Bundu Basher – holiday reviews and venues

I have said it before on this blog and I will say it again… I don’t do heights! Having said that I got this link to somebody recently doing the bungee jump off the Bloukrans Bridge and I have to say it is one hell of an impressive sight!

If you are keen to book an adventure holiday or give a bungee jumping experience then please check out what is on offer HERE

Alternatively book a holiday near Bloukrans and go and try out this jump for yourself by clicking HERE

In a fair and just world, an industry body is mandated to look after the interests of all of its members with equal objectivity. Industry bodies are tasked to position themselves as an independent and impartial entity that observes an industry at a high level. When disruptions arise, one would expect an industry body to act in an objective manner, while facilitating discussion between its members to resolve any challenges.

Travelstart published the results of some controversial research that has elicited an interesting industry-wide response. It would be foolish of us to say that we were surprised at the reaction that various articles and interviews generated, however we were left dumbfounded at ASATA’s response.

Synovate was commissioned by Travelstart to conduct objective research into how our online fares compare to traditional travel agency fares. This was done with the key focus of determining how competitive our business is, how we can better our own value proposition and what we can do to improve our customer experience. Synovate is an independent and globally recognised market research company and Travelstart had no control over the market research process, apart from selecting the destinations and the agency groups in South Africa.
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Cape Town Tourism, still in high spirits after the phenomenal success of the FIFA World Cup, is now basking in the acclaim of more accolades. Table Mountain was recently named one of the New7Wonders of Nature, and Cape Town has been named the World Design Capital for 2014.

Things are looking good for the Mother City. However, Cape Town Tourism CEO Mariette du Toit-Helmbold is setting the bar pretty high for Cape Town. “The targets set are bold” she wrote in her year-end report and launch of new marketing campaign post on www.capetown.travel.

In the past year, there have been some difficulties in the tourism sector, with hotel occupancy levels decreasing and tourism operators going out of business. Anyone who has been to even a couple of Economics 101 lectures will be able to tell you that tourism is one of the hardest hit industries in an economic recession. However, with this comes opportunity for Cape Town, as cost of living (and travelling) in the City remains reasonably low. According to du Toit-Helmbold, “Our visitors are extremely price sensitive and are looking for the best value packages across the board – whether staying in or just experiencing our city.”
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Said as nicely as possible – sometimes Buffalo can be incredibly silly animals. Check out this video of two male Lions helping themselves to not one but two… When the second one gets taken I couldn’t help but think of a McDonalds drive through! Too easy…

If you are planning to book a trip to Addo this year to check out the game reserve then check out some of the specials that are on offer from:

• Cyber Cape Town
• Hotels.com
• Or Travelstart:

 

 

Check out the video!

South African Travel and Tourism operators remain somewhat optimistic of an improvement in business performance levels for the next quarter of 2011, in spite of prior performance expectations not having been met.

However, 2012 performance is still not expected to reach normal performance levels. This is according to the results of the third quarter edition of the TBCSA FNB Tourism Business Index (“TBI”).

The TBI is an initiative of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), sponsored by First National Bank (FNB) and compiled by Grant Thornton. The index provides a national indication of the current and future performance, across the various businesses operating within the South African travel and tourism sector.

For the third quarter of 2011, the TBI registered a performance index of 70.0 against a normal of 100. Although this lower actual performance is indicative of the current tough trading conditions, operators continue to expect an improvement in the performance going forward with the next quarter TBI forecasted at 84.9.

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The Chief Executive Officer of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, Calvyn Gilfellan, says tourism in the Western Cape will be adversely affected if the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) goes ahead with plans to introduce toll roads in the region.

In a statement released today, Mr Gilfellan, head of the Western Cape’s official tourism marketing authority, called on SANRAL to reconsider its plans to toll the N1 and N2.

Mr Gilfellan said: “Tourism has become the biggest growth industry in the Western Cape. The industry relies heavily on tourists from abroad and the rest of our country to keep it healthy and growing strongly.

“The worldwide economic situation is putting this sensitive industry under pressure. Toll roads will have a negative impact on those tourists, particularly South Africans, using the N1 and N2 to reach holiday destinations.

“For many of them more toll roads will mean cutting back on vacations. We urge SANRAL to reconsider its plans to toll these highways.”

He said that the tourism industry is a R25 billion a year business. “Thousands of people are employed directly or indirectly. More toll roads in the Western Cape may put many livelihoods at risk.”

South Africa is blessed with so many fantastic natural resources and one of the more amazing trips is whale watching just off the coast of St Lucia.

Check out this video from the team at Heritage Tours. If it inspires you then go and check out their site or book your holiday online by clicking HERE or visiting Hotels.com.

It is great to see that South African tourism is making use of social media to help brand the country and send some positive messages to the rest of the world.

Check out this video by Phumi Dhlomo, Regional Director: Africa & Domestic for South African tourism on the role that tourism opportunities with the rest of Africa offers:

The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) has again raised concerns over Airports Company South Africa’s (ACSA) decision to increase airport tariffs. AASA believes that the increase will negatively impact air travel for local and international travellers.

ACSA’s tariff hike, which will become effective on 1 October 2011, will increase passenger service, landing and aircraft parking charges by almost 70 percent so that ACSA can recover a revenue shortfall. This year’s increase arises from a 34.8 percent increase approved by the ACSA Regulator effective 1 April 2011, but delayed for implementation until 1 October 2011 following the issuing of final permission by the Regulator in May 2011. It also comes on the back of a 33 percent increase on 1 April 2010, and will be followed by an increase of a further 5 percent in 2012, 5.6 percent in 2013 and 5.5 percent in 2014, resulting in a cumulative increase of 161 percent increase by ACSA over a five year period.

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