Tag Archives: Nigeria

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 16/17 August

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine new headlines

*  In 2013 3 billion passengers and 48 million tonnes of cargo were transported on 100000 flights per day, a World Air Transport Statistics survey by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has revealed.  One-third of the flights are in the Asia-Pacific region, and one quarter each in the USA and Europe.  Only 2% of flights are in Africa.

*   SAA and Boeing are teaming up to develop jet fuel made from tobacco, to improve the airline’s carbon footprint.  The Solaris tobacco plant will be the source of the jet fuel, made by SkyNRG.  The biofuels are expected to be developed in the next few years.  Similar test projects for British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways are underway.

*   To promote film-making in our country, Rob Davies, the Minister of Trade and Industry, has announced the drastic lowering of the domestic film expenditure threshold Continue reading →

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: 31 January

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The African Nations Championship 2014 will come to an end at the Cape Town Stadium tomorrow, with a closing ceremony, followed by the third and fourth place play-off, and the Final thereafter.   The Closing Ceremony is themed ‘Celebrating Africa’s Home Champions’, explained City of Cape Town Councillor for Tourism, Events, and Marketing Grant Pascoe to The New Age.   Ghana plays Libya in the Final, while Nigeria and Zimbabwe will battle it out for places three and four.

*  American air travellers would ideally like a passage that allows free baggage, confirmed seats, and security fast passes.  They do not want to pay for baggage.  They are however prepared to pay for overhead space for hand luggage, for their luggage to come out first at Baggage Claim, to have comfortable seats, to have extra legroom, complimentary meals, and to not have a reclining seat in front of them!

*  South Africa ranks 29th out of 140 countries on the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Index, and third in Africa (after Seychelles and Mauritius) on this Index.

*   Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, with their family, are said to live in Johannesburg for a few months, while Pitt works on a  movie Continue reading →