My biggest fear initially about our Lockdown was not being able to exercise, being a twice a day walker in my suburb of Camps Bay, thereby meeting my daily goal of 10000 steps, deemed by the American Heart Association to be the minimum we need. While I have Solo danced in my home on occasion, to make up this daily goal prior to Lockdown, I had never thought it possible to do 10000 steps, let alone even up to 16000 steps, being confined to my home. Continue reading →
SA Tourism is to concentrate 60 % of its 2012/2013 marketing budget on its traditional tourism core markets of the USA, UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Australia, as well as on India, and the African countries Bostwana, Angola, Kenya, and Nigeria, Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk told Parliament’s Tourism Committee earlier this week, according to Business Report. Unfortunately the report does not provide the size of the new marketing budget.
Minister van Schalkwyk highlighted the increasing contribution of Africa to tourism, exceeding that from other countries outside our continent, and the beneficial effect this has on our economy. He added that previous buying and business trips from Africa were turning into a ‘true tourism market’, and he has therefore added R15 million for additional marketing in Africa, ring-fenced for this purpose, and ‘essential for South Africa to be the dominant tourism market on the continent’. The Minister and his department have been criticised in the past for tourism arrival statistics from Africa being so high, and have been blamed on cross-border shopping trips, and not true travel trips. The Minister said he would like high income earners from African countries such as Kenya and Nigeria to do their shopping in South Africa rather than in Europe.
A further 20 % of the SA Tourism marketing budget will be focused on ‘Investment markets… in the hope of improved returns in the future’, which are BRICS countries China and Brazil, as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Belgium, Italy, and Sweden. ‘Tactical markets’, including New Zealand, Ireland, Lesotho, and Swaziland, are to receive an unreported budget allocation in that they offer ‘particular opportunities’.
The Minister acknowledged the local domestic tourism market, which ‘enabled the industry to hedge against global insecurity but also improve the local quality of life’. The Department of Tourism is targeting 18 million local tourists (a 23 % increase from 2009) and 15 million international visitors for 2020.
A week ago we called on the Department of Tourism to not neglect the traditional core source markets, especially Germany, a country showing strong tourism growth, and therefore the dominance of the spend on these traditional core markets is excellent news. One wonders though how far the marketing budget will stretch, with 25 countries having been included in the SA Tourism marketing mix!
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage
A ‘Cape Town’ Google Alert two days ago alerted me to an(undated) Condé Nast Traveller ‘Guide To Cape Town’, a twelve page listing of accommodation and restaurant recommendations, as well as containing suggestions for shopping, what to do, and what to see in Cape Town. While all publicity is good for our city, it is interesting to read one of the world’s most highly regarded travel magazine’s tourist suggestions, and to note how out of date the guide is, and what blatant errors it contains. One would have thought that Cape Town Tourism would work with the publisher of such a Guide, to check the accuracy of the content before it is published!
The introduction to the Guide is short and sweet: “With the striking Table Mountain as a backdrop, beautiful beaches and a relaxed and cosmopolitan atmosphere, it is no wonder Cape Town is attracting more visitors than ever. Fortunately, there are enough stylish and affordable places for every visitor to stay in, ranging from chic boutique hotels in the city centre to out-of-town mansion houses. The city also boasts historical buildings, interesting museums, shopping malls, restaurants, jazz cafés, theatres and nightclubs. On top of this, there are excellent surfing beaches and charming vineyards along the pristine coastline, and the spectacular Cape of Good Hope 70 km south of the city”. Two observations: This description of Cape Town says “beauty”, long the positioning for Cape Town, but one that Cape Town Tourism has thrown away for the city, now focusing on ‘Inspiration’ for the city! Second, the first glaring error is made, in writing about the inaccurate distance of the Cape of Good Hope from the city!
