Tag Archives: South African Tourism India

South African Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom is all set to visit India from January 23-26, 2019, travelling to Mumbai and New Delhi. As a part of the South African delegation to India in the lead up to India’s 69th Republic Day, the minister along with Sisa Ntshona, Chief Executive Officer, South Africa Tourism and Maropene Ramokgopa, Consul General will engage with key representatives of the Indian travel and tourism ecosystem including trade partners. The South African Tourism India office has recently been elected and elevated to function as the Hub Office for the Middle East and South East Asia regions. The minister will seek key market insights in an effort to further grow outbound tourism from the region by deepening awareness for South Africa’s diverse tourism offering and addressing barriers to growth. Speaking about the visit, Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – MEISEA, South African Tourism, says, “We are delighted and honoured to welcome the Minister of Tourism, CEO, South African Tourism and the Consul General to one of our largest source markets. The visit reaffirms India as a key market and our commitment to deepen our engagement. During their visit, we intend to address a range of challenges and have constructive, solutions-driven discussions with the tourism trade on how to meet the growing demand for our destination from India.”

South Africa received 6,300 Indian tourists to the destination during January 2017. The country aims to welcome more than 104,000 tourists from India in 2017. “We have been witnessing consistent growth in tourist inflow from India. Looking at the growth trend we are expecting to host 104,000 Indian tourists in 2017. We are focused in increasing our engagement with travel agents and customer outreach through outdoor media, television, digital and print,” said Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager, South African Tourism-India. She further says that the destination is looking forward to very high numbers during the summer holiday season running from now until mid-June. Slabber informed that the tourism board is planning to engage potential travellers in Tier-II markets through the agent-specific ‘Learn South Africa’ programme, which will train travel agents in 17 Indian cities during July 2017. She also added that with over 3,129 product offerings, and more being added, South Africa has something for everyone. “We are planning to train and customise specialised product offerings for travellers in these places with city-specific joint promotions with travel agents in all 17 cities. We have also published tourism related information and product offerings in six Indian vernacular languages,” she added. The destination is also focusing on the MICE segment and young solo travellers from India. (Source: PTI)S

The Indian market has reportedly shown good numbers for South Africa during 2016 as it closed the year on a successful note with a 27 per cent growth in arrivals that clocked at 81,429 by the end of the third quarter. Overall spends from India crossed ZAR 1,100,000,000 by the end of the third quarter and average spend per leisure traveller was placed at Rs 590,000 indicating that South Africa attracts a variety of pocket-sizes. Market intelligence delivered by trade partners tells the tourism board that the destination sells to travellers with an Rs 1.5 lakh budget as effectively as it appeals to travellers with Rs 10.5 lakh budget. Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager, South African Tourism– India, said, “We want to sustain this growth and also attract return travellers. Going forward, we are going to focus on increasing the geographical scope of the market – our biggest sources are Mumbai and Delhi, followed by Bangalore and Chennai. The average number of nights spent by Indian tourists in South Africa is now at 11 days for holidays and 19 days for business travellers. I reckon that they’re taking some time off to explore South Africa after the conclusion of their work in SA.  VFR is at 21 days average stay.” The global campaign for 2017 will be rolled out in India through joint marketing campaigns with travel agents, a brand-new Facebook page (Visit South Africa India), television and outdoor advertising campaigns. The Facebook page and all other campaigns will be tailored for India. Travel agents will also undergo destination training and all the aspects that make South Africa amazing through a 17-city Learn SA programme slated for mid-2017.

South African Tourism sets the pace for continued double digit growth in the coming year with its annual roadshow slated for this month. The roadshow will be held in Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai where suppliers from South Africa will network with Indian travel agents. Now in its 14th edition, the roadshow will start with Chennai on 30 January, and then go on to Bengaluru on 31 January, Delhi on 1 February and conclude in Mumbai on 3 February, 2017. About 10 per cent of the delegation will be first-timers and will include hotel chains, airlines, products, attractions, DMCs and local tourism offices. Indian agents will be able to meet representatives from boutique hotel chain Lion Roars Hotels & Lodges, adventure-focused attraction Tenikwa Wildlife, care-rental Multilayer Trade Corporation and DMC Africa Incoming. Domestic airline Safair has also signed up. Additionally, Air Seychelles (which many Indians use to fly to South Africa via Mahe) that is said to be starting a flight to Durban starting March will also be present. Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager, South African Tourism India, said, “Up until the third quarter of 2016, we noted that arrivals had grown by 26.6 per cent in comparison to 2015 and we hope to have closed the year at 27 per cent growth. By September 2016, our arrivals had hit 73,902. This makes India South Africa’s eighth-largest long-haul tourism source market.” The tourism board is expecting between 600-1,000 travel agents to attend the roadshow.