Tag Archives: Bunte

Tourism growth good from Germany

After a long period of reduced travel by Germans, due to the recession in the past few years, they are ready to travel again, and it would appear that the much improved German economic performance, coupled with the excellent coverage of South Africa’s tourist gems during the World Cup, appears to have led to a marked increase in enquires and bookings from Germany.

Southern African Tourism Update  reports that the ADAC Reisemonitor survey, conducted in July amongst a sample of 4 000 ADAC members (similar to the Automobile Association), shows that 71 % of Germans interviewed plan to make a long-haul holiday next year, up by 6 % compared in last year’s survey.  The article quotes a tourism player Dr Martin Buck as saying that “…the tourism industry is picking up speed once again.  The worst of the recession is now over and German citizens are again living up to their reputation as the world’s most travelled nation”.   Almost 60 % of Germans surveyed said they would go on holiday before the end of the year, irrespective of their financial situation, and that they expect the prices of tourism products and services to increase.   The most popular holiday destinations for Germans are Germany, Italy and then Spain. 

It was good to see an advertisement for South Africa in the leading lifestyle magazine Bunte at the end of September, with the headline “Südafrika Hautnah” (South Africa – up close), followed by a sub-headline relating to the Cape: “Zum verlieben schön – das Land am Kap strahlt eine Faszination aus, die seine Gäste nie wieder loslässt” (To fall in love with – Cape Town radiates a fascination, that never leaves its guests).  The ad focuses on German TV presenter Ruth Moschner, sharing her favourite things to do and places to visit when in South Africa.  She mentions Cape Town, with Johannesburg and Durban, but of the six photographs in the ad, two are of Cape Town (Boulder’s Beach and V&A Waterfront), as well as a Cape Dutch house in the Winelands.  Moschner raves about the country as a tourist destination, yet praises its people even more, saying that she has seldom experienced  being welcomed with such heartiness.  The ad is part-sponsored by SAA, and advertises a special package of € 599 from 8 November – 16 December (www.askSAA.com).   A tiny “schoolboard”-style ‘South Africa: Alles ist möglich’ (South Africa: everything is possible) concludes the ad.

A follow-up SA Tourism ad in Bunte last month featured Michael Mittermeier, a German comedian who performed at the Cape Town Comedy Festival last year.  He has been to South Africa three times, and raves about the generous ‘host country’, as he describes it (“Besucher werden in Sued-afrika in den einmaligen Rythmus des Landes integriert” (Visitors are drawn into the unique rhythm of the country).  He expresses the regret that Bafana Bafana dropped out of the World Cup so early.   He highlights the 10 hour travel time between Germany and South Africa, without time difference, as positives, and recommends a safari to see the Big Five, and the beautiful coastal beaches.  Three photographs of the rocks at Camps Bay beach, Cape Town from the top of Table Mountain, and of a Cape Dutch homestead make up half the photographs featured, a weighting towards the region that most tourists describe as the most beautiful of all in South Africa.

During the World Cup the leading German TV station ZDF broadcast an hour-long tourism documentary about South Africa, presented by the charming ex-Miss South Africa Jo-ann Strauss, prior to each match in which the German team played.  Accommodation bookings from Germany flowed in from July onwards as a result, more than we have seen in many years.

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

South Africa blogged by Bunte

Germany’s most prominent society magazine Bunte has started a South Africa blog, in preparation for the 2010 World Cup. 

The magazine has a large and high profile readership, and the new blog should have a strong marketing benefit for the country.   However, the blog writer, whilst a guest of S A Tourism, is not completely positive, if one reads his first two posts.

Although advertised as being a daily blog, only two posts have appeared since 5 March.    The first post praises the one-hour time shift between Germany and South Africa; describes an uncomfortable night’s sleep on SAA (!); covers a visit to the newly built Rustenburg stadium, which makes the writer question whether the construction will be completed in time for June 2010, but is assured by the construction management that he should not be concerned; and his stay-over at The Lost City, which the writer refers to as a South African “Disneyland”, he questions whether it is not a little too “kitschig” and comments about the note in the room that he has to close his windows to prevent monkeys from getting into his room at night!

The second post describes a safari in the Pilansberg game reserve, and that he does not get to see lions; and refers to a soccer match between Orlando Pirates against Bay United, at Ellis Park, in which match the referee allows 8 minutes of extra time, on which the writer comments cynically, as he does about hardly seeing any whites attending the match, and refers to the stampede at the stadium in 2001, in which 43 persons died!

The Bunte blog is at http://www.bunte.de/leben/bunte-unterwegs/unterwegs-in-suedafrika/unterwegs-wilde-tiere-und-fussball_aid_8812.html.

Prince Albert celebrates in Fresnaye

Prince Albert of Monaco and his girlfriend Charlene Wittstock celebrated her 31st birthday in Fresnaye on 25 January, reports Bunte, Germany’s leading society magazine.

The hoped for engagement did not happen.  Wittstock is believed to become the wife of Prince Albert.  The South African swimmer has been at the Prince’s side for three years, and has given up her swimming career for this.

The Prince’s party was disrupted by the police at 2 am, after neighbours in the suburb complained about the noise.

The magazine shows a photograph of the Prince’s friend’s house, high up in Fresnaye, and also a photograph of Clifton, which it says can be seen from the friend’s house, which is not possible, as Fresnaye and Clifton are about 2 km apart!