Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* A giant sun fish has beached in Camps Bay. Attempts by the City of Cape Town Fire & Rescue Services, the NSRI, and the City’s Solid Waste Department to move the fish back into the sea have proven unsuccessful so far, in part due to the sea conditions, and beachgoers pushing it out to sea. Originally the fish was thought to be a baby whale. It is injured from attempts made to get it back into the rough sea, and has beached itself again.
* A #BoycottWoolworths campaign is costing the retailer R8 million a month, and is currently targeted for the festive season, at stores around the country, including the Cavendish branch in Cape Town. The campaign is using ’till-jams‘, whereby trollies are filled and then left at the till. BDS South Africa says it is not involved in the latest campaign, having previously organised boycotts against the retailer for stocking produce from Israel.
* Chinese investor William Wu has bought a 51% share in Swartland Winery, which produces Lion’s Hill Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay, as well as limited release Bush Vines. SA wine exports to China increased steadily between 2008 and 2013, to close to 6 million litres, but this trend has reversed.
* Tripdvisor has been fined €500000 by Italian competition authorities for publishing misleading information in the reviews posted on its site, despite its marketing promise of accurate reviews. The company intends appealing against the fine. The hospitality industry is well aware of the false information which is posted both negatively and positively, and TripAdvisor has no means of testing this! The review company says it is ‘very confident‘ in its systems.
* More airlines are expected to take off in China in 2015, according to a report by Official Airline Guide. Outbound travel from China is a key trend for next year, flying to South Korea in the main, with a growth of 39% between these two destinations in the past year. Changes are expected in the Indian airline industry too. The report predicts that 8 out of 10 top tourism markets will be in Africa in the next 20 years, but that growth of tourism to Africa, from China in particular, can already be expected next year.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Tel (021) 433-2100, Twitter:@WhaleCottage Facebook: click here
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