Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* The visa application problems in India experienced by travelers wishing to travel to our country appear to have been dealt with, and the turn-around time now is five days.
* Booking for the World Cup 2014 in Brazil has been very last minute, with most airline tickets bought in May. More bookings have come from the northern Europe countries Germany, France, and the UK, while the Mediterranean countries Italy and Portugal have seen far more cautious support.
* For the second year running the Bordeaux wine region has been hard hit by hail and strong wind, the storm over two days earlier this week damaging vineyards to such an extent that farmers want the French government to declare the devastation a ‘national catastrophe’. About 1500 ha of vineyard have been completely destroyed by the storm.
* The new visa application regulations for families with children travelling to our country has caused an upheaval. New Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom is speaking to his Home Affairs counterpart Malusi Gigaba, and the introduction has been delayed. Different dates for the delayed implementation have been mentioned in different news reports, but it appears that 1 October is the new (delayed) implementation date. Southern African Tourism Services Association (SATSA) CEO David Frost is fighting the matter via the new Tourism Minister and had nothing nice to say about the Department of Home Affairs regulations, and their effect on tourism: ‘I would like to assure members that SATSA will continue to oppose draconian legislation that impedes the tourism potential to South Africa. As an organisation we support the need for proper regulations with respect to incoming tourism, but the heavy-handed and non-consultative approach exhibited by the Department of Home Affairs is to be strongly countered. This extends to the imposition of biometric visa requiring applicants to appear in person, which will severely impact growing markets such as India and China. Furthermore, we will work with our fellow associations BASA, ASATSA and Fair Trade in Tourism, through the auspices of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), and our Ministry of Tourism, to seek a more structured engagement with the Department of Home Affairs, where we can assert a tourism agenda in these deliberations‘.
* A new frame for Table Mountain, created by Porky Hefer, has been erected at Lookout Hill in Khayelitsha as part of World Design Capital 2014, to bring a different perspective on the mountain from the township. A further frame is to be set up in Langa, it was announced, in the hope that it will bring tourists to the townships. Not much of Table Mountain can however be seen from the townships. (seen via Twitter)
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage
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