* Accommodation establishments are recommended across various price levels, denoted with £ symbols, up to 5 for the most expensive. Interestingly Newmark Hotels’ Dock House, the Cape Royale Luxury Hotel, and the One&Only Cape Town are denoted at £££££, but the exact rate range is not defined. However, Dock House dropped its rates by about 28 % recently, which is not reflected. The Cape Grace Hotel was the city’s second most expensive hotel in the Cape Town hotel rate survey we conducted earlier this month, but was given a ££££ rate rating by Condé Nast Traveller, as are No 7 Glen Beach, and the Table Bay Hotel. Even more oddly, Ellerman House was the most expensive hotel in our survey, yet is indicated at only a £££ rate level, together with Ezard House, The Mount Nelson, the Grand Daddy (clearly not in the same price league), the Twelve Apostles Hotel, and POD in Camps Bay. The Cellars-Hohenhort Hotel is rated at a ££ rate, odd for this very upmarket 5-star hotel, with the Hout Bay Manor, and the Bishop’s Court. The most affordable rate recommendations are Head South Lodge, Hemingway House, Ikhaya Guest Lodge, Kensington Place, La Splendida, Les Cascades de Bantry Bay, Rosedene Lodge, The Walden House, and Welgelegen Guest House, with vastly varying rates in this most ‘affordable’ category. We miss the über-trendy new Queen Victoria Hotel in this list. No ‘World Cup hotels’ are listed at all.
* Restaurant recommendations are even more interesting, being Beluga, Blues (‘one of Cape Town’s best-known eateries’, says the Guide!), The Codfather, La Colombe (‘considered by many to be South Africa’s finest‘), Den Anker, Haiku, Giovanni’s Deli, La Perla, Mano’s, Noon Gun Tea Room & Restaurant, and Tokara (‘lots of springbok and ostrich, but also pasta and seafood’, probably describing the Tokara under the chefmanship of Etienne Bonthuys, who left almost a year ago. Also, the restaurant is not in Cape Town!). The list seems old as well as old-fashioned, and does not capture the exciting new city restaurant openings such as The Test Kitchen, Dash, Hemelhuijs, Caffe Milano, What’s On Eatery, La Mouette, and Dear Me, and clearly is dated, based on the Tokara description. Some of the restaurant recommendations included in the list are odd!
* Nightlife recommendations are Marco’s African Place (for its jazz, and ‘indigenous and international cuisine with a smile’), and Marimba’s Cigar Bar in the Convention Centre.
* Recommended attractions to see are Robben Island, the Two Oceans Aquarium, and Jazz at the Winchester Mansions, the latter hardly being a tourist attraction!
* Recommended things to do are Camps Bay beach (except when the south-easter blows, the Guide qualifies), Clifton, walking, the City Bowl (‘a 15-minute drive from Cape Town city centre’!), Fourth Beach (mentioned again, even though mentioned under ‘Clifton’ already), Green Point, and Sea Point. Oddly, there is no mention of going to Cape Point or up Table Mountain, or even to Signal Hill, nor take the popular Hop On Hop Off bus!
* Shopping recommendations are Belafonte (men’s clothing), Billie Boutique, African Image, Okha, The Plush Bazaar, Dolce and Banana, Olga Jewellery Design Studio, Peter Gilder, Greenmarket Square, the Waterfront Craft Market, and the ‘Victoria & Albert (sic) Waterfront’ (after 20 years of being in existence, this error is unforgivable)! One wonders if the outlets mentioned are Cape Town’s finest. A pity is that none of the lovely design outlets on the Cape Town Design Route are mentioned.
* In the section of how to get to Cape Town, the Guide does not even get the name of Cape Town Tourism correct, calling it ‘Tourism Cape Town’, on the basis of its web address! It encourages visitors to visit the Pinnacle Building and other branches. We urge Cape Town Tourism to provide correct details of its name to Condé Nast Traveller! The Guide adds in this section: “avoid the tourist influx during December and January, when accommodation is expensive and hard to find, and stay clear of the gales from September – November”! This is a very scary sentence, and is enough to wipe out the mainstay of the Cape Town international tourist support, with the inaccurate information about the ‘tourist influx’ (a window of 26 December – 3 January only), and the description of the south-easter is exaggerated and the time period mentioned not accurate!
