Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* The South African wine industry should be more assertive, and not try to please everybody, says Johann Krige, owner of Kanonkop and outgoing Chairman of Wines of South Africa (WOSA), who has handed over the reins to Dr Michael Jordaan. Transformation in the industry of 680 members of WOSA and exporting collectively 550000 litres of wine is vital, Krige said. He said that the two windfalls of the ‘Mandela factor’ and a weak rand may have been bad for the industry, despite benefiting it financially, allowing inferior wines to be produced too. The Board of WOSA has the five largest ‘black exporters‘ on its Board of 15, a positive development, Krige added. He praised his Board members for working together for the ‘good of the whole industry‘. Bulk wine exports are environmentally-friendly, it being more ‘green’ to bottle at the destination. He urged the industry to be ‘terroirists‘, planting cultivars suitable to the soils on its farms. He added that the government sees the wine industry as ‘too white, too male and too Afrikaans‘, and has not acknowledged the transformation that has already taken place.
* Cape Town is praised in the British InStyle, writing with the headline ‘Why Cape Town should be your next holiday destination’ and stating that ‘Cape Town is the place to be’. Focusing largely on the Mount Nelson Hotel, almost sounding like an advertorial, it does encourage visitors to go up Table Mountain and to experience Robben Island; go on a walking tour of the city centre; visit the ‘Boulders Penguin Colony‘; see whales, dolphins, and seals, and even Great White sharks; experience the Neighbourgoods Market on Saturday mornings; and go to Greenmarket Square.
* An Africa tourism tax on flights and accommodation, currently being considered by the African Union, would have a negative impact on tourism demand, economic growth, and employment, says the United Nations World Travel Organisation.
* Africa is praised as a travel destination by The Vancouver Sun, for giving the writer ‘a better understanding of Africa. The people are so full of joy despite the hardships and challenges they face. This vacation left us smiling from beginning to end, with so many treasures bought along the way’. The write-up includes Table Mountain, Robben Island, Cape Point, Kirstenbosch, Boulders Beach, the Winelands, the Garden Route, Oudtshoorn, Plettenberg Bay, Knysna, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and Botswana.
* ‘Flashpacking’ is a new term to describe an emerging travel trend of how Social Media helps to upgrade one’s travels via iPad and iPhone, share one’s photographs on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, obtain information about tourism highlights to see, and make bookings. The typical ‘Flashpacker‘ is a backpacker with a greater budget and more gadgets. They seek a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
* Twitter has added a Mute button, allowing its users to temporarily silence Tweeters whose Tweets they do not want to see, possibly due to excessive numbers of Tweets received, such as was the case with Destinate CEO Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, whose flood of Tweets last week led an angry Follower to mute her for a week. Muting is a less drastic step than Unfollowing or Blocking.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage
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