2012 Olympic Games | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

Brand ‘South Africa’ and ‘Fairtrade‘ will be in the lips of hundreds of thousands of Olympic Games supporters for the next three weeks, being branded on two of the three official ‘London 2012’ wines produced for the 2012 Olympic Games, reports Winemag. The Chenin Blanc and Rosé wines (made from Pinotage, Shiraz, and Merlot) come from Stellenrust, the largest Fairtrade-certified wine estate in South Africa, one of the largest family-owned wine estates in the country, and ‘a very successful winery’, according to its Platter entry.

For the first time in Olympic history, the International Olympic Committee contracted with Bibendum, a London-based wine merchant, which was awarded the title ‘European Merchant of the Year 2012’, to source 650000 litres of 2012 vintage wines, for sale at the Olympic Games venues in London. The third wine is not Fairtrade-certified, and comes from Brazil’s Seival Estate, being a Shiraz, Tempranillo, and Gamay Nouveau blend. The Brazilian wine reflects the country hosting the Olympic Games in 2016, and its emergence as a wine producing country.

The wines are to be sold at £4,80 (R62) for a 187 ml recyclable PET bottle, and at R250 for a 750 ml bottle. One million bottles each of the Rosé and Shiraz Tempranillo will be available for sale, as will be 1,2 million bottles of Chenin Blanc. A total of 9 million tickets have been sold to Olympic Games spectators.

In addition to the marvellous branding benefit for the country and its wine industry, an excellent outcome of this win for the Stellenbosch wine estate is that R450000 will go its staff, for allocation to social upliftment projects, which will be overseen by the Fairtrade Foundation in the UK, reports The Times.

WOSA (Wines of South Africa) and SA Tourism couldn’t have wished for a better free marketing opportunity to give the world a taste for South African wines and for marketing South Africa as a tourism destination

POSTSCRIPT 5/8: The Fairtrade ethical logo is attracting increasing custom, reports the Cape Argus, internationally its brands having generated sales of € 5 billion in 2011. In the UK the spend on Fairtrade brands increased by 12% last year relative to 2010. Locally, Fairtrade sales more than tripled to R73 million last year. Cape Chamber of Commerce President Michael Bagraim said that the Fairtrade certification could help give local products a competitive edge in international export markets. Wine and coffee are the Fairtrade products that have sold best locally, South Africans having bought 255600 bottles and 3,5 million cups of coffee certified by Fairtrade. Woolworths Cafés, operated by TriBeCa, sell Fairtrade certified organic coffee.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

The latest Euromonitor International report on the global tourism industry predicts that international arrivals will ‘slow down 5,8%’, according to Cape Town Tourism, yet will see arrivals exceed 1 billion persons by 2012. The forecast is that this figure will increase to 1,8 billion by 2030.

The report is based on a prediction of a ‘double dip recession’, in Europe in particular. GDP is expected to grow by 4% globally this year, down by 1,1 percentage points from 2010, caused by higher fuel prices and taxes, and political and social unrest. ‘Across all markets, online marketing is considered to be the most significant growth area in the long term, with applications on social media and mobile devices very lucrative in the medium-term’, writes Cape Town Tourism.

The report also contains a number of global travel trends, highlighting how different countries and regions are adapting to the international downturn:

* Mystery trips: In America the need for affordable yet exciting travel has led to the development of mystery trips, whereby tourists bid on packages with an unknown destination. A Smartphone reveals a daily itinerary, based on a pre-determined budget. Prices are 50 % lower, as the travel products offered are excess stock, heavily discounted.

* Rent a garden: In the UK the outlook for travel ‘remains bleak with a stagnant economy’, as we reported yesterday. This market is seeking greater value, and alternate affordable accommodation, including campsites and hostels. Campsinmygarden.com lists sites renting out their gardens for camping. Overcharging by London hotels for the 2012 Olympic Games is noticeable, and travellers are avoiding these. UK hotel growth fell by 5% last year, is expected to remain stable this year, and grow by 2 % next year, showing the small effect that the Olympics is likely to have on the UK hotel accommodation industry, an experience similar to that during the World Cup in South Africa.

* Luxury without guilt: European travellers are focusing on ‘responsible and sustainable travel’, and travelers are expecting own produce to be grown by hotels and involvement in community produce growing initiatives. Europe’s collective GDP is estimated to fall slightly from 1,8% in 2010 to 1,4% in 2012.

* Branding and Rebranding: Given the political turmoil, the Middle East is looking to rebranding, to change perceptions about the region, which has seen a 6% drop in arrivals this year, compared to 12 % growth last year.

* Mobile commerce: Kenya is focusing on booking travel via mobile phones, its M-PESA system enabling Kenyans without bank accounts to pay for travel and other purchases via their phones. GDP growth in Africa is estimated at 5% for this year.

* Growing influence of Asia: China will become increasingly dominant as a source market, with a 20 % growth in travel anticipated in the next five years. International hotel brands are partnering with Chinese companies, and customising their brands to suit the market, both in China, and also in other regions, to make them attractive to Chinese travellers. Inter-Asia travel is growing too.

* ‘Gamification’: Started in the USA, consumers are encouraged to enter competitions, sharing their travel experiences, photographs and videos, in exchange for points, badges and gifts. The ‘Ireland Town’ game on Facebook, by Tourism Ireland, is expected to attract 60 million potential travellers.

* Global village: Increasingly hotels are using Social Media to gain followers and friends, to create awareness, build loyalty, and generate bookings.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage