving in an unaccepta-bly forward doggie fashion, neces-sitating a restart to the interview to allow her to recover from hys-teria and the camera and sound men from uncontrollable laugh-ter, Haggis lay at her feet, gazing adoringly upwards, and became a network news celebrity, when his hairy face appeared on thousands of television screens. I entered the office next morn-ing to cheers and applause, some-thing I have never managed to generate from my own efforts. So, these wonderful compan-ions will be a hard act to follow. Maybe I should emulate Club Trav-el’s Wally Gaynor and get a parrot instead. But that could be embar-rassing if it learned to talk and Wally’s bird tried to take my finger off when he introduced it to me.
The IT power outage, which caused such a mess at British Airways at the end of May, has focused atten-tion on the airline industry’s per-ceived, often correctly, treatment of passengers. While BA did a professional job, under extremely difficult circum-stances, of handling the mechan-ics of getting its operation back on track, the response of many of its
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Beachcomber Tours hosted a travel industry golf day at Erinvale, which highlighted the value of practice. Pictured above (l to r): John Wardall, TIR (practice obvi-ously doesn’t help here); Derek Palframan, Barefoot Breaks (didn’t practice enough); Terry Munro, Beach-comber Tours (obviously too much practice) and Carlos Luis, Flight Centre (skips the office to get just enough practice).
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In the next issue of TIR…
News Digest
Sophie performed a heroic act... we take stock of new family attractions in
the annual Middle East destination report, plan the ultimate incentive trip in the Skiing feature, and shop for a December holiday that won’t break the bank in Year-End Breaks.
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THE MOST agreeable aspect of this flight and the subsequent Delta flights on this trip was the friendliness and work ethic of the crews. The captain came back and thanked the passengers for their business before take-off and the in-charge flight attendant shook hands and thanked all of the passengers before landing. Excellent service at check-in and in-flight. Meals good as was the drinks selection. The crew made this long flight a relaxing and pleasant experience.
Flight Check Delta Air LinesJNB – ATL • Business Class
Pictured right: Contiki’s top sellers at Porto’s NOS Pri-mavera Sound Festival (l to r): Matthew Lambert, STA Travel Morningside; Letitia Fourie, Pentravel Cresta; Da-vid Robinson, Contiki Area Sales Manager; Ben McCabe, STA Travel St. George’s Mall; Dominique Momberg, STA Travel Galleria Mall; Kristy-Lee Atkins, STA Travel Gal-leria Mall and Melissa Rauch, Pentravel Fourways.
customers to the passenger handling was less than satis-fied. It is unlikely, however, that other airlines would have handled the unprecedented situation any better. Communication was, as is usual in these cases, the as-pect that was most unacceptable to the many complain-ants, a criticism all airlines have faced. Having spent five years of my airline career being re-sponsible for communications at a major international carrier and to all of the different publics – general public, customers, politicians, diplomats, business, media, share-holders and so on – I realise the difficulties. But quick, timely, accurate, regular, honest, open and ef-fective communication, which addresses the information needs of all of those publics is essential, although a lot more complicated than most people realise.
Here in the Western Cape desert, the rain finally arrived, thanks to me having taken to performing a rain dance each morning in the garden and scaring the hell out of the neigh-bours, who feel I have lost the plot even more than they had already suspected. But we need a lot more. They used to call it the green season here but the only green in my sorry excuse for a garden is a sad looking aloe, which should be used to drought from its homeland in the Eastern Cape. But it is even starting to shrivel. The city council was talking about delivering water to households by tanker trucks but I have no idea how they think they could acquire enough trucks to service the thirsty hordes or where the millions would find enough storage containers, or pay for them. We are all going to wind up as refugees in Dubai, where more than 90 percent of the water is desalinated and you have never seen lusher, greener golf courses, surrounded by desert. I repeat again that I blame the government for its lack of planning and for ignoring all the obvious signals, including the exponential growth of the city’s population. In my, admittedly inexpert, view the solution is desalina-tion, enabled by revolutionary technology. As in so many other fields, the Israelis have developed equipment which they and the Gulf states all use and which is not as costly to acquire or operate as is commonly per-ceived. A desert country, Israel now has an over-abundance of
fresh water, little of it natural, and the residual sludge is treated to become fertiliser. The sun is shining, so I must rush out into the garden and terrify the neighbours again with my rendition of Dancing with the Stars.
Car rentalrates halvedCAR rental rates in South Af-rica have halved in the past four years and are among the cheapest in the world, accord-ing to Avis Rent a Car. This was revealed in a new survey of international rates by Deutsche Bank. Avis Execut ive: Sales Southern Africa Lance Smith said: “Value is a critical con-versation… especially given the common misconception that domestic car rental pric-ing is expensive.” China was ranked f irst and South Africa second, with an average rate of US$35 per day, one-quarter of the price of rentals in New York.
