Hassle-free escapes
and packaged breaks in
the Kids & Family Travel
feature from page 10.
New itineraries,
more days ashore
and EPDs can boost
your cruise business in 2015. See
the Cruises feature,
from page 15.
A v i s it
to Cape
Tow n’s
eco award-winning Hotel
Verde on page 8.
Travel Industry Review
Published by TTG Southern Africa
The 2014 Association of Southern African Travel Agents/
Diners Club Awards culminated with an awards ceremony
at Montecasino in Fourways. Pictured right (l to r): Top
Corporate Consultant, Celia Kluever, Sure African Imprint
Travel; Top Wholesale Representative, Enid Maullin,
Beachcomber Tours; Best Key Accounts Executive, Shanell
Mowers, Tourvest Travel Services; Top Wholesale Consultant in a Tour Operator, Kuben Moodley, Thompsons Holidays; Kevin Lomax, Head of Diners Club Corporate Card
& Standard Bank Commercial Card; 2014’s Tomorrow’s
Leader, Minette Fourie, Club Travel; receiving a special
award for Exceptional Commitment, Lidia Folli, Tourvest
Travel Services; ASATA CEO, Otto de Vries; Top Independent Travel Consultant, Janine Corry, 24Point7 Travel Studio, eTravel and Best Leisure Consultant, Marcha Lourens,
South African Reynolds Travel Centre. More on page 2.
Virtual card payment solutions
combat growing fraud problem
BY SARAH CORNWELL
CONCERNS over supplier
default as well as high levels
of credit card fraud affecting retail travel businesses is
spurring the further development and adoption of virtual
supplier payments and credit
card numbers. An important secondary
benefit for travel agencies
ticketing through BSP in
South Africa is that, by limiting cash payments, financial
guarantees are reduced. Coupled with an increasing demand from airlines for
bilateral guarantees in this
market, early adopters say
these systems warrant serious consideration.
A quick Internet search
reveals virtual credit card
numbers have been in use
since the early 2000s.
Instead of using a real
credit card number when
checking out online, for example, credit card companies
and payment solution providers that offer the service
would provide an alternate
set of digits – virtual card
numbers – often for one-time
use, which are then substituted. Research show that al-
Travelport shared research into trends fuelling innovation in travel commerce and retail
businesses during last month’s e-volve travel commerce summit, held in Cape Town. It is
the third time the annual conference has been staged in Africa. Pictured with Jonathan
Gerber (middle) and Gavin Stevens of TAG Travel, Travelport Vice President and Managing Director for AFMESA markets, Rabih Saab (left) said this reflected “the investment and the interest” in this market. The company also introduced its virtual payment
solution and ‘Beyond Air’ e-commerce strategy to its customers. More on page 5.
though some major international banks and card issuers
rolled-out VCNs early, some
have since withdrawn the
service. Com mentators, especially in overseas markets
where online shopping has
long been established, have
questioned whether the investment required to develop
and manage a virtual card
payment system has limited
value. They also warned to
strictly vet third-party service providers actively promoting virtual payment tools
to ensure all the necessary
safety features are in place.
continued on page 4
Abu Dhabi launch marks
start of new SAA strategy
SOUTH African Airways is
still exploring opportunities
to open a secondary hub in
West Africa, while it beds
down recent changes to its
long-haul route network.
The carrier resumed nonstop f lights to New York
early last month, shortening
f lying times by withdrawing an hour-long technical
stop in Dakar that had been
applied during low-season
winter months. The airline
said the change would enable
better connections in the US
and South Africa.
The Abu Dhabi launch at
the close of March has also
meant more than 1,000 extra
connections to key markets
continued on page 4
Club Travel consultants on a recent educational to Japan took TIR along for the ride!
Hosted by Qatar Airways, Intrepid Travel and Zurich Insurance, the tour included a visit
to the Emperor’s Palace in Tokyo. Pictured (back, l to r): Club Travel’s Charmaine van
Niekerk and Ruth Beukes, Club Corporate Travel ITC with Intrepid tour guide, Meg; Kim
Kral, FlightSite and (front, l to r): Sandy Leslie, Sandy’s Travel; Jacinta Wilke, Gold Travel;
Lorraine Brett, Arrivée Africa; Candice Fourie from Qatar Airways; Divan Brits, Intrepid
and Jill Jacobs, Prospur Travel.
News Digest
MEMBERS of the Association of Southern African Travel
Agents tipped their hats to the Golden Age of Travel at
the 2014 ASATA Diners Club Awards ceremony. Welcoming guests at the gala dinner were (pictured below, left):
Kevin Lomax, Head of Diners Club Corporate Card &
Standard Bank Commercial Card and ASATA Chief Executive Officer, Otto de Vries (far right).
Terry Munro, Beachcomber Tours Managing Director and
Vanya Lessing, Sure Travel Chief Executive Officer and
President of ASATA, joined Claude Vankeirsbilck, Chief
Sales & Marketing Officer of Tourvest Travel Services.
Travel Counsellors rejoins ASATA
Most Read
stories from
the past month...
Diners Club Awards winners
1 ASATA
announced.
enews updates
FIRE-RAVAGED TINTSWALO ATLANTIC BEGINS REBUILD
TINTSWALO Atlantic aims to reopen on December 1. Progress to
rebuild the lodge will be communicated through a new blog, as well
as feedback from Tintswalo Lodges Group owner, Gaye Corbett. The
property, set on the shoreline below Chapman’s Peak in Cape Town,
was destroyed in last month’s wildfires that burnt across the city’s
South Africa beats out France, US in
southern peninsula. The upmarket lodge is a popular attraction with
poll of responsible travel promotion.
overseas visitors.
The reconstruction process will take several months but manageSuspended SAA CEO faces hearing.
ment say staff will remain employed and will assist in the rebuilding
of the property. They will also help in running several community
Reports warn of lag in resumption of
projects in the Hout Bay area.
non-stop Beijing flights following SAA
Guests who were evacuated were accommodated at other Cape
withdrawal.
Town hotels while management said forward bookings were receiving special attention. Tourism officials in the city of Cape Town reported only limited disruption at some tourist
sites and facilities that were affected by the blaze, saying a swift response strategy had been being implemented to
minimise the impact on tourism businesses and travellers. Major hotel groups from the city said there had been no
cancellations as a result of the fires. Sections of the Table Mountain National Park still remained closed to the public at the end of last month, while
authorities ensured the facilities were safe for public use.
2
3
4
5
Local retailers rate fraud the biggest
payment concern.
Nominated in this year’s category for Exceptional Commitment, Gary Mulder, Club Travel Financial Director,
alongside Minette Fourie, Club Travel Head Office, who
was named Tomorrow’s Leader. BY SARAH CORNWELL
T H E A SSO CI AT ION of
Souther n Af r ican Travel
Agents says it is eager to
promote the professionalism
of the growing number of
independent travel agents in
South Africa, as more join
the association.
More t ha n 140 Tr avel
Counsellors’ independent
agents were inducted into
ASATA last month following
a decision by the home-based
travel agency group to rejoin
the association. Travel Counsellors South
Africa General Manager,
Mladen Lukic, said the two
parties had reached common
ground on the group’s model
and believes it is important
for businesses to work “within the system.
“We have always supported the value of ASATA and
even joined the association in
2007. Our decision to leave
ASATA was as the time due
to different points of view of
retail segmentation,” Mr. Lukic explained. “Travel Counsellors has specific views
that we want to air and we
feel ASATA is the correct
platform through which to
do this, instead of airing our
views externally,” he said.
“The addition of Travel
Counsellors’ voice to that of
ASATA’s will enhance our
efforts to resolve issues that
are impacting our industry at
present,” commented ASATA Chief Executive Officer,
Otto de Vries.
“... ASATA is interested
in and wants to engage with
ITCs. It is a win-win.”
TIR Southern Africa
•
April 2015
3
News Digest
Virtual card payment solutions combat growing fraud...
continued from page 1
While TIR canvassed most
major card issuers in South
Africa, Kevin Lomax, Head
Diners Club Corporate Card
and Standard Bank Commercial Card Diners Club South
Africa noted: “Virtual cards
have been around for some
time, however, with limited application in the travel
space. Most... operate from
a global platform and this
introduces high costs to all
parties as well as risk.” Mr.
Lomax revealed Diners Club
“is launching a virtual card
that addresses these issues”.
Product development and
adoption in this market is, for
the time being, being lead by
GDSs and their development
partners.
Sabre is the latest, announcing at the end of last
month it is preparing to take
its new Virtual Payments
payment and settlement integration tool to market. It is
currently available in North
America, the UK and Brazil but, owing to increasing
demand, the company said
it is working with banking
partners to expand the reach
of the product globally.
Amadeus is also currently
rolling out its new solution,
due to arrive in South Africa
before the end of the year.
Bidvest, Tourvest, Club
Travel, Flight Centre, Egencia, Carlson Wagonlit Travel and Agoda are among
those already subscribing to
Travelport’s product, powered by eNett International,
which specialises in B2B
payment solutions.
Travelport took a majority,
73 percent stake in the eNett
business last year but Anthony Hynes, eNett Managing
Director and Chief Executive
Officer, explains the tool is in
fact “GDS agnostic”.
“We have a fantastic relationship with Travelport and
a very significant number of
our customers are Travelport
customers… we have always
been GDS agnostic [and]
think we can solve problems
for all of you,” he remarked.
An eNett Virtual Account
Number is an automatically
generated MasterCard number and can include payment
parameters such as amount,
currency, date and merchant,
making it a more secure way
to be paid, explained Brian
Staunton, eNett Area Director, Europe, Middle East &
Africa.
A currency extension was
applied for this market earlier
in the year, meaning local
agents of any size can pay
into a rand account and make
payments to South African
suppliers in rands.
“We believe eNett VANs
will solve the security issues
faced by South African travel
agents when making local or
international supplier payments on behalf of their customers… [and] significantly
reduce the risk of fraud because they can only be used
once, within the parameters
set by the agent,” Mr. Hynes
maintained.
