Tag Archives: Events

Cape Town Tourism celebrates 10th anniversary with colourful, fun, and festive AGM!

CapeTownTourism AGM Cake Whale CottageLast night Cape Town Tourism held what many say is the best AGM ever, with a dynamic and funny keynote speaker Vusi Thembekwayo, and a very entertaining Anton Groenewald from the City of Cape Town  Tourism, Events, and Marketing Directorate, being the highlight of the event held at the Tsogo Sun Cape Sun, which celebrated the 10th anniversary of Cape Town Tourism since its re-invention in 2004.

I arrived late, returning from Franschhoek, as Groenewald was speaking.  He kindly gave me his notes, for use for writing this blogpost.  His Mayoral Committee member for Tourism, Events, and Marketing, Councillor Garreth Bloor, was present, and many a joke was at his expense.  Groenewald started his talk by reflecting on the past three years in which he has headed up theCapeTownTourism AGM Anton Groenewald Whale Cottage Tourism Directorate of the City, and has spent R1,5 billion.  He confirmed the three-year agreement signed with Cape Town Tourism, which came with a promise of R120 million over the next three years.   Reflecting on the successes of the past year, Groenewald presented its highlights as being World Travel Market Africa, a collaboration with Thebe Reed, which attracted 4500 trade visitors and 220 media, and for which the city has signed for another two Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 26 September

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Cape Town’s biggest sporting event, the Cape Argus Cycle Tour, has been renamed the Cape Town Cycle Tour for 2015.  Entries for the Cycle Tour open today.

*   Infamous Irish chef and now restaurant consultant Conrad Gallagher, who left Cape Town under a cloud of debt, has set up shop in the Mother City again.  His website proudly brags about the restaurants to which he consults (a photograph he uses on his website is taken in chef’s uniform at the Table Bay Hotel).

*   Ajax Cape Town will make the Cape Town Stadium its new home ground for the next three soccer seasons, after a deal with the City of Cape Town, which was approved yesterday.  Councillor Garreth Bloor, Mayoral Committee Member for Tourism, Events, and Marketing, said the deal was part of the City’s goal to build Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 19 September

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines 

*   Distell has created a wine marketing subsidiary in the UK, called Distell Vineyards & Estates, which is also marketing its wines in Germany, Holland, and Finland.  UK sales are £ 32 million. CEO Carina Gouws emphasised the importance of the UK market: ‘The UK remains the most important market globally in terms of positioning premium brands.  Wines that perform well in there are noticed by the rest of the world’.   The company is planning to aggressively increase its market share four fold, focusing more on independent retailers and the on-trade in the UK.

*   A review of the MyCiTi Bus performance has shown that the service surpassed its target by over 2 million ‘passenger journeys‘, reaching 7,4 million in the past financial year. The recent introduction of the N2 Express to Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain has boosted the passenger numbers to over 1 million per month.  Changes to be made to routes include culling the Waterfront Silo extension from the Civic Centre on the Camps Bay route (which we criticised from the outset when launched a year ago).  Route 113 along Ocean View Drive from Three Anchor Bay to Fresnaye will be cancelled on 6 October, due to low demand.  One wonders why market research was not conducted to check demand for the service.

*   World Travel Market Africa will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 15 – 17 April next year, Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 18 August

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*  At the SAACI Congress Wesgro has been named as South Africa’s best Convention Bureau, and the Cape Town International Convention Centre the country’s best Convention venue. (via Twitter)

*   Hanneli Slabber, SA Tourism Country Manager for India, has received the ‘Best Professional in Marketing‘ award at the Safari India National Tourism Awards. Since her appointment in India, there has been a marked growth in tourists from India to South Africa.

*   Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom has praised the role of Business Tourism as well as of Events, in addressing the SAACI (South African Association for the Conference Industry) Congress today.  He said that this sector of Tourism, which has an above average spend when visiting Continue reading →