* A gross error in the Travel Information section is the reference to the languages ‘most commonly spoken’ in Cape Town are English, Afrikaans, Sesotho (!), isiXhosa and isiZulu(!). It also lists Ascension Day as a public holiday (long been abolished). Food that is popular is described as meat, especially sosaties (incorrectly described as ‘curried lamb chops’), ‘boerwors sausage’ (sic), and cuts of ‘springbok, kudu, bush-pig and eland cooked over wood coals’, a joke! Fish, especially crayfish, is also on the menu, and ‘South Africa produces excellent wines, too’, says the Guide An ‘interesting fact’ listed is that the country used to have two official languages, and now there are 11, it writes! ‘Compulsory reading’ for future visitors to Cape Town is “Nelson Mandela’s autobiography Long Road (sic) to Freedom”!
The numerous errors and out-of-date information contained in the Condé Nast Traveller Cape Town Guide are not only unforgivable for such a prestigious and influential travel publication, but are also damaging in their reference to the wind and New Year season. One wonders whether the compiler of this Cape Town guide ever came to Cape Town, based on the geographical inaccuracies it contains! Cape Town Tourism’s PR department should urgently address the inaccuracies in the Guide, when it has time in-between its incessant Tweeting!
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage
We recently created the concept of a “Franschhoek Restaurant Route” in a blog post, to highlight the restaurant gems in Franschhoek, a village that has worn the Gourmet Capital crown to date. Given that Stellenbosch has not actioned the “Stellenbosch Restaurant Route”, a concept we created in a blog post too, Franschhoek is taking the high ground, and is combining its two major attractions, to form the Franschhoek Wine Valley Food and Wine Route from next year.
Franschhoek is not only incorporating food and wine in the Route, but is also planning to include cultural, art, shopping, outdoor and scenic experiences into the Franschhoek Food and Wine Route. An ‘e-commerce’ website is being built, allowing visitors to Franschhoek to book their “experiences” on-line. Members of the Franschhoek Wine Valley Tourism Association do not pay to be included in the Food and Wine Route, but pay 10 % commission for bookings received via the site.
The following categories will be included in the Franschhoek Wine Valley Food and Wine Route (a mouthful at the moment, hopefully the ‘Wine Valley” will be dropped from the name over time):
* Food: signature dishes, award-winning restaurants, traditional cuisine, cooking classes, picnics, private dinners, including restaurants such as The Restaurant at Grand Provence, Pierneef à La Motte, Reuben’s, Solms-Delta’s Fyndraai Restaurant, Allée Bleue, Le Franschhoek’s Verger, and many more.
* Wine: red wine, white wine and MCC tastings; vertical, varietal and component tastings; barrel tastings; personalised cellar tours, at wine estates such as Graham Beck, Allée Bleue, Boekenhoutskloof, Colmant, Cabriere, La Motte, Grand Provence, Boschendal, Lynx, Solms Delta, Stony Brook, Chamonix and Vrede & Lust.
* Food and wine pairings: including Vrede & Lust, Plaisir de Merle, Solms-Delta, Maison, Grande Provence, Mont Rochelle, Cabriere, Manz Holden, and Graham Beck
* Local produce: olives, olive oil, cheese, bread, beer, schnapps, and salmon, sold at the Salmon Bar, Rupert & Rothschild, Vrede & Lust, Allée Bleue, Allora’s The Olive Shack, and Le Bourgogne
* Deli’s and farm shops:La Cotte Inn, Allée Bleue, Franschhoek Cellars, Boschendal, L’ermitage, The Jam Jar, La Motte
* Retail shopping: Cooksensuals
* Art galleries, such as Grande Provence, David Walters’ ceramics’ studio, and the art collection at Ebony
* Outdoor and scenic experiences
* Accommodation
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter @WhaleCottage