“ I n t he B2B p ay me nt
space, there is a huge amount
of competition… research
indicates the cost of payment
inefficiencies to be around
US$1.5-billion every year,”
he said.
Addressing more than 180
of the leading travel agents
and industry players at the
Travelpor t e-volve t ravel
commerce summit in Cape
Town last month, Mr. Staunton said: “There is concern
about fraud and then there is
concern about payment and
supplier default… [but] there
is a risk if you are paying
cash to a supplier ahead of
time. Through virtual MasterCard payment, we ignore
the (supplier) and go straight
to their bank,” he said.
For agency subscribers, a
major selling point of these
new tools is that reporting
data is available in real time.
“Amadeus travel agents
can generate a virtual credit
card from their Amadeus
system, either in the GDS
screen... or in the Amadeus
back-office solution for accounting staff,” said Andrew
Shaw, Online Business Solutions Manager for Amadeus
Sub-Saharan Africa. “Suppliers love the solution as
payments are guaranteed by
AirPlus so the risk of fraud is
removed,” he added.
S a b r e’s V i r t u a l P a y ments tool is being rolled out
through Sabre’s GetThere
cor porate online booking
system. Airfare expense reconciliation and settlement
capabilities will be added in
the coming months but, so
far, the automated solution
assigns a single-use, unique
virtual credit card number to
an individual hotel reserva-
tion. Travel policies are preset at the employee or contractor level and attached to
the booking, so the VCN can
only be used to pay for predetermined expenditures and
with preset spending limits.
“In South Africa, we are
definitely seeing an increase
in demand for virtual payment solutions. VP makes it
easier to manage payments,
be they bill backs or customer payments, with decreased
security risk,” said Monique
Diez, Sabre Head of Sales in
South Africa.
“The solution is unique
as it... is multi-bank enabled
and offers industry leading
reconciliation match capability of booked travel data to
charged payment data. [It]
eliminates costs associated
to manually matching travel
data to bank card statements,
while improving travel policy
compliance as expenses are
only allowed for approved
spending,” she said.
Added Mr. Staunton: “A
lot of agencies are moving to
eNett. The (International Air
Transport Association) bonding requirement is also less
if more of your payments are
put through on a credit card.”
But, according to 60 percent of local retailers surveyed by eNett during last
month’s visit, fraud remains
this market’s biggest payment concern.
Fraud was far and away
the biggest issue highlighted
by polling results, with 19
percent of delegates identifying manual reconciliation as
their biggest payment concern, 13 percent fees and six
percent settling on supplier
default.
Findings also highlighted
the lack of awareness around
virtual cards, with 62 percent of delegates admitting
to having little to no knowledge. Spea k i ng on t he side lines of the e-volve summit,
Dinesh Naidoo, Serendipity Worldwide Group Operations Director, said the alternative to credit card and cash
transactions had his backing:
“It gives consultants an opportunity to sell at point of
sale; especially the independent travel consultant, who
does not want to talk to different suppliers. Secure payment is the answer to fraud.
“As an industry, we 100
percent demand and need it.
Why? It addresses another
problem retailers have had
with IATA guarantees – especially if the owner of card
is not the same – as (virtual
card payments) will also help
in reducing cash payments,”
he said.
“...There is little doubt that
card based payment systems
will be the predominant form
of settlement.
“While it may appear to
smaller agencies that a merchant fee is unattractive, the
introduction of a secure, automated settlement process
using virtual card numbers
should allow them to better
see the value of migrating to
a card based process,” concluded Ms. Diez.
... start of new strategy
continued from page 1
in the Middle East, India and
South East Asia.
The airline says it will
strengthen its presence in the
East, planning to code-share
with Air China on new nonstop flights between Beijing
and Johannesburg, operated
by Air China. Initially earmarked to begin in May, reports published last month by
state-owned media in Beijing
say services on the route will
now resume on June 18.
“Johannesburg remains
ou r hub,” cla r if ied SA A
spokesperson, Tlali Tlali,
commenting on the potential
for SAA to grow its business
within and out of the Middle
East. The Abu Dhabi launch,
he said, “provides a significant value-add and will enable traffic to connect to further points, particularly in
4
TIR Southern Africa
•
April 2015
the Middle East and Asia…”
However, Mr. Tlali asserted: “We are working on
the creation of another hub
on the African continent…
When we drew up and presented the Long-Term Turnaround Strategy for the first
time, we made reference to
the need to consider opening
a secondary hub in West Africa.”
The Abu Dhabi Tourism
and Culture Authority is also
actively developing an outbound tourism promotion
campaign with Etihad, local
travel agents and tour operators. In February, the authority appointed Development
Promotions to represent the
destination in South Africa.
On the domestic front,
SAA has dismissed speculation of a potential withdrawal
of domestic services.
This follows reports by a
local media outlet published
last month claiming domestic services would be left to
Mango. Quoting the flag carrier’s
acting Chief Executive Officer, Nico Bezuidenhout, the
report suggested SAA was
evaluating whether or not to
leave the market open to its
low-cost subsidiary, Mango
Airlines – a topic touched on
during an earlier briefing on
SAA’s 90-day stabilisation
plan. Off icials said M r. Bezuidenhout’s remarks were
taken out of context and that
he was referring to trends
and commercial partnerships
seen in some overseas markets and within businesses
that have undergone a similar
process of restructuring.
News Digest
New GDS technology boosts agent value
BY SARAH CORNWELL
T R AV E L P O RT’S l a t e s t
wave of product development
is boosting its business in Africa, with customers benefitting from improved efficiencies and growing ancillary
and merchandising revenue
streams.
During last month’s evolve travel commerce summit in Cape Town, Travelport revealed global ancillary
revenue surpassed US$42.6billion in 2014.
Although Africa’s share
of revenue has remained the
lowest of any market worldwide, Travelport Vice President and Managing Director
AFMESA, Rabih Saab, said
investment and resources
to develop this market had
1
been raised considerably
and “twice as much as our
competitors”. Mr. Saab described 2014 as a watershed
year for product development
expanding product and merchandising bookable via its
GDS displays.
Close on 10 0 ca r r ie r s
worldwide are now contracted to use Rich Content and
Branding, four of them from
Africa. Travelport wants to
grow that number to 150 this
year.
According to Mat thew
Powell, Travelport Senior
Director Agency Commerce
Solutions AFMESA, most
Travelport customers in Africa are now running Smartpoint. The view is that the
Rich Content and Branding
technology for suppliers and
Smartpoint booking displays
for agents will better inform
and encourage purchasing
decisions, factoring in air
fares, for example, but also
cabin type, meals, baggage
allowance and ticket flexibility.
“Airlines are continuing to
bring in new offerings [and]
Travelport has invested a lot
of resources and effort in figuring out these traveller preferences,” remarked George
Harb, Travelport Managing
Director Southern Africa.
Smartpoint, he said, “is creating a nice competitive landscape for agents, who know
the content is there for them
to book”.
According to Travelport’s
own End Traveller Study,
conducted last year, purchase
2
decisions were more likely
to increase with frequency
of travel and is made well in
advance of departure.
Almost a third of travellers
surveyed added an ‘air extra’ to their trip after a flight
was booked. And, commented George Harb, Regional
Director Southern Africa,
Zambia and Zimbabwe: “The
higher the number of trips,
the more likely they will add
a component to their trip.”
The End Traveler Study
revealed one in five travellers currently prefer to book
ancillary product through a
travel agent. However, three
out of four Travelport agencies booked optional air services for their clients – 68
percent of leisure agencies
and 78 percent TMCs – but
only a third of travel agencies
had used the GDS to book
ancillaries.
Mr. Saab maintained, with
more merchandise bookable
directly through agent workflows, sales and efficiencies
but also the agent’s value to
the client is vastly improved.
“Now, airlines can merchandise and up-sell… and we
can demonstrate these values
to our customers,” he said.
M r. Powell challenged
‘nex t ge ne r at ion’ t r avel
agent s to embrace t hese
smart sales interfaces to continue to improve the customer
experience and cautioned: “It
is more how you work than
what you are doing… What
we do know is that travellers
are more savvy. You have to
stay one step ahead so that
Briefly.
T
he Dubai Visa Processing Centre has
introduced new multiple entry visas for
travel into the UAE
on Emirates. The new
visas are also valid
for SAA code-share
flights to Dubai, operated by Emirates.
30-day multi-entry
visas are US$181.96,
inclusive of VAT and
logistics fee. The
90 - d ay o p t i o n i s
US$461.96.
you add value, other wise
customers will go to the .com
sites. “Airline revenue is also
shrinking all the time. It is
important that you look for
new revenue streams.”
3
Photo 1: Pictured at last month’s e-volve travel commerce summit in Cape Town (l to r): Flight Centre South Africa Retail Leader, Marieke Tucker and Managing Director Andrew Stark,
alongside Robyn Van Staden, Corporate Traveller General Manager; Melanie Walljee FCm Managing Director and Robyn Christie, Travelport General Manager Southern Africa.
Photo 2: Pictured at the Cavalli Stud & Wine Estate in Stellenbosch (l to r): Stella Otteskov, Travelport East Africa; Ken Banda, Bon Voyage Tours, Malawi and Lulu Ralehoko, Business
Development Manager, Travelport Johannesburg. Photo 3: Also pictured at the Cavalli Stud & Wine Estate (l to r): Andrew Miller, Travelport; Dinesh Naidoo, Serendipity Worldwide
Group and Warren Kentridge, New Business Development Manager, Travelport Johannesburg.
Comment
Demise of the high-street agent is a myth
www.tir.co.za
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
John Wardall
MANAGING EDITOR
Sarah Cornwell
Tel: 021 789 0053
Mob: 072 772 2189
sarah@tir.co.za
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Dominic Wardall
CONTRIBUTORS
Richard Holmes
Melany Bendix
Sarah Whiteside
PUBLISHER
John Wardall
WITH everybody wringing
their hands over the tottering rand, the incursion of
direct Internet alternatives
into traditional retail business and the predictions of
the demise of the high-street
travel agent, it was encouraging to note the extensive upgrading and expansion plans
for Flight Centre’s bricks and
mortar chain.
