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African Tourism Board condemns violence against foreigners in South African cities

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Johannesburg, Capetown, and Pretoria are turning into a bloody and deadly battlefield of violent protests and looting. Tourists are caught in the crossfire taking cover in hotels, and widespread lootings and fires are closing down entire neighborhoods.

Police are arresting dozens of protesters and shots are being fired. A rampage against foreigners living in South Africa has been in developing. It began when a Nigerian drug dealer shot a South African taxi driver on Tuesday.  After this violence against foreigners has been spreading across to the urban centers across South Africa. Angry taxi drivers littered the streets with an array of objects. The atmosphere is tense and volatile.


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South Africa has been hit by an outbreak of xenophobic violence in its biggest city, attracting criticism from other African nations while political and business leaders from at least 28 countries gather in Cape Town.

Members from several countries on the African Tourism Board  WhatsApp discussion group urged the organization to take a stand. One member posted: “How do we build an image for tourism with this violence  I think condemning this is line with the objective of ATB  to promote Africa as a tourism destination. How can one treat foreigners as such?”

Another member responded: “Very true, how can Tourism thrive in such a hostile environment, it negates everything that Hospitality stands for and I am so disheartened how our black brothers and sisters in South Africa are reinforcing stereotypes that we are fighting hard to eliminate. This is truly sad, this is a failure by all standards. If there is a problem with immigrants their Immigration agency should deport people not letting their citizens degenerate to these level of savagery and violence.”

African Tourism Board condemns violence against foreigners in South African cities
Cuthbert Ncube, ATB Chair

African Tourism Board, Chairman Cuthbert Ncube agreed not to be quiet and said today from the ATB Headquarter in Pretoria: “We strongly condemn these barbaric acts by Africans to another fellow African.”

This was followed with an official statement released by the COO of the organization, Simba Mandinyen, who is currently on ATB business in London: “With great concern, the African Tourism Board takes note of the violence that started in areas in and around Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa over the last 72 hours.

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ATB feels such violence of Africans against Africans is counterproductive to the image of not just South Africa but the continent at large.

The African Tourism Board calls upon the authorities to move in and stop the violence which has led to the killing of people and destruction of property.

Many tourists traveling through the country have been caught in the cross-fire and many are holed up in their hotels.

ATB hopes that Authorities will take necessary action to bring calm and normalcy and that the general public and tourists will be able to go about their businesses safely.

The ATB believes that the situation obtaining in South Africa is no longer a problem of South Africa alone but a regional and continental socio-economic challenge that requires the support and efforts of relevant regional and continental social, economic and political agencies.

The African Tourism Board continues to urge and support all arms of the government of South Africa working to resolve the violent situation. Furthermore, the ATB calls upon all people’s in the affected areas to work with and support the relevant authorities that are on the ground and dealing with the situation.”

More on the Africantourismboard can be found at www.africantourismboard.com 

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Successful Seychelles roadshow on South African soil to woo travelers to the destination

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The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) and its local partners took to the cities of Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town for its annual roadshow to close the month of June.

The roadshow organised by the STB office in South Africa, aims at enticing the South African and promote the different attractive holiday options to Seychelles.

 During the roadshow, the STB team alongside the travel experts from 15 exhibiting companies met on a one-to-one basis with the participants during which they made presentations about their products and services.

This year, over 300 existing and new travel agents/tour operators attended the three dedicated Seychelles workshops from June 25 to 27.

The focus marketing strategy for the roadshow was the promotion of Seychelles as a ‘must visit’ destination and knowing what is on offer.

Speaking after the workshop, the STB Director for South Africa, Lena Hoareau stated that the roadshow was a definite success for STB and the various partners.

“Seychelles remains a destination of great interest on the South African market and it is the dream of everyone to travel to those islands. The roadshow and other workshops that we organise throughout the year focus on equipping the tour operators and travel agents with information so that they can better sell the destination,” she said.

She stressed that by attending the roadshow, the participants are able to gain new knowledge on the destination as a product and its unique selling points.

Participants also had an opportunity to hear from the various exhibiting partners the different holiday packages on offer, flights details including the various airlines and connections to Seychelles, as well as accommodation options and finally the various activities both on land and at sea.

“Through the good range of exhibitors at our roadshow this year, we covered every aspect of booking a Seychelles holiday,” she added.

The STB Director for South Africa mentioned her appreciation towards the agents for turning up in high numbers and for supporting destination Seychelles.

The Seychelles Tourism Board’s team at the roadshow was led by the STB Regional Director for Africa and America, Mr. David Germain, who stated his confidence in the trade.

Mr. Germain mentioned the importance of the tourism board’s effort to provide the right platforms for the travel agents’ in order to keep them motivated and encouraged to continue selling the destination.

Besides Mr. Germain and Mrs. Hoareau, Marketing Executive Ms. Christina Cecile from the STB Headquarters also represented STB.

