Tag Archives: Qatar Airways

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 10 June

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The Department of Home Affairs has ‘rubbished‘ the claim of SATSA (SA Tourism Service Association) that it is seeing a decline in airline ticket sales to our country of 30%, saying that the association is only trying to ‘cause confusion‘.  SATSA CEO David Frost has described the Department’s reaction to the decline as ‘insulting’. The Department has stated that its priority is the safety of children, and not tourism!

*   Qatar Airways will be increasing the frequency of its flights to Cape Town, offering daily flights to Cape Town in summer and in winter.  Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy welcomed the larger number of travelers Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 17 April

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The French association of travel agents and tour operators has written to the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Tourism, and the Department of Foreign Affairs, requesting an improvement regarding the new Immigration Regulations regarding children traveling to our country.  The association points out that tourism to our country will be harmed, by up to 40% they warn!

*   Qatar Airways has been named the World’s Most Dependable Airline, in competition with 21 other airlines, in a study conducted by WanderBat, measuring punctuality, age of the fleet, and cost.

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WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 4 September

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The announcement by Virgin Atlantic that it will drop Cape Town from its London route from 26 April 2015, at the start of the local winter, comes as a shock to the Tourism industry.  The new Immigration Regulations are said to be to blame in part, but the London-Johannesburg route has not been axed, therefore not making this reason credible.  It would appear that it is an unprofitable route in winter, due to Cape Town’s terrible Seasonality problem in winter, but word received says that this is a permanent route axing!  Tokyo, Vancouver, and Mumbai will also be chopped!

*   Better news is that Qatar Airways is changing its three times a week via Johannesburg flights between Doha and Cape Town to five direct flights between the two cities from 3 November onwards.  The change is justified on the basis of Cape Town’s popularity as a destination in Africa.

*   Minister Derek Hanekom addressed the e-Tourism Africa Summit 2014  in Cape Town today, highlighting how technology has changed tourism information provision and bookings.  In 2011 150000 tourists booked via SA Tourism’s online travel agency partners.  Two years later this doubled to 285000.  He encouraged tourist product owners to offer tourists free wifi, so that they can share their local tourist experiences via Social Media.

*   The Beautiful South, a showcase of 250 wines from South Africa, Chile, and Argentina, will be held for the Continue reading →