Tag Archives: Khayelitsha

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 3 September

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Cape Town Tourism has launched a campaign focused on Capetonians, to celebrate Tourism Month this month, encouraging locals to experience their own city.  Based on the view that locals may not always appreciate the beauty of the city, they have been invited to photograph the yellow frames giving a different perspective on Table Mountain, erected to celebrate World Design Capital 2014 throughout Cape Town (in the V&A Waterfront, at Look Out Hill in Khayelitsha, as well as in Blaauwberg), with their friends and family. The winning photograph will win a Cape Town experience valued at R30000. (received via media release from Cape Town Tourism)

*   Western Cape Tourism Minister Alan Winde hopes that the forthcoming tourism season will be the best yet, despite the damage that the Immigration Regulations can do to families wishing to visit our province.  He will be hosting a ‘Tourism Plenary‘ later this month, to draft a Western Cape Cycling Tourism Strategy, in how to attract 100000 cyclists to the province annually.   New tourism routes in rural areas of the province are on the cards. (received via media release from Minster Winde’s office)

*   Global air travel increased by 5% in July relative to the twelve months prior, says the International Air Transport Continue reading →

Cape Town to be connected via web of cycle and pedestrian lanes!

Cape Town Bicycle Lane City of Cape TownA R20 million project by the City of Cape Town will expand cycle and walking lanes in the Cape Town city centre to new lanes to be developed in suburbs outside the city centre, reports the Cape Times.

Cycle lanes will be developed in Athlone, Rondebosch, Mowbray, and Salt River, and will lead to the green cycling lanes already seen on city centre roads, such as Bree Street and Somerset Road.  In addition, walking paths and cycling lanes will be developed in Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Nyanga, Philippi, Steenberg, Atlantis, Delft, Kuils River, and Bonteheuwel.  The linkage between the city centre lanes and the Liesbeek Parkway cycle route, as well as from Observatory and Woodstock, will commence next week.

The Pedal Power Association has welcomed the planned additional cycle routes, stating that the Argus Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 11 June

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The visa application problems in India experienced by travelers wishing to travel to our country appear to have been dealt with, and the turn-around time now is five days.

*   Booking for the World Cup 2014 in Brazil has been very last minute, with most airline tickets bought in May.  More bookings have come from the northern Europe countries Germany, France, and the UK, while the Mediterranean countries Italy and Portugal have seen far more cautious support.

*   For the second year running the Bordeaux wine region has been hard hit by hail and strong wind, the storm over two days earlier this week damaging vineyards to such an extent that farmers want the French government to declare the devastation a ‘national catastrophe’.   About 1500 ha of vineyard have been completely destroyed by the storm.

*   The new visa application regulations for families with children travelling to our country has caused an upheaval.  New Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom is speaking to his Home Affairs counterpart Malusi Gigaba, and the introduction has been delayed. Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 21 – 23 March

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   American wine economist Mike Veseth writes that South Africa has a large production of wine, and should therefore be better known in the USA, given that our country’s wine production is 10% less than that of Chile, and 4 times larger than that of New Zealand.  Part of the reason is that Americans do not know about our country and where it is, and therefore he describes our wines as ‘the invisible wine’!  Lack of awareness of our country plus the re-emergence of our country’s wines at the same that the New World countries launched their wines internationally made it more difficult for South African wines to be noticed in the USA.  Initially, our wine exporters suffered logistical problems, in a market ‘which is structurally difficult to penetrate‘ and faces strong competition, which added to the lower visibility in the USA.

*   The MyCiTi Bus service has increased passenger numbers by 89% in the past four months, the City of Cape Town claims.  More than 400000 ‘passenger journeys‘ in November 2013 increased to over 700000 by February this year, when the Hout Bay, Oranjezicht, Sea Point, Camps Bay, Dunoon, Melkbosstrand, and Century City routes were added.   However, the growth in passenger numbers has not been without its problems, with applications to have the service stopped by the Golden Arrow bus company having been dismissed in court;  and complaints have been received about overcrowding, timetable inaccuracy in the afternoons especially, and the MyConnect card.  The timetable problems may have led to the City firing Lumen Technologies, the company which was contracted to control scheduling.  The Atlantis, Khayelitsha, and Mitchell’s Plain routes will open this year in the next four months.  The City has spent close to R5 billion on the service to date.

*   South Africa has become a backdrop for music videos shot for some very well-known music stars.  The most famous Continue reading →