The other exhibitors were Air Seychelles, Creole Travel Services, 7 Degrees South, Berjaya Hotels, Constance Hotels and Resorts, Kempinski Seychelles Resort, Coral Strand and Savoy Seychelles Resort, Southern Sun Hotels, Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association, Holiday Factory, Seyunique, Thompsons Holidays, Cruises International and Sunsail & The Moorings.

Participants had an opportunity to win several prizes including trips to the tropical islands, at the end of the workshop in each city.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, stbnews@seychelles.travel  www.seychelles.travel

South African Tourism appoints Trade Relations Officer

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Sherwin Arends joins South African Tourism (SAT) as Trade Relations Officer, bringing a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the role following 12 years’ experience working within the travel industry.

Originally from Cape Town, Sherwin moved to the UK six years ago after travelling the world as a member of cabin crew for Qatar Airways. His most recent role was Senior Product Executive for Audley Travel.

Sherwin will be tasked with building and maintaining relationships with key travel trade contacts in the UK and Ireland while utilising South African Tourism’s research and insights to ensure the agents are provided with all the tools and support to confidently sell South Africa.

Sherwin says: “I’m very passionate about my birth country and proud of my South African heritage so I am thrilled to be joining the South African Tourism team in the UK. I’m looking forward to showcasing South Africa as a leading tourist destination, with a focus on promoting the well-known areas and experiences and helping to uncover and educate the trade on the destination’s hidden gems.”

Tolene van der Merwe Hub Head for the UK & Ireland at South African Tourism says: “We are delighted that Sherwin will be joining our growing team. His wealth of industry knowledge combined with his personal experience of South Africa will be invaluable as we collectively promote the destination to holidaymakers through the UK and Irish trade.”

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Trade at WTM Africa confident of market rebound for Seychelles

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Tour operators visiting the Seychelles stand at the World Travel Market in Cape Town last week have expressed their confidence in the island destination, as forward bookings are looking very positive.

Seychelles was represented at the annual travel and tourism business fair, which took place from the April 10 to 12, 2019  at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, by a delegation from the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) and Air Seychelles.

STB was represented by its Regional Director for Africa and Americas, David Germain; Director for South Africa, Lena Hoareau and Marketing Executive Melissa Samardzija from STB headquarters.

They were joined by a delegation from the national airline including Chief Commercial Officer Charles Johnson, International Sales Manager Michelle Lafortune and Account Manager for South Africa Thembi Nkosi.

The Director for South Africa, Lena Hoareau, stated that she was pleased to hear that the South African trade remains an enthusiastic partner in supporting the destination’s growth.

“We are happy to attest that the South African trade is very active in their contribution towards the Seychelles brand. We have had some new tour operators on board and it goes to show that Seychelles still has the appeal and still come across as a preferred destination to many South African travelers,” said Mrs. Hoareau.

Mrs. Hoareau added they were happy that Air Seychelles could join them at the fair, especially with the new developments, which will render the destination more accessible than never before.

The Director for South Africa further added that there is a constant effort to promote and create awareness around destination Seychelles over the years.

“The interest on the South African market keeps growing, it is important to keep the trade abreast of the great air accessibility to the islands. With the daily flights as from June and increased seat capacity from the bigger aircraft as from July, we have reasons to believe that our best months are yet to come,” she added.

Air Seychelles’ CCO, Mr. Johnson, on his part said South Africa is definitely one of the fastest growing travel markets for Air Seychelles.

He mentioned that following the significant increase in the number of guests travelling with the national airline to the Seychelles and beyond, including the continuous demand from the market for more connectivity, this participation at WTM Africa would further build Air Seychelles’ presence in South Africa and reaffirm its commitment to the market.

“As from 3 June, Air Seychelles will start to operate daily flights to Johannesburg providing an additional 272 seats on the route, therefore it is important for the airline to take advantage of similar events to expand its portfolio and amplify new business opportunities,” he said.

A total 5,880 trade members visited the trade fair, which is Africa’s leading and only business-to-business exhibition for inbound and outbound Africa travel and tourism markets.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, stbnews@seychelles.travel  www.seychelles.travel

Marthinus van Schalkwyk: New South African High Commissioner to Australia

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News broke during World Travel Market Africa in Cape Town that effective Monday, April 15, Marthinus van Schalkwyk will transfer from Athens to Australia for the next four years as High Commissioner (Ambassador).

The tourism trade in South Africa and from the World of Tourism remember fondly Marthinus van Schalkwyk from his years as the Minister of Tourism of South Africa.

On April 29, 2004 Van Schalkwyk was appointed by President Thabo Mbeki as Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism for South Africa. He held the position until May 2009, when a new Ministry of Water and Environmental Affairs was created and he became Minister of Tourism.

Van Schalkwyk became President of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in June 2008, when South Africa assumed the presidency of AMCEN at the beginning of its 12th Session.

In its annual review of ministerial performance for 2013. the Mail and Guardian honored his significant contributions as Tourism Minister.

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