It is a vote of confidence
in the traditional retail model
by a major global player and
encouragement to every retail travel agent.
Flight Centre does have the
advantages of scale, negotiating clout with suppliers, deep
pockets for advertising and
promotional expertise and
sophistication, which surpasses the resources of the
CIRCULATION
travgaz@iafrica.com
ACCOUNTS
Beverley Gough
Brenda Smith
ADMINISTRATION
Nerina Nicholson
HEAD OFFICE
9 Ruby Terrace
Noordhoek
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PO Box 745
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Tel: 021 789 0053
REPRESENTATION
UK:
MW Media
info@mwmedia.uk.com
Europe:
Colin Murdoch
Thailand:
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Malaysia:
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PRINTING
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©TTG Southern Africa
2015
Published by:
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Reg no:
1995/030913/23
6
exchanged or traded in and
the opportunity to enjoy the
time has gone. So the choices
made need to be made on the
basis of the best independent
advice. That comes from a
travel agent’s experience and
knowledge. Full stop.
•••
Despite the shivers, which
ripple through the outbound
industry every time the rand
takes a nosedive, it was interesting and encouraging to
read in last month’s TIR that
demand for travel to Europe
has remained strong so far
this year.
Operators are reporting an
increase in enquiries for the
UK, Ireland and Continental
Europe, with the conversion
rate of quotes to bookings
better than last year.
South Africans seem to be
resigned to a weak currency
and as determined as ever to
enjoy the annual vacation,
come hell or high water.
Credit must also go to the
operators, who have been
creative i n ma k i ng thei r
products more accessible and
varied, with a range of booking options and cost-saving
features.
Special events and special interest travel continue
to boost business and the
process and turnaround time
for visas for the UK and a
number of European countries are finally receiving the
necessary attention.
Good signs for the rest of
2015.
Local analysts urge government
to dig deep to grow tourism
INDUSTRY analysts had mixed reactions to this year’s National Budget speech, urging
government to review its desire to cut costs while still ensuring enough financial
resources are available to grow the country’s tourism industry and international profile.
Gillian Saunders, Head of government’s stance on
Advisory Services at Grant South African Airways, and
Thornton Johannesburg and further calls to finally deGlobal Leader: Hospital- termine whether the airline
ity and Tourism for Grant can or should be privatised.
Thornton International , “Treasury is also aiming
commented: “Once again all to restore profitability and
of the right things were said achieve operating efficienabout the tourism sector cies for SAA,” explained Ms.
and the minister rightfully Saunders: “This concerns
made mention of creating me in terms of our airline
jobs with many opportuni- in particular: is SAA supties available. However, the porting the national interproof will really be in
his actions – we need
more information as
to how this will be
achieved.”
The government
h a s co m m it te d to
reduce spending on
catering, entertainment and venues by
eight percent, as well
as reducing spending
on travel and subsistence by four percent
per year. However, Gillian Saunders
Ms. Saunders cautioned: “We are concerned est in terms of tourism and
that these cuts will have a trade or not? We are on the
massive impact on some southern tip of the African
of our already-battling ho- continent and air access is
tels, conference venues, crucial for trade and tourrestaurants and entertain- ism.
ment facilities which the “Are we sure that we are
government uses. Govern- making the right decisions
ment is a major purchaser in here? Should we not conthe hospitality and tourism sider a national airline that
sectors and significant cuts supports the national interlike these are going to hurt a est – yes at a cost to the taxnumber of businesses.”
payer, agreed. After all, we
There has also been re- have been paying for SAA
newed concern over the for years, but likely reaping
GOOD
follow us on twitter
THE
twitter.com/TIR_SA
The cost of cruising was often considered
a deterrent for much of the market but,
as with all-inclusive holiday packages, the
value of a cruise, with all of its inclusive
features is capturing the imagination of a
growing market in South Africa.
TIR Southern Africa
more necessary than ever.
And the demand for it seems
to be returning strongly in
the leisure and corporate sector which, for an extended
period, has flirted with the
often false economy of surfing the internet and do-ityourself travel arrangements.
The proliferation of independent travel counsellors is
an extension of and a development emanating from the
role played by the high-street
agent.
It is another exemplification of the importance of and
demand for personal service.
The cost of long-haul travel from South Africa, and
most outbound business is
long-haul, is significant in
most people’s terms. Once it
has been used, it cannot be
Industry View
ADVERTISING
Dominic Wardall
Tel: 021 789 0053
Mob: 082 620 6425
dominic@tir.co.za
Andrew Watson
Tel: 021 447 1724
Mob: 071 677 3858
andrew@tir.co.za
average retailer.
But the basics of the added
value, which a professional
travel agent brings to the
market, are attributes common to ever y successf ul
high-street business. Product
knowledge, experience, reliability, personal attention,
independent advice, accountability and the security and
comfort factor of after-sales
service are a menu of benefits, which no other method
of booking travel can provide.
In a time when the range
of travel product, not always
transparent pricing, competition, pricing initiatives and
incentives and consolidation
of brand ownership has never
been greater, the need for independent travel advice is
•
April 2015
far greater benefits in terms
of increased tourism,” she
said.
Regarding the budget allocations for the Tourism
Department and South African Tourism, Ms. Saunders
said reasonable increases
would be applauded. However, “the tourism department got very small increases in the prior year, so all we
have really done is make up
for previous belowinfl ation increa ses.
If we really want the
sector to perform, it
needs a quantum leap
in budget allocation. Our marketing budget
doesn’t compare to
other global competitive destinations, especially if we take our
weak rand into consideration.” The Tourism Business Council said it
was awaiting clarification from the government
on other matters concerning travel and tour ism ,
specifically pending policy
changes affecting the sector raised during President
Jacob Zuma’s State of the
Nation Address in February. This includes plans to
block foreigners from owning categories of land and
a timeline for government’s
planned review of changes
to immigration legislation
introduced last year.
THE
CONGRATULATIONS to our latest Spotted winner,
Theresa Szejwallo, MD of Trafalgar Tours, the winner
of a stylish American Tourister San Francisco 66cm
Spinner suitcase, valued at R1,199! Theresa was
spotted with TIR in the Galapagos where she hosted
the Pentravel High Climbers group.
Explore new horizons with American Tourister.
With American Tourister, travellers can enjoy stylish, high-quality luggage without dipping into their
spending money. With its own distinctive design
and a young, casual look, the American Tourister
San Francisco is ideal for both corporate and leisure
travellers. The range is available in black, blue and
red. Ultra practical features include a large U-shaped
front pocket, translucent piping corner
protection, a comfortable integrated top
handle, a stitched bumper for base protection and lockable zippers on the main
compartment and front pocket.
Suitcases are also fitted with large
inner mesh zipper pockets and
two webbing packing straps with a
buckle closure. The American Tourister San Francisco is available from
top luggage outlets.
BAD
The way the rand has been wobbling, the
luxury of rand-guaranteed prices for overseas packages might well be a thing of the
past after this year. It is becoming too risky
for overseas operators to take a chance.
Call for stockists:
031 266 0620
THE
UGLY
With the glut in oil supplies forcing the
price even lower, most markets are going
to continue reaping the benefits. The rand,
however, is going to generate an increase
in air fares and virtually everything else
dependent on exchange rates.
News Digest
Government outlines phase one of new
R577-million tourism investment project
BY DOMINIC WARDALL
GOVERNMENT will spend
R180-million of the total
R557-million budgeted to
start its new Tourism Incentives Programme before the
end of the 2015/16 financial
year. The immediate focus
will be on providing new
international marketing opportunities for local tourism businesses, growing the
country’s official grading
system’s subscriber base and
developing new renewable
energ y and en hancement
projects at local tourism sites.
Tourism Minister, Derek
Hanekom, launched the programme last month, naming
Bernhard Meyer as Chief Director and project leader.
It will provide subsidies to
cover a portion of costs tourism establishments incur by
participating in trade exhibitions and marketing roadshows supported by South
African Tourism, specifically pre-determined expenses,
such as air fares, accommodation and exhibition fees.
Discounts or rebates on
assessment fees for grading
will also be available.
“Our high level objectives
are transformation, inclusive
growth and destination de-
velopment,” said Mr. Hanekom.
“By helping tourism businesses to grow, by providing
incentives to install renewable energy technology, and
by investing in iconic attractions, we will support job
creation in the private sector,
implement our responsible
tourism mandate, and enhance the visitor experience,”
he said.
Cape eco hotel recognised for innovation
BY SARAH CORNWELL
SOUTH Africa’s greenest
hotel, Hotel Verde, located
near Cape Town Inter national Airport, plans to grow
its business from non-direct
sales channels and agency
groups this year by leveraging growing awareness and
acclaim for its sustainability
programme and by introducing tailor-made packages for
the city’s headline events. The four-star BON Hotels property was awarded
the 2014 Imvelo Award for
Best Overall Environmental
Management system and is
the first hotel in Africa to
offer carbon neutral accommodation and conferencing.
It received a World Responsible Tourism award for Best
City Hotel in the world at
World Travel Market in London and has met the Platinum
LEED certification criteria,
assigned by the United States
Green Building Council. National Tourism Minister, Derek Hanekom, inspected the facility with a delega-
8
tion from the United Nations
World Tourism Organisation
and the World Travel & Tourism Council. The minister
asserted that the drive to
bring green tourism into the
mainstream would continue,
in alignment with the National Tourism Sector Strategy. The government is looking at implementing minimum standards for responsible tourism, to develop
universal access standards,
training programmes and
funding mechanisms, specifically-aimed at green issues
and products, and to facilitate the implementation of
environmentally responsible
practices within the tourism
transport sector.
During his visit, UNWTO
Secretary General, Taleb Rifai, commented: “I am very
impressed by Hotel Verde
and even though their environmental impact may be
considered ver y small on
a global scale, the fact that
they are able to inspire their
staff’s behaviours and spirit,
in terms of being a leader in
TIR Southern Africa • April 2015
responsible tourism, makes
them stand out above the rest.
