Tag Archives: Eurostar

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

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is encouraging its members to use IT to improve the customer experience, saying that airlines ‘fly people and cargo, not planes‘. Consistency of customer experience is not yet satisfactory for airlines, with little differentiation. Customers would like to use IT to check in online, tag luggage themselves, board themselves, and collect bags themselves, an IATA survey found last year.  IATA’s goal is that 80% of passengers have a ‘self-service suite based on industry standards‘ available to them by 2020.

*   PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is not known as a Tourism consultancy, so its prediction about our country’s tourism future is a surprise.  Its report presents growth of 4% in international tourists 2013, far lower than the 10% growth in 2012.  Growth is said to be solid and good, but ‘not fantastic growth‘.  Almost three quarters of international visitors to our country are from Africa, the report confirms.  Nigeria would become the leading source market for our country, the PwC study predicts.  The Guest House category is the fastest growing in respect of room availability.  South Africa’s strength is that it attracts leisure as well as business travelers.

*   France must be feeling the tourism pinch, having announced plans to become more welcoming to tourists, English speaking ones in particular.   The country hopes to increase tourist numbers to 100 million, Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 2 October

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Babylonstoren is expanding its offering of fruit and vegetables, by now growing various varieties of mushrooms in its Mushroom Cellar.

*   Eurostar is to introduce a London – Amsterdam route from 2016, a four hour journey.

*   Xolani Mancotywa, Sommelier at the Saxon Hotel, has reached the Finals of the international 2013 Best Young Sommelier, having won the South African title.  He is competing against eleven other such country winners in Washington on 18 October.  The competition is sponsored by the Chaîne de Rôtisseurs, a global gastronomic society.

*   An innovative way of attracting business into the city in the evening is First Thursdays, the 20 or so city centre art galleries staying open until 21h00 (some even later) on the first Thursday of each month, Continue reading →

Cape Town 2nd best city in the world!

Cape Town has been voted as the second favourite holiday city in the world by more than 19 000 UK Guardian and Observer readers.   The Mother City ranked 7th last year, and has made a fantastic leap to follow Sydney, as the favourite overseas city, into second place.  New York, San Francisco and Berlin followed as 3rd, 4th and 5th favourite overseas cities.

South Africa did less well on the vote for favourite long-haul overseas country, especially with the 2010 World Cup coming up, and was not included in the top 5 list of New Zealand, Cambodia, Chile, Vietnam and Japan.

Switzerland, Norway, Austria, Sweden and Italy were the top five European countries voted for by the British readers.

Swiss was voted the best short-haul airline, and Singapore Airlines the best long-haul and best business airline.   Silversea Cruises won the best cruise line vote.   Eurostar was voted the best train company.   Taj Hotels won the best international hotel vote – a Taj Hotel is due to open in Cape Town soon.

In the “Ethical travel award category”, Bulungula Lodge in the Eastern Cape won second place.   It is located on the Wild Coast, and was one of the first Fair Trade accredited lodges, and runs on solar power, reports sagoodnews.co.za.  www.kayak.com won the vote for the best travel website.

The full list of awards can be read here.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio www.whalecottage.com