Tag Archives: FNB

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 1/2 March

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The price of petrol increases by 36 cents a litre at midnight on 5 March.

*   To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Amarula brand, Distell is launching a new spirit Amarula Gold this month. The new 30% spirit is described as ‘aromatic and vibrantly fruity with intriguingly spicy notes and a very smooth texture’.

*   Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk is attending the second World Tourism Forum Lucerne Think Tank in Switzerland this weekend.  This year the focus is on ‘Infrastructure and Investment’, with attention on financing tourism and travel infrastructure.

*   The Franschhoek Literary Festival will be held between 16 and 18 May, and 170 authors will speak on various topics.  Speakers include poets Adam Small and Breyten Breytenbach; heavy-weight writers Damon Galgut and Mark Gevisser; and controversial writers Andre Brink, Max du Preez, and Tim Noakes.  Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho, as well as former FNB MD and now Mxit Chairman Michael Jordaan will also participate in the pregramme. 

*   The 4000 strong penguin colony at Betty’s Bay is under threat from a diesel spill Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 13/14 February

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Pernod Ricard, international marketer of Absolut, Mumm, and Martell, has seen a 18% decline in sales in China in the first half of its financial year.

*   The Karoo is one of the world’s top nine stargazing destinations, which includes the Algarve in Portugal, Ayer’s Rock in Australia, Atacama Desert in Chile, Jasper National Park in Canada, Mauna Kea in Hawaii, Grumeti in Tanzania, Kitt Peak in Arizona, and Gülpe in Germany.

*   SAA has applied to introduce new routes, and new codeshare agreements with a host of new destinations, including Moscow, Asuncion in Paraguay, Lomé in Togo, Praia and Ilha do Sol in Cape Verde, Jakarta, Kingston, and Port of Spain  in Trinidad and Tobago.  The airline has also applied to increase the frequency of its African routes, including Lagos, Blantyre, Lilongwe, and Accra.

*   Twitter now has 5,5 million users in South Africa, up by 129% in just one year. (via Twitter)

*   Michael Jordaan, owner of Bartinney wine estate and former CEO of FNB, found parallels Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 24 October

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   UK hotels are concerned that they may have spoilt tourists by offering discounts to counter the recession of the past few years, and that this is a standard expectation of their customers now.

*   The Minister of Finance Pravin Ghordan has announced stringent cost-cutting measures in respect of travel and entertainment, including a ban on first-class air travel (Business Class allowed for Ministers, Directors General and their deputies), B group car rental only,  withdrawal of official credit cards, restricting the size of travel delegations, and banning hotel accommodation, rental accommodation to be used; and banning the purchase of alcohol for state events.

*   Confidence in the Tourism industry is at its highest ever since the Tourism Business Council of South Africa and FNB introduced their Tourism Business Index in 2010,  reaching 116 in the third quarter of this year.  However, Continue reading →

Pieter vs Pendock: Plaintiff posts Publik Pendock punch!

Neil Pendock Sour GrapesThe wine industry is surprised about the repeated missives i.e. missiles from Neil Pendock, the blogging bully attacking Pieter de Waal, Secretary of the Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group (SBIG), sponsor FNB, Christian Eedes as chairman of the judging panel, and the Sauvignon Blanc producers generically.  Most readers of Pendock’s raving ramblings have no idea what his fight is all about.  There is no better book title to describe this mess than the one penned by Pendock himself, appropriately entitled ‘Sour Grapes‘!

The Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group, with the material muscle of its sponsor FNB, is not allowing polemic Pendock to get away with his defamation, denigration, and  disparagement, and has taken action Continue reading →