Coupled with the fact that
they have proven on the triple
bottom line that going green
can be economically viable,
profitable and sustainable,
makes Hotel Verde an inspiration...”
More and more international visitors want to offset
their long flights by participating in carbon neutral activities while on holiday but
taking the business’ unique
selling points to the local
market has been a learn-asyou-go process, said General
Manager, Samantha Annandale.
Local corporate and international corporate business currently accounts for
arou nd 66 percent of all
bookings, with the balance
from domestic and international leisure business.
The hotel has 145 rooms,
with low energ y-use televisions, high-speed Wi-Fi,
complimentary business centre, bar, 24-hour room service, deli, breakfast service
from 04h30, two return shuttles to the V&A Waterfront
each day and a free shuttle to
the airport, every half hour. It has geothermal heating, power-generating gym
equipment and innovative
water catchment systems.
At 19h00 on a Wednesday,
the lights in general areas are
switched off for Earth Hour.
Meals cooked on wood fires
are enjoyed by candlelight. For the M ICE market,
there is carbon neutral conferencing and seven venues
that can be partitioned into
nine, including one accommodating up to 200. Audited
carbon offset certificates are provided to corporates.
Guests earn Verdinos, its in-house
currency, by making environmentally-friendly choices
during their stay.
Verdino tokens can
be redeemed at the
hotel’s deli or bar. Ms. Annandale
stressed that customers do not pay extra for
the carbon-neutral stay and
that the hotel’s greening concept is as much a drawcard as
its facilities and prime location.
Occupancies are climbing
steadily, averaging 75 percent by the end of last year.
“We are an airport hotel
first but have a unique brand
positioning… and the concept is catching on,” said Ms.
Annandale.
South Africa beats out
France, US in responsible
travel promotion survey
SOUTH Af rica’s tourism
board has been recognised
as one of the most effective
worldw ide i n promot i ng
responsible tourism initiatives, product and activities
through its consumer-facing
website, according to a new
tourist board league table
compiled by British-based
company, Responsible Travel.
The motivation behind
the study was to assess tourist boards’ vision, policies
and activities, according to
Responsible Travel, which
remains determined “more
should be done to ensure tax
payers’ money is being used
to promote local over global
initiatives”.
Analysts looked for references on sustainability,
educational initiatives and
activities and for mention of
achievements and policies
pertaining to responsible or
sustainable tourism.
Tourist boards could score
a maximum of six points,
although seven countries profiled in the study scored nil
– China, Finland, Ethiopia,
Vietnam, France, Japan and
the US, “meaning they had
no reference to responsible
or sustainable tourism anywhere on their sites, have no
published policies, nor any
evidence of achievement of
infor mation for potential
visitors,” the organisation explained.
Sout h Af r ica , Bhut a n,
England and Sweden, however, each scored a perfect
six points.
Responsible Travel’s Chief
Executive Off icer, Justin
Francis, said he was surprised
by the results, especially by
how many destinations were
“leaving it to tourism businesses” to communicate and
action policies.
“In many cases around
the world, we think responsibility in tourism is being
achieved despite the tourist
board, not because of it.
South Africa is a real exception,” said Mr. Francis.
“They have national and local strategies… with real programmes of work to deliver
it, although delivery is still
patchy.”
Guests can earn and burn
Hotel Verde’s in-house currency, Verdinos. Pictured
left (l to r): Sarah Farrell,
Marketing Manager and
S a m a nth a A n n a n d ale ,
General Manager, say the
concept is hugely popular with guests. Below: the
hotel’s sustainability programme is garnering international recognition.
News Digest
Centara
bows out of
Mauritius
CENTARA Hotels & Resorts has
confirmed that forward bookings for the three Centara-branded Mauritius resort properties
will be maintained, despite last
month’s surprise announcement
that the group’s management contracts had been withdrawn.
Resort owners, Blue Life Ltd,
will now be handling management and operations.
Details of the separation agreement were not disclosed but the
process to rebrand the Centara
Grand Azuri Resort & Spa Mauritius, Centara Grand Azuri Residence & Suites Mauritius and
Centara Poste Lafayette Resort &
Spa Mauritius has started.
Centara Poste Lafayette is now
the Poste Lafayette Resort & Spa
while the Centara Grand Azuri
Resort & Spa has been rebranded
the Haute Rive Resort & Spa.
Centara Grand Azuri Residences & Suites has been incorporated into the Haute Rive Resort & Spa, now operating as one
entity instead of two. Tour operators in South Africa were being notified of the
change, explained Melanie Floor,
Chief Executive Officer of Centara’s local sales agent, Exclusive
Serenity, while representatives
for the Haute Rive Resort & Spa
said “the management team is
ensuring that our guests’ stay is
memorable. Our priority remains
the satisfaction of our guests and
partners”.
Holiday Tours hosted an educational to Mauritius for some of
its top supporters last month, in
partnership with Southern Cross
Hotels and Mautourco. Highlights included spa treatments,
cocktail mixing and a variety of
watersports. The group also explored Ile aux Cerfs by catamaran. Bookings for Mauritius in
January and February are up on
last year, according to Product
Manager, Chantelle Browne, who
said Solana Beach has become
its best-selling resort. “We have
already surpassed the total number of room nights sold in 2014 and the numbers keep growing. Preskil is our second biggest seller. We expect good growth overall for Mauritius in 2015.” Pictured at the Solana Beach Gazebo restaurant (above left, l to r): Fabio Meo, Solana Beach
Manager; Ethienne Smit from the Leisure Travel Group at Tourvest Travel Services; Kim Harper, Achievement Awards Group; Lauren Christelis,
Dreams Unlimited; Jacqui Nortier, Amazing Holidays; Elizabeth Geater, Ultimate Travel and Ludovic Brousse de Gersigny, Southern Cross Hotels
Mauritius. Pictured, above right (l to r): Jacqui Nortier and Lauren Christelis soak up the sun during a speedboat transfer.
kulula adds
group booking
GDS function
TRAVEL agents can now manage
group bookings for kulula flights
through their GDS screens.
The airline said the development was intended to simplify
the booking process. “The kulula groups department receives a
very high number of group booking requests per month, so this
new project will ease the pressure
on the department and also give
travel agents full control of their
own bookings; thus resulting in
quicker processing of bookings
once the reservation is made,”
commented Brian Kitchin, Executive Manager of Sales for Comair.
Travel agents will also be able
to add traveller names, process
invoices and reserve their own
Free Tour Leader bookings without having to contact the airline.
Some facilities will still remain the same. For example,
agents will still be allowed two
free name changes per group,
group check-in for a maximum of
20 passengers, pre-paid seating
as well as extra bag purchases via
kulula.com up to 24 hours prior to
departure.
“Travel agents should contact
their GDS helpdesk to ensure that
they have all the correct entries
set up to successfully make their
kulula group bookings,” the airline advised.
TIR Southern Africa
•
April 2015
9
All-inclusive getaways
take the lead in 2015
BY SARAH WHITESIDE
OPERATORS say there are
still opportunities to book
cheaper holidays to leading
international holiday destinations, despite the volatility of
the exchange rate. Early booking and rand
rate guarantees are buoying sales, while demand for
all-inclusive is particularly
strong. So far in 2015, Mauritius
has remained one of – if not
the – number one destinations for all-inclusive family
packages. Last month, Beachcomber
Tours was positioned first
amongst Beachcomber tour
oper ator s worldw ide for
sales achieved in the first
six months of the current financial year. The company
reported the best revenue
month in its history in December – the peak period for
family travel.
Holiday Tours, World Leisure Holidays and Thompsons Holidays all rank the Indian Ocean island as their top
family destination, although
Thompsons spokesperson,
John Ridler, identified cruis-
ing as another popular family
holiday choice this year. Chantelle Browne, Holiday Tours’ Indian Ocean
Islands Product Manager,
recom mended Maur itius’
Solana Beach resort for families, Holiday Tours’ top seller. Le Meridien Ile Maurice
is its most popular choice for
larger families. Johann Strydom, Managing Director of World Leisure Holidays said the vast
majorit y of clients opted
to upgrade to all-inclusive
when booking a Mauritius
break. Ambre only offers allinclusive rates while childfriendly Mauritius properties
including Long Beach, La
Pirogue and Sugar Beach offer all-inclusive options for
a reasonable supplement, he
said.
“Not all all-inclusive offers
are created equal,” remarked
Bea chcomber’s Nat ional
Sales & Marketing Manager,
Joanne Visagie. “Important
factors to check… are the
inclusions and the quality of
the items.”
Bottom-line savings “depend on the size of the family”, said Ms. Visagie. However, she added: “Nothing
is protected from a low rand
[value] but one can enjoy
more and worry less when
you select an all-inclusive
holiday with Beachcomber.”
“It is difficult to quantify
the exact saving that a family will receive when booking an all-inclusive package
because this will depend on
their individual taste, the exchange rate on date of settlement and their overall
consumption. We estimate
that the average family would
receive a 20 percent saving
over the course of a holiday
when opting for an all-inclusive package,” remarked Mr.
Strydom. “The advantage is
that families do not have to
worry about beverage prices
and exchange rates during
their holiday, as all costs are
budgeted before they leave.” Ms. Browne quantifies the
free all-inclusive upgrade
available at Solana Beach
in Mauritius as a saving of
roughly R600 per adult per
night and R300 per child.
Le Meridien offers children
under 12 a free upgrade when
adults upgrade to all-inclusive. This offers families
a saving of approximately
R450 per child per night.
For the local market, MSC
Cruises’ all-inclusive fares
attracted huge volumes over
the 2014/15 South Africa season. Children 18 years and
younger still sail free.
Ma nag i ng Di re ct or of
Cr uises Inter national,
George Argyropoulos, noted
that all cruise lines represented by the company offer
child-friendly programmes.
