Category Archives: world cup 2014

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 20 May

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*  The influential Huffington Post has published a fantastic article about Cape Town, entitled ‘15 Reasons Cape Town should be No. 1 on your travel agenda’, and has already achieved 749 Facebook likes, 211 Facebook shares,  and 473 Tweets in the past 24 hours. The list of reasons includes its location; ‘some of the most picturesque beach communities you’ll ever see’, featuring a photograph of Clifton;  beachfront bars, showing a photograph of the view onto Camps Bay beach from the now closed-down St Yves; 3000 penguins at Boulders Beach; the Sea Point swimming pool;  the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden; the V&A Waterfront ‘tourist trap‘ but meaning it in a positive way;   ‘the weather is almost too perfect’, with a photograph of the Twelve Apostles with a heavy South-Easter cloud!; Long Street not being as over-crowded or over-priced as Bourbon Street;  the Royale Eatery, well-known for its burgers and thick milkshakes;  colourful Bo-Kaap; the Neighbourgoods Market; ‘breathtaking universities‘;  and braai’s, at Mzoli’s in Gugulethu in particular.  The Stellenbosch Winelands and shark cage diving in Gansbaai are also recommended.

*   TripAdvisor has found that user searches for South Africa are increasingly terms such as ‘museums‘,  ‘luxury’, and ‘wifi’, while ‘safety’, wildlife, and ‘animals’ are less often searched than before.

*   The 2014 World Cup, due to kick-off in Brazil on 12 June, could be headed for chaos if the threatened strike by staff of the LATAM airline group servicing most of South America is not dealt with before then.  It is estimated that 300 international and 750 regional flights could be affected if the strike takes place.

*   Century City is to complete a new Conference Centre by the end of next year.  The CCCC will have 20 venues which Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 21/22 December

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   SAA has received accolades from three American publications:  Premier Traveler Magazine’s named SAA as ‘Best Airline to Africa’,  and ‘Best Airline in Africa‘; Business Traveler Magazine honored SAA as the ‘Best Airline to Africa’; and  Global Traveler  magazine named SAA as ‘Best Airline in Africa’ for the 10th consecutive year, placing the airline in the Hall of Fame.

*   The Mirror has an article about Cape Town, and how much one can do in a weekend break from London, visiting the Big 7 (not heard of before), which includes Table Mountain, Robben Island, Kirstenbosch, V&A Waterfront, Cape Point, Boulder’s Beach, and the Constantia Wine Route.

*   The 2014 soccer World Cup is expected to generate $ 10,4 billion for the Brazilian economy.  The FIFA Confederations Cup earlier this year generated $311 million, and the visit by Pope Francis generated $502 million.

*   Cape Town has been the focus of media attention from around the world, for the wrong reason, as the city’s most notorious visitor Justine Sacco flew into Cape Town from London yesterday, just after she had Tweeted what has been deemed the worst Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 11 September

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Hotel prices are increasing, and are close to 2006 levels, just prior to the global economic prices, a sign of a recovery of the world economy.

*   The Cape Winemakers Guild will accept real time online bidding at the auction of its wines at Spier on 5 October. The biggest selection of 59 wines in the 29 year history of the Auction will go under the hammer.  A Final Pre-Auction Tasting for prospective auction buyers will be held at Spier the day prior. (via media release from GC Communications)

*  American travelers are expected to travel more but spend less next year, traveling in their own country in the main, an international survey has found.

*   Is sugar as addictive as cigarette smoking or drugs was a questions asked at the Sugar Association of South Africa conference.

*   Frankfurt airport saw 5,8 million passengers pass through its doors in August, an increase of 3,6 %. and the highest passenger number ever.

*   As the world focuses on South America for the FIFA World Cup 2014 and Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 22 August

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Chinese tourists have surpassed German and American tourists in expenditure for the first time, spending more than $100 billion on tourism in the past year, a 40% increase.  South Africa does not yet feature on the top 10 list of countries Chinese visitors would like to visit.

*   Distell’s earnings grew by 12% to reach R15,9 billion, and its profit by 10%, the weak exchange rate being a boost to sales, especially within Africa.

*   More than 1 million tickets have been applied for in the FIFA World Cup 2014 Continue reading →