Tag Archives: Middle East

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 5 June

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines 

*   The Cape Town International Convention Centre has appointed Julie-May Ellingson as its new CEO.  Ms Ellingson has been CEO of the Durban Convention Centre for the past three years.

*   With the assistance of Wesgro and the Department of Trade & Industry, local wine exporters Robinson & Sinclair have secured a national listing with Walmart Sams Club Brazil.  The company represents 18 family-owned wine estates.

*   TripAdvisor ‘reviewers’ have voted Cape Town second best in the world in the categories ‘Best for Restaurants‘ (after New York) and ‘Helpful Locals‘ (after Tokyo), in its World City Survey 2014.  Helena Egan, Head of TripAdvisor Destination Marketing for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said about our country and its people: ‘Everyone is friendly and it’s a genuine friendliness. It comes from the heart. It’s natural. The joy and happiness of the people are key to your destination success’. Velma Corcoran, Executive for Marketing at Cape Town Tourism, added: ‘Any accolade awarded by destination users is a fantastic barometer for us. The fact that we have been voted second to New York as one of the world’s top restaurant cities is truly a testament to Cape Town’s talented and visionary chefs and restaurateurs. It is a moment to celebrate, and luckily Capetonians and visitors can do this at great value this winter as excellent specials abound. On behalf of the destination I would also like to thank each and every person who smiled at, assisted or shared their stories with our visitors. We are so proud to be Capetonian‘.

*   The image of Pinotage is improving, as its association with ‘burnt rubber’ and bitterness is being addressed by the Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 22 May

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   After having focused on Cape Town earlier this week, Huffington Post has included Hermanus in an article entitled ‘5 Lesser-known African wonders you have to see’.  Whale-watching is recommended, from July – November, with twenty to thirty whales being seen in Hermanus on average per day in that period, announced by the whale crier on his kelp horn.  The other wonders are the lunar rainbow in Zambia, the South Carmine Bee-eater migration in Zambia, wildebeest calving in Tanzania, and the Fruit-bat migration in Zambia.

*   South Africa’s premium wines over £10 a bottle were praised at a blind tasting held in London on Tuesday, offering quality and value for money.  The tasting was organised by the drinks business and the Premium Independent Wineries of South Africa, a collective of 15 local wine producers, promoting premium wines costing £10 or more.  Only 4% of wines are bought at that price-point, warned Tesco’s South African wine buyer, but he praised the quality of our wines, saying that they are ‘fantastic‘.  He said that our country’s premium wines need to promote their credentials.    Local wines tasted were Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc 2000, Beaumont Hope Marguerite 2009, Journey’s End Destination Chardonnay 2012, Mulderbosch Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2010, Radford Dale ‘Nudity’ Syrah 2013, Mullineux Syrah 2012, Mvemve Raats de Compostella 2012, Jordan Cobblers Hill, South Africa 2011, Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Pinot Noir 2012, The Drift ‘There are still mysteries’ Pinot Noir 2012, and Paul Cluver Pinot Noir 2012.

*   Italian anti-trust and competition authorities are investigating TripAdvisor for its Continue reading →

Whale Tales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 7 May

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has seen only a minimal improvement in the growth in revenue passenger kilometers of 5,6% in the first quarter of this year, compared to 5,2 % for the same quarter in 2013.   Global passenger growth in March 2014 was half that in February.  Most regions showed minimal growth in March compared to February, with the exception of the Middle East, which had a 10% passenger growth and Latin America a 4,7% passenger growth in March relative to February.  Africa was the only region with an outright passenger decline (2,6%), and South Africa’s passenger decline is said to be to blame due to poor economic conditions in our country.

*   TripAdvisor is negotiating to buy lafourchette, an European restaurant booking platform representing 12000 restaurants in France, Switzerland, and Spain.  At the World Travel Market Africa Conference held in Cape Town last week the audience was told that TripAdvisor would strongly focus on restaurants, this purchase being a reflection of the planned restaurant drive.

*   De Grendel Merlot 2011 has won a Gold and its Shiraz 2012 a Silver Award at the SAKURA Awards held in Tokyo.  Entries were received from 33 countries, and 1900 wines were evaluated on a 100 point scoring system. Continue reading →

Cape Town makes music for FIFA 2014 World Cup, and Faul & Wad Ad’s ‘Changes’!

Coca Cola Anthem Middle EastOn Kfm yesterday morning presenter Ian Bredenkamp spoke about Cape Town’s role as film location, specifically referring to two music videos which have been produced in our beautiful city.

Coca Cola’s anthem for the Middle East for the 2014 soccer World Cup is really odd, entitled ‘The World is Ours’.   The music video tells the story of three friends from Algeria, Egypt, and Tunisia meeting up at the airport in Brazil, for the World Cup soccer, and having a good time getting to enjoy the vibe of the country.  However, the video was shot in its entirety in Cape Town and surrounds, representing the ‘vibrant and colourful Brazilian landscape‘, according to the production company.  The video starts off with a park with palms, and features the view from Signal Hill looking down onto Sea Point, Cape Town International, Bo-Kaap, dancing on the rooftop of a building in the city centre with Lion’s HeadCoca Cola Anthem Middle East Rooftop Whale Cottage Portfolio as a backdrop, street food stalls, and having fun on a beach (most likely to be Camps Bay).  The production was by Silver Lining Pictures (in conjunction with Fortune Promoseven Cairo), and the post production was done by Searle Street Post, both from Cape Town.   The anthem interpretation is vibey, and its tune catchy, much nicer than the FIFA official anthem by Pitbull.  The Coca Cola Middle East music video achieved close to 2 million views on YouTube within 48 hours of being Continue reading →