Crystal Cruises rates are allinclusive and a ‘Kids Sail
Free’ programme is available
to passengers under 17 years
old for all cruises booked before April 30, 2015, he said.
Thailand is another
popular choice for families
searching for competitively
priced, adventure-filled itineraries. Tour operators have
introduced new combinations for 2015, following the
withdrawal Thai Airways’
direct route at the beginning
of the year.
“Travelling on an all-inclusive holiday package can
often add significant extra
value to a holiday when compared to paying locally – it
offers a hassle-free way to
discover most beach holiday
destinations, however, Thailand is an exception to the
rule as their all-inclusive op-
Packaged and all-inclusive itineraries provide a number of value-adds for less, also saving customers from
fluctuating currency conversion costs while abroad.
Holiday Tours has flexible packages for travel to Thailand, where demand for all-inclusive is still limited.
Eight nights at the Mai Khao Lak Resort & Spa, including flights, taxes and airport taxes is from R12,045 pps
on a B&B basis. All inclusive rates are from R18,215
pps. Operators are also promoting new combination
stays in Thailand this year, following withdrawal of
Thai Airways’ direct route in January. Krabi (pictured
above) and Khao Lak are accessible by road transfer
from Phuket.
tions don’t offer the same value for money as destinations
such as the Maldives,” said
Holiday Tours Far East Product Manager, Karen Camm.
Although packages are
available on a half, f ull
and all-inclusive basis, Ms.
Camm added: “Our clients
very seldom request or select
the all-inclusive option as
most of the hotels in Thailand
are surrounded by a myriad
of restaurant options, from
cheap street vendors and fast
food outlets to variety of local and international restaurants.”
Although agreeing “Thailand is not as geared up for
all inclusives as the likes of
Mauritius – mainly because
of the nature of the destination”, Holiday Factory Product Manager, Jacqui Carr,
singled out the Merlin Beach
Resort in Phuket as “the best
that caters for the all-inclusive concept”.
Where kids and family
promotions and tactical fares
are not available, cruising
costs tend to become more
expensive closer to departure. Mr. Argyropoulos encouraged passengers to pay
in full for their bookings as
soon as possible, regardless
of the exchange rate.
Where independent travel
arrangements may still be
required, customers can still
secure cheaper hotel, air and
coach tour options, operators
concur.
For escorted tours specifically, Trafalgar’s rand price
guarantee applied at the start
of this year will remain in
place throughout 2015.
Briefly.
C
rystal Cruises’ Kids Sail Free promotion is
valid for booking until April 30, with one
child under the age of 17 sailing free when sharing a stateroom with two adults.
Friendly and fun-loving, exotic and tropical, Thailand beams with a lustrous hue from its majestic temples and
golden beaches to the ever-comforting Thai smile. Escape the turmoil of life, visit Thailand.
South African representative office for Tourism Authority of Thailand
Contact: 011 463 8622 | email: info@amazingthailandsa.co.za | Fax: 011 463 8196 | www.tourismthailand.org
10
TIR Southern Africa
•
April 2015
Packaged itineraries provide hassle-free experiences
BY RICHARD HOLMES
THE key to planning a successful
family holiday is to make sure the
kids are kept happy, suggest local
agents and operators, who say the
Indian Ocean islands continue
to be the hot ticket for travellers
booking a family holiday, with
many graduating to long-haul
destinations, such as Thailand,
Europe and the US.
When it comes to family escapes “it is all about the kids: kids’
clubs, teen clubs, kids’ activities,
kids’ meals,” said John Ridler
from Thompsons Holidays. “The
Indian Ocean islands are very
popular as they are close by and
mostly family-friendly. Cruises
are also an obvious choice as they
offer shared accommodation for
families.”
While Mauritius is the most
popular island destination for
families, “I suspect that we may
see growth in Zanzibar over the
coming months since Yellow Fever certificates are no longer a
requirement...” added Chantelle
Browne, Indian Ocean Islands
Product Manager for Holiday
Tours.
“A Beachcomber Mauritius
holiday is incredibly popular
among South African families
due to the short flight time, safe
beaches, complimentar y land
and watersports on offer, family-friendly accommodation and
complimentary Mini Club for
three- to 12 year-olds,” said National Sales & Marketing Manager, Joanne Visagie. Beachcomber’s Le Victoria was ranked first
in Trip Advisor’s Family Holiday
Africa in 2014. Mauritian resorts remain a
top-seller, agreed Flora Fubbs,
Senior Manager – Contracting,
Marketing and Operations for
The Holiday Factory: “Hotels offer great in-resort entertainment
and special menus and activities
for kids… we have a number of
hotels who offer a free or heavily-discounted adjacent room for
children; ideal for those seeking a
bit more privacy.” The choice of room layouts is a
continued on page 12
A family apartment at Le Victoria, one of Beachcomber’s top-selling resorts
for families.
TIR asked Mandy McEvoy,
Branch Manager at Westlake Club Travel Corporate,
for the scoop on booking
family holidays:
Top family destinations?
“Mauritius is always the best
seller for families with young
and older kids... once the
kids outgrow the security
of what a Mauritius resort
holiday offers, families with
teens tend to opt for Thailand. These are the families
who have travelled together
before and are now ready
for a more adventurous holiday.” Is it a lucrative sector of
the market?
“Most agents have their regular families who book their
yearly holiday through them. That market is seldom shy
to spend a penny for their
perfect holiday... it is the
‘off-the-street’ traveller who
makes us do the most work
and then ends up driving up
the Garden Route with their
family!”
TIR Southern Africa
•
April 2015
11
... provide hassle-free experiences
continued from page 11
key consideration for clients
balancing cost and comfort. Le Victoria is a popular
choice thanks to its enormous rooms, while Paradis
has junior suites that can
comfortably accommodate
t wo adults and t wo children. Inter-leading rooms are
available at almost all Beachcomber hotels
“In the uber-deluxe category, we have the villas at
Trou aux Biches, Paradis and
Dinarobin that provide the
perfect luxury family holiday… we currently have a
villa special running at the
moment offering free golf
and dinner during mid-2015,”
Ms. Visagie advised. “All
Beachcomber’s properties
cater exceptionally well for
families as this market segment is a priority for us.”
“Shared accommodation
is the most popular, often
with the family of four in
one room, d r iven by the
budget,” said Ms. Fubbs. “In
some cases hotels have specific family rooms offering
two bedrooms within the one
unit.”
A n example is Out r igger Mauritius Resort, where
family sea view rooms sleep
two adults and up to three
children aged 17 years or under. “The unit has two bedrooms, so parents can still
enjoy their privacy while
having the kids close by,”
said Ms. Browne. “In these
room types, the children stay
free of charge year-round
on half-board, which makes
them excellent value.”
The Anantara Bazaruto
Island Resort & Spa in Mozambique is among the most
popula r isla nd get aways
packaged by Rani Resorts
said Michele Abraham, Market i ng, Com mu n icat ions
Manager South Africa. “We
have seen significant growth
in the family market… The
resort is ideal for families,
f rom t he well-appoi nted
room types to the variety of
activities on offer, from horse
riding to dune boarding and
diving courses for children
over eight years, as well as
a separate family swimming
pool area.”
Wit h SA D C r at e s a r e
available, from US$ 293.00
pps pn, including soft drinks
but not alcoholic beverages,
Ms. Abraham said: “Families like to have the peace
of mind that most of their
costs are covered and that
they are receiving good value
for money with an all-inclusive package… SADC rates
for the regional market have
a fixed rate of exchange in
place to help agents/clients
book in advance and so they
do not need to worry about
currency fluctuations.”
Long haul, the Walt Disney resort destinations are
prov i ng to be a popu la r
choice. “Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando is a big hit
with families,” said Megan
Trafalgar has selected authentic accommodation options for its Family Experiences
programme, with each property vetted to ensure it is fit for families. On the Wild West,
Cowboys & Buffalos guided holiday, passengers check-in at the 320 Guest Ranch in
Montana, a homestead established in 1898. The nine-day tour visits the frontier town
of Jackson, the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park and is one of the company’s most popular itineraries. From R26,850 pps, special rates are available for
young travellers. An early booking promotion, with savings of five percent, is available
for booking until April 30.
D’A rcy, Eu rope P roduct
Manager for Holiday Tours.
“We have seen a lot of combos with Disney as well – Bahamas cruises and New York
are popular extensions from
the theme park.”
Aside from entertainment
attractions, the resort provides complimentary Magical Express airport transfers
and inter-park t ranspor t,
while up to two children under the age of 18 are allowed
to share with parents free of
charge. Guided holidays are also
tapping into the demand for
family travel “Our Family Experiences
provide an opportunity for
the whole family to experience a holiday together –
our holidays are not the type
where each party is doing
their own thing,” explained
Theresa Szejwallo, Managing Director for Trafalgar
in South Africa. “There are
g reat com missions to be
made on our family holidays
and it is completely hasslefree, both for our guests as
well as for the agent making
the booking.”
Family Experiences itineraries range from Wild West
f rontier towns and ranch
stays, to Gladiator School in
Italy and kid-friendly tours
through London and Paris.
Every element of the trip is
caref ully geared towards
families travelling together,
with restaurants chosen for
their child-friendly ambience
and menus and accommodation vetted to ensure it fits
family requirements.
“We f i rst look for the
right location, with familyfriendly staff in the hotel.
The rooms must cater for
inter-leading and quad rooms
as this is very popular for
South Africans,” added Ms.
Szejwallo.
Construction has started on a new Avatar-inspired attraction at the Animal
Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. It will feature floating mountains,
bioluminescent rainforests and a Banshee flying attraction, as well as new after-dark
entertainment.
Le Touessrok in Mauritius will close for renovations on April 15, due to reopen as the
Shangri-La Le Touessrok Resort & Spa on November 1. Reservations for stays
beyond November 1 were on track to open at the end of March.
SA Express will introduce its new service from Cape Town and Johannesburg to
Pilanesberg Airport this month. Flights on the Johannesburg – Pilanesberg route will
operate three times per week, on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Flights to and
from Cape Town will operate on Mondays and Fridays.
Fancourt Resort Hotel’s Easter Breakaway packages are available for travel until
April 13. Valid for a minimum two nights, including breakfast and accommodation for
two adults and two children, rates start from R1,999 pn.
The Lakeside Lodge & Spa
(pictured right) on Swartvlei,
near Sedgefield, has attained a
five-star rating by the Tourism
Grading Council of South Africa.
There are luxury suites for honeymooners but the resort also
caters for families and children
of all ages, with non-motorised
watersports, mountain bikes,
minibus airport transfers and, by
request, sundowner cruises.
12
TIR Southern Africa
•
April 2015
Airlines go the extra mile for younger pax
BY RICHARD HOLMES
NAVIGATING sprawling international airport terminals,
stopovers and connecting
flights can be stressful. For
parents with children, airlines are making the process
as simple and child-friendly
as possible. Ensu r i ng a st ress-f ree
family flight begins the minute a client decides to travel,
suggested Sue Botes, British
“It is important to ensure
that all your PNRs with children in have the industrystandard CHLD SSR entry,”
reminded Darrin Thomas,
Marketing and Communications Executive at Virgin
Atlantic. “The CHLD SSR
entry allows us to differentiate between a child and adult
booking. This means that
when it comes to assigning
seats, we can ensure families
are seated together...”
Also be aware that there
may be restrictions on what
facilities are available for a
parent f lying without their
partner.
Although Virgin Atlantic
offers child seats for children
up to 20 kilograms, a single
adult cannot travel with two
children occupying childseats. In this case, another
accompanying adult, above
the age of 14, would need to
travel.
Lufthansa’s in-flight product for young passengers includes logbooks for children to record their flights. When the logbook is full they receive a pilot’s certificate from the airline.
Airways’ Commercial Manager Southern Africa, who
has being f lying with her
children since they were infants: “You need to consider
the children even before you
make your reservations, even
if they are a bit older because
everyone can act up when
they are out of their comfort zone. For example when
you are booking connecting
flights, factor in an additional 30 minutes per child to the
minimum connection time.”
It also pays to ensure families travelling together have
adjacent seats.
With Qantas, families can
select their seats together
soon after they book with
the Advance Seat Selection
option on qantas.com, which
is complimentary on domestic f lights and for selected
travellers on international
flights. Lufthansa, which operates
a dedicated family check-in
area at Munich and Frankfurt, also allows advance preseating of families for a fee.
Book early to ensure sufficient availability, and that
also applies to onboard facilities such as bassinets and
child seats, which are often in
high demand.
On Lufthansa, “bassinets
are suitable for babies up to
14 kilograms and up to 83
centimetres in length,” said
Axel Simon, Director Southern Africa for Lufthansa and
Swiss International. “Bassinets are limited onboard
and must be booked 48 hours
prior to departure.”
While Virgin Atlantic offers three types of in-flight
cots, depending on the aircraft and cabin class, “it is
your responsibility to ensure
that your baby does not exceed the height and weight
dimensions on the dates you
intend to travel with us”, added Mr. Thomas.
“If at the time of travel
we are not satisfied that your
baby meets the height and
weight restrictions, we reserve the right to refuse to
provide an in-flight cot.”
Un a c c o m p a n ie d M i n o r s
(UAMs) travelling long-haul
are a growing market. While
airlines are well-equipped
to handle them, there are a
number of considerations
agents need to bear in mind.
Qantas, for example, only
accepts UAMs aged 15 and
over and offers separate transit rooms at major Australian
airports, as well as dedicated
staff to escort them through
customs and immigration.
Emirates “offers separate
check-in facilities for young
passengers travelling alone,
and dedicated Emirates staff
members to accompany them
to and from the aircraft”,
added Fouad Caunhye, Regional Manager for Emirates.
Another key concern when
booking UAMs is itineraries that involve connecting
f lights, and here the rules
vary from airline to airline.
The first issue is connection times and “if there is
another airline included in
the itinerary, the maximum
permitted connecting time at
transfer points is four hours,
while the maximum permitted connecting time in Dubai
is eight hours”, said Mr.
Caunhye. Qantas does not allow
UAMs to travel on a f light
where the transit time between any two connecting
f lights is more than four
hours, or if the child requires
medication they are not able
to administer themselves.
Codeshare f lights throw in
yet more spanners, with most
airlines insisting that UAMs
be booked directly with the
operating carrier. In-f light entertainment
is also increasingly geared
towards younger travellers,
and some airlines offer a parental block to censor unsuitable content.
Most air ports will also
offer families with young
children priority boarding,
regardless of class of travel,
and once onboard airlines
usually put plenty of effort
into ensuring children are
happy and entertained. Activity packs and toys such
as Emirates’ ‘Fly with Me
Monsters’ have become a hit
with younger travellers, and
over three-million ‘monster’
soft toys have been distrib-
Briefly.
E
mirates launches non-stop daily flights to Bali
on June 3, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER
aircraft in a two-class configuration.
uted since launching in 2012,
remarked Mr. Caunhye: “The
Emirates ‘Fly with Me Monsters’ include Seat Belt Critters, little toys worn around a
seat belt to encourage safety,
and Quiksilver packs for older children to inspire them to
explore the great outdoors.”
Virgin Atlantic offers its
K-iD backpack, with welcome gifts and a dedicated
children’s menu. Separate menus have become a common sight onboard long-haul f lights although they often need to
be ordered well in advance.
They are also usually served
first, to allow parents to get
children fed and settled before the main dinner service
commences.
Singapore Airlines’ KrisWorld in-f light entertainme nt prog r a m me “ ha s a
huge selection of games and
cartoons”, remarked Sally
George, Market Development Manager for the airline
in South Africa.
Furthermore, the airline’s
Changi Transit Programme,
i n p a r t n e r sh ip w it h t he
Changi Airport Group, extended until March 2016, provides additional incentives
and savings for families travelling to or via Singapore.
Passengers who transit
through the airport are given
vouchers valued at SGD20 to
SGD40, depending on their
point of origin, which can be
redeemed at more than 510
food, retail and service outlets.
Vouchers can also be redeemed for one-time access
to the Ambassador Transit
Lounge at Terminals 2 and
3 for up to four hours, Ms.
George explained.
For stopovers in Singapore, the airline also has Singapore Explorer passes, valid
for one, two or three days,
which provide entry to 23 different sightseeing attractions,
including the Alive Museum,
Gardens by the Bay, Science
Centre and IMAX movie theatre, Madame Tussauds and
the Sentosa 4D Adventureland attraction.
Adult passes are available
from SGD45 per day. Child
passes are SGD30.
TIR Southern Africa
•
April 2015
13
For more information please contact India Tourism Johannesburg:
Tel: +2711 325 0880 Fax: +2711 325 0882 Email: goito@global.co.za www.incredibleindia.org
Cruise agencies leverage fare value to grow Med market
Agents aim for higher targets with new itineraries, more days ashore and EPDs in 2015
list places within a normal
leave period,” commented
THE Mediterranean contin- Allan Foggitt, Director of
ues to be the most popular Sales and Marketing, MSC
cruise destination for South Cruises. “The Med remains
Africans according to local MSC Cruises’ top-seller and
cruise specialists, who say far outweighs all other interitineraries featuring calls at national destinations.” Europe’s capital cities, good The weak rand has had
air connections, new product little effect on forward bookand warm weather will offset ings, said Ms. Neill: “The
rand weakness in 2015. weak currency does not tend
“The Mediterranean re- to have too much impact on
mains the most popular des- volumes for luxury cruising,”
tination...” said Gaynor Neill, although mid-market lines
General Manager, Cr uise “tend to be offering moreVacations, “frequency and inclusive deals and items
simplicity of air travel to Eu- which can be pre-purchased
rope” along with relatively prior to departure, such as
uncomplicated visa require- drink packages and gratuiments... make the Med more ties. This allows for better
attractive than ever.
budgeting and planning and
“It is a great destination fewer ‘surprises’ at the end
for first-time cruisers,” add- of a cruise. Forward booked Emma Momberg, Market- ings for 2015 are above target
ing and Product Manager, and with Silversea opening
CruiseMasters. “The Medi- 2016 bookings early, we are
terranean is our main focus already booking well for the
and where most of our guests 2016 Med season.” are travelling this summer.” There is similar good news
With short sailings be- from MSC Cruises. tween cities and few days “MSC is enjoying douat sea, the Mediterranean is ble-digit growth for sumalso a great option for trav- mer 2015, on top of double
ellers with limited time to digit growth last year,” said
explore Europe. Mr. Foggitt. “This is a com “Med packages are al- bination of gaining market
ways a hit with our market. share and also maximising
As European countries are the brand awareness that the
relatively close together, it highly successful local seais easy to combine,” added son offers.”
Holiday Tours Product Man- While the falling rand is a
ager, Megan D’Arcy. “We concern for sales, Mr. Foggitt
have found that a lot of pas- expected any impact would
sengers will book a cruise be felt onboard, with clients
as an add-on… in a coastal watching their spend on excity or an extended itinerary tras such as spa treatments,
taking in some of the inland drinks and speciality actividestinations,” she said.
ties.
“In seven or 14 days one “If the rand continues to
can visit Venice, Dubrovnik, remain weak, we do expect
Athens and Istanbul on an travellers to be cautious with
E a s t e r n M e d i t e r r a n e a n committing to cruise plans,”
cruise; or Rome, Barcelona, said Ms. Momberg. “HowevTunisia, and the French and er, we are hoping that instead
Italian Riviera on a Western of not cruising at all, guests
Mediterranean cruise. With will be looking for specials
the time and work pressures and perhaps rather taking a
on most working adults a lower cabin category.”
cruise offers the opportu- Many clients look to maxnity to tick many bucket- imise their budget by bookBY RICHARD HOLMES
ing well in advance, but “during the course of the past two
years, we have found that
there are clients who are doing bookings as late as five
months prior to sailing,” added Thaybz Khan, Product
capacity. Subsequently this
leads to competitive pricing for the markets, which
is good for a price-sensitive
market like ours.”
“Costa has some great specials for the Mediterranean,”
of itineraries to choose from
and cabins to fill.”
Silversea has also recently
added value, with shore excursions (booked this year)
and complimentary Wi-Fi included on all-inclusive 2015
Mediterranean voyages. With passengers sold on
cruising the Med, an added
attraction is new ships being introduced over the next
year.
The Costa Diadema will
operate its maiden summer
season in the Mediterranean
from April to November.
continued on page 16
Sell these
Regent’s Seven Seas Mariner operates seven night
sailings from Rome to Barcelona from US$3499 pps.
MSC Cruises has ‘Grand Tours’ for the summer season
in the Mediterranean. Book 14 nights from R18,500 pps.
Holiday Tours has a Celebrity Cruises Western MediThe Deluxe Veranda Suite onboard the Regent Seven
Seas Explorer, arriving in 2016.
Manager, Cruises International. “‘Last minuters’ is a
booking trend that applies to
mainly Royal Caribbean and
Celebrity Cruises.”
With plenty of competition, the Med offers excellent
value-for-money. Ms. Khan noted: “Globally this is a popular destination, so there is plenty of
said Ms. Momberg. “On most
of Costa’s departures, excluding some high season
departures, children under
18 sharing with two adults
only pay port charges, gratuities and onboard extras...
They have plenty of ships
with weekly roundtrip itineraries from April through November, so there are plenty
terranean sailing departing July 25 including one night
accommodation in Rome and another in Barcelona,
seven nights on the Celebrity Equinox in an interior
stateroom, port charges and transfers from R22,199 pp.
Silversea has last-minute specials for Silverwind voyage 2512, an Istanbul roundtrip, calling at Amasra, Yalta,
Sevastopol, Odessa, Constantza and Nessebur. Fares
from US$3,750 pp with suite upgrade and US$500
onboard spending credit.
Carnival’s new ship, Carnival Vista, will operate its inaugural season in the Mediterranean in 2016, with eight
and 10-day sailings from Barcelona and Athens from
US$1,049 pps.
Cruise lines avoid Tunis following terror attacks
MSC and Costa Cruises have
substituted calls to Tunis
with other ports in the Mediterranean in the interest of
guest and crew safety, following last month’s terror
attack on the Bardo National
Museum.
Mor e t h a n 20 for eig n
tourists, including 12 MSC
Cruises passengers and five
who were travelling aboard
the Costa Fascinosa, were
killed in the incident and several more injured.
78 South Africans were
onboard the MSC Splendida
when it docked at the port of
La Goulette.
Itineraries affected by the
change impact four of MSC
Cruises’ 12 ships. They are:
MSC Splendida, which will
call at Valletta; MSC Fantasia at Palma de Mallorca;
MSC Preziosa at Cagliari,
while MSC Divina will call
at Valletta a day earlier and
then to Corfu.
Costa Cr uises has confirmed substitutions for Costa Fortuna, Costa Favolosa
and Costa neoRiviera sailings for the remainder of the
year. Costa Fortuna itineraries
operating from April 11 –
May 15 will now include a
stop in Barcelona. The Costa
Favolosa will call at Tarragona in September, while the
Costa Favolosa will call in
Barcelona September to November. T he Cost a ne oR iv ie r a
will call at Trapani April 10
– May 15 and from October
2 – November 15 (excluding
November 4) and visit Malta
September 10.
Tunis has long featured on
MSC Cruises itineraries and
the cruise line said the city’s
extensive range of cultural
offerings had proven very
popular.
However, Pierfrancesco
Vago, Executive Chairman,
said: “Sadly, the murderous
actions of the people behind
this devastating attack will
have far-reaching and profoundly damaging effects on
democratic Tunisia and its
faltering economy. Tunisia
can little afford to be con-
sidered a no-go zone at this
time, but regrettably that is
how tourists will now see it.
“Tunis is a key destination for MSC Cruises and we
hope to be able to restore itineraries in due course. But until we receive the necessary
reassurances that the security situation has returned to
normal, we have to take our
guests to alternative Mediterranean destinations.”
Most other cr uise lines
have already scrapped Tunis
from Western Mediterranean
itineraries but local cruise
agencies expected those still
scheduled to stopover in Tunis during 2015 would implement their own itinerary
changes.
TIR Southern Africa
•
April 2015
15
Delays cleared for Cape Town cruise terminal
BY RICHARD HOLMES
STUMBLING blocks which
have stalled the development
of a new cruise ship facility in Cape Town are being
cleared, with the bidding process for operation of the facility set to conclude in April.
A bidding process begun
in 2013 to award a tender for
private development foundered on the rocks of unsuitable bids and concerns over
year-round sustainability.
The process lapsed late last
year without the tender being
awarded.
However, this process has
since been restarted and bidding closed on February 5. Applications have since
been evaluated to identify
the most suitable bidder, and
“we have now reached the
recommendation stage”, explained Coen Birkenstock,
Manager: Corporate Affairs
for Transnet National Ports
Authority. “During April
2015 we should be able to announce the successful bidder. “This represented phase 1
of the process. Phase 2 will
comprise of the negotiation
and signing of the Terminal
Operation Agreement, which
should take until end-June
2015, whereafter the construction process will follow.”
“Cruise liner tourism presents a significant opportunity for economic growth and
job creation,” remarked Alan
Winde, Minister of Economic Opportunities in the Western Cape.
“Annually, the industry
brings more than 10,000 visitors to the province and international cruise tourists spend
around R1,000 a day while
docked. The niche industry
generates more than R200million for the local economy
each year.”
While there is little doubt
that improved facilities are
key to growing the number of
cruise ships calling in Cape
Town, question marks hang
over its long-term sustainability.
A new cr uise ter minal
“will vastly improve the
image of the city for arriving/visiting passengers, but
I cannot see it becoming a
reality as long as its construction is dependent on the
private sector”, said Allan
Foggitt, Director of Sales and
Marketing for MSC Cruises
South Africa.
“The problem is that for
the private sector to fund
such a development there
needs to be a reward, and
currently there are insufficient calls of passenger ships
to ever make the passenger
terminal in Cape Town a viable business proposition,”
he said.
However, the bids in the
new process shows “there is
a definite interest from the
private sector”, according to
Mr. Winde, who added: “Any
company in this bid process
should factor in the issue of
seasonality. Seasonality impacting our tourism industry
is a standard problem you
have to consider whether you
are building a hotel or in this
case, a new cruise liner terminal.” The new facility will be
situated at E-berth in the
Duncan Dock. According to Mr. Birkenstock, the maximum length
of vessels allowed at the
proposed new facility will
be 260 metres when one is
berthed.
When more than one vessel is berthed, the maximum
length will be limited to 240
metres.
MSC boosts agency earning potential with raised sales targets for 2015/16
BY SARAH CORNWELL
MSC CRUISES has raised
sales targets for its 2015/16
South Af rica program me
by 25 percent. The line has
boosted capacity for South
Africa in the new season,
w it h n e w f a c i l it ie s a nd
ports. Further product enhancements are in development.
A revamped and expanded
16
MSC Sinfonia will return to
South Africa on November
19, with 193 additional cabins.
The modifications are part
of a €200-million Renaissance Program to renew and
enlarge four of MSC’s Liricaclass ships. In addition to new cabins, the ship will feature a
spray park and new Baby
Club, Mini Club, Young Club
TIR Southern Africa
•
April 2015
and Teens Club, library, new
lounge area and an extended
restaurant. The ship will have a modified starboard tender platform, designed specifically
for South Africa’s unique requirements, explained Sales
Director, Allan Foggitt.
Early bird savings of 50
percent were applied “to incentivise people to make an
early decision” and avoid dis-
appointment, he said.
Occupancies for the 23
sailings over the 2014/15 season averaged 99.7 percent
and, Mr. Foggitt revealed,
a f lood of late bookings in
December left only limited
availability on the final sailings.
“ We c e r t a i n l y w e n t
through a slow period between September and October but then they came flooding in,” he said. In 2015/16, the Sinfonia
will feature Mozambique
three- and four-night cruises
with Portuguese Island, Inhaca and Maputo making up
the majority of the season’s
destinations.
Festive season itineraries
include a seven-night Mozambique and Madagascar
cruise and for New Year an
11-night cruise to Réunion
and Mauritius.
Departures out of Cape
Town to Walvis Bay and Luderitz are planned, as well as
the two-night party cruises
to nowhere, which have been
a sell-out in the past two seasons.
The southbound Grand
Voyage repositioning cruise,
from Europe via the Suez
Canal, will call at Seychelles,
Mauritius and Réunion. Photo: Transnet National Ports Authority
An artist’s impression (above) illustrates possible new
cruise terminal facilities at E-berth in the port of Cape
Town. The Transnet National Ports Authority says ships
of up to 260 metres in length will be accommodated.
... agencies leverage fare value
continued from page 15
Diadema will offer a sevennight voyage from and to
Savona, with calls in Marseille, Barcelona, Palma, Naples and La Spezia.
Reservations also opened
recently for the Car nival
Vista, a new ship which will
launch in the Mediterranean
in 2016.
MSC Cruises has introduced a range of ‘Grand
Tours’ for the summer season
in the Mediterranean. “An MSC Grand Tour is a
unique way to spend 14, 21 or
28 nights discovering every
corner of the Mediterranean…” explained Mr. Foggitt. Mediterranean itineraries
cover cruises exploring Italy,
Greece, Turkey and Croatia in the east, and Tunisia,
Spain and France.
Regent Seven Seas is hyp-
ing up the arrival of Seven
Seas Explorer, which will
depart on its maiden voyage
in mid-2016.
Billed as the world’s most
luxurious ship, Explorer will
offer 375 suites, with the
largest balconies in the industry alongside a host of
other innovations.
Explorer’s maiden voyage will be a 14-night cruise
from Monte Carlo to Venice,
departing 20 July 2016, with
destinations from Croatia to
Morocco on the cards for its
first season in Europe.
Regent Seven Seas Mariner has also expanded its
Mediterranean programme,
with varied itineraries calling
at new ports including Trieste, Almería, and Gythion.
Overnight destinations now
include Venice, Barcelona,
Lisbon and Istanbul.
Briefly.
M
SC Cruises first new next generation ‘Seaside’ class ship, the MSC Seaside, will sail
year-round to the Caribbean from Miami in November 2017. It will accommodate 4,140 guests.
“The idea is to make some
changes to the programme
going for ward,” said Mr.
Foggitt.
“Unfortunately, Seychelles
is a hard call, because you
would need a minimum of
two weeks… but the 2016/17
programme is already being planned, with a couple
of new ideas to add some
spice to the destinations and
to revisit some places that we
have had in the past.” 35 percent of passengers in 2014/15
were repeat business.
“On the New Year cruise
this past year, passengers arrived in Réunion and 90 percent went onshore, looked
around, went on excursions.
It was a great showcase for
the destination for future
years,” he said.
“South African repeaters
and European markets have
also been so thrilled to see
the Suez Canal back... We
can certainly see it in the
bookings.”
Smaller cruise ships
lure growing business
BY SARAH WHITESIDE
A M A JOR a dva nt age of
choosing a smaller cruise
ship is the intimacy of the
experience and the access to
ports that smaller vessels allow, with cruise lines conjuring up new itineraries, special interest programmes and
shore excursions. While many scenic areas
are completely inaccessible
to large cruise ships, or require time consuming shuttles to and from the ship to
the harbour, a small cruise
vessel is able to dock. “Voyages to Antiquity’s
300 – 400 passenger vessels
offer guests a more relaxed
and personalised style of
travel,” said Ian Mathews,
Sales and Marketing Manager for Triton Cape Sea Travel.
“These itineraries offer
more cult u ral im mersion
and often include overnight
or multiple day stops where
guests can experience an area’s nightlife and explore the
region in more depth.”
Seabourn is part of Cruises International’s small ship
portfolio and its 604-passenger vessels are informal and
relaxed. Italy, Cote d’Azure
and the South of France are
the most popular itineraries
for South Africans, according to Managing Director,
George Argyropoulos.
“We have noticed a growing demand for this type of
cruising from South Africans
who are seeking a combination of luxury and intimacy
on a cruising holiday,” he
said. Represented locally by
Discover the World Marketing, Variety Cruises’ Seychelles, Madagascar and
Greek Isle itineraries are
among the most popular with
South Africans, according to
Anneli van den Berg, Sales
and Marketing Executive. In
Madagascar, the yachts visit
Nosy Tanikely. In Greece,
the small island of Delos is
included in Aegean itineraries and the medieval town of
Monemvassia features pre-
served Byzantine and Venetian architecture.
Gay nor Neill, General
Manager of Cr uise Vacations, said that Silversea vessels are small enough to dock
outside the Hermitage in St.
Petersberg, able to cr uise
right into UNESCO World
Heritage Site Halong Bay in
Vietnam and journey up the
Thames and under Tower
Bridge in London, adding
greatly to the experience.
“Clients also favour Silversea’s expedition ships
which venture into otherwise
inaccessible regions such as
Greenland and Russia. The
Zodiac boat excursions allow
passengers even closer wildlife encounters,” said Ms.
Neill.
Cruise Vacations also represents Star Clippers, whose
passenger yachts are able to
dock in scenic and isolated
bays. “The vessels all feature
a watersports deck, so skiing
and snorkelling can be arranged right off the boat,” she
added.
“Seabourn’s fleet is small
enough to dock at destinations such as Monaco,” continued Mr. Argyropoulos.
Programme highlights include Grand Prix Street Circuit on Foot Tours with visits
to the Prince of Monaco’s
private car collection. Voyages to Antiquity also
has a number off the beaten
path itineraries. Mr. Mathews
highlighted Sri Lanka, Burma and the Malay peninsula
trip, which calls in Jordan,
as well as sailings along the
Mekong River to Saigon.
“Our Danube Discovery
and Prague cruise is one of
Uniworld’s more popular
cruises and includes a stop
in the small village of Weissenkirchenin, in the Wachau
Valley, where guests can
enjoy a walking and wine
tasting tour,” said Jolene
Campbell, Brand Manager
for Uniworld.
“Our Bordeaux, Vineyards
and Chateaux cruise docks in
Cadillac and includes an artisanal lunch and wine tasting
at Chateau d’Arche, a 17th
century French manor house
and vineyard.” Other Uniworld experiences include an after-hours
lighting ceremony inside St.
Mark’s Basilica in Venice
and performances by Elizabeth Von Trapp, du r ing
selected departures of the
Uniworld and Just Cruising hosted their top clients at a
premier of The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, to
introduce guests to the company's newest destination to
be introduced in 2016 – India. Pictured above: Les Riesnik
(left) and Raymond Leibman (right) of Just Cruising with
Jolene Campbell of Uniworld.
Sound of Music Tour. Uniworld cruises are fully inclusive of meals, drinks, gratuities and shore excursions.
Sout h A f r ica ns have
quickly cottoned on to the
varied benefits and value to
be had, according to Inge
Dobihal of Austria Connection, which represents Amadeus River Cruises.
While booking early is rewarded with early payment
savings, another key sales
feature is that shore excursions are not included as a
standard in the fare price,
although packages with prefer red tours included are
available.
“Some years ago, Amadeus River Cruises included
shore excursions in the fare
but a survey amongst passengers revealed this is, in most
cases, not what our customers wanted – especially on
European river cruises,” Ms.
Dobihal said.
Rather, she explained,
Amadeus River Cruises has
a separate selection of sightseeing and excursion packages, some with only a few
tours, a larger option with
more tours and full packages
with all tours included.
These should be booked
and paid for ahead of departure, at reduced rates, but
tours may be booked on the
spot if a passenger prefers.
“Our cr uise passengers
pay just for the sightseeing
tours and excursions that
they really want… Another
advantage is that some of the
Amadeus ships have proper
single bed cabins, where the
price is the same as per person sharing a double cabin…
so no single supplement,”
said Ms. Dobihal.
“We already have the programme for 2016 and there
is a five percent saving for
bookings with paid deposits
received by October 31.”
Middle Eastern air services company, dnata is to acquire a majority stake in the Imagine Cruising retail business, which is based in the UK but also has offices in Cape Town.
Signing the deal at Imagine Cruising’s local offices (l to r): Robin Deller, Managing Director, Imagine Cruising; Natalie Legg, Sales and Marketing Director, Imagine Cruising;
Ailsa Pollard, Senior Vice President, dnata and Sarah McAllister, Operations Director;
Craig Collingwood, Finance Director and Peter Shanks, Development Director, Imagine
Cruising.
TIR Southern Africa
•
April 2015
17
Cruises International applies new
resources to boost agency sales
BY SARAH CORNWELL
CRUISES International has
added to its sales resources
and support tools for travel
agents in South Africa as part
of a broader strategy to reposition the GSA’s business and
strengthen agency partnerships. An online MICE booking
portal, initially earmarked
to launch in January, is now
being developed as part of
Cruises’ Shipmates online
trade booking and training
platform, which itself has
been revamped for a more
user friendly experience.
T he company has also
strengthened its sales force.
Two consumer and t rade
marketing executives have
been appointed to drive new
The new Cruises International marketing team in Gauteng (l to r): Thaybz Kahn, Brand Manager, Contemporary Brands; Dionne Potiphar, Trade Relations Manager, Gauteng; Margarethe Booysen, Brand Manager,
Luxury Brands and Doug Cairns, Marketing and Sales
Director. The coastal regions continue to be serviced by
Lizelle van Zyl, Cruises International Business Development Manager in the Western Cape and Lindsay Roberts, Business Development Manager in KZN.
18
TIR Southern Africa
•
April 2015
promotional campaigns. The
intention is to boost the company’s nine cruise brands and
major product developments.
Ma n ag i ng Di re ct or,
George Argyropoulos said
that repeat book i ngs re mained high, with word of
mouth recommendations,
new itineraries and additional capacity in destinations
such as Europe, particularly
Greece and Turkey, keeping
pricing favorable and expected to boost sales out of South
Africa in 2015. “We are applying a lot
more intelligence and science into promotions, sales
and brand management. We
are number one in our industry and we want to bring that
image back to the forefront,”
he added.
More pla n ned product
developments, such as the
launch of Royal Caribbean’s
new ships, the Quantum and
Anthem of the Seas, also “reignite the excitement” among
agents, MICE planners and
past passengers, Mr. Argyropoulos said.
However, market penetration in South Africa remains
low.
Cr uises Inter national’s
agency training initiatives
implemented this year will
therefore largely focus on increasing business from travellers who have not cruised
before.
After a strong close to
2014, Mr. Argyropoulos insisted: “We have to go out
and find new cruisers. “Our first aim is to help
consultants to understand the
benefit of cruising for themselves and for their customer,
and to help them to actively
sell cruises to those customers,” he said. “It takes two
steps to sell a cruise: first,
get your client interested,
second, call Cruises International. “We have been in this business for more than 23 years,
there is probably a whole new
generation of consultants and
we realise now that we need
to keep training and exciting
those new agents.
“Cruising is still a relatively complex product… You
need to assist your customer
and it is a great opportunity
to engage with them on a level that no Internet or online
aggregator can.
“The financial rewards,
the commercial rewards, the
wow factor and the repeat
business, or halo effect… it is
all very big and very bright,”
said Mr. Argyropoulos.
Briefly.
C
ruises International is promoting AmaWaterways’ Sell 3 Sail Free agent educational
booking incentive, which runs until December
31. The first redemption cruise is along the
Seine. Mekong cruises on the line’s AmaLotus
and AmaDara are also available.
Cruise Vacations hosted a lunch and learn workshop
at the Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town last month. Silversea Director of Sales, Nordic, Benelux, Middle East
& South Africa, Thomas Harrison and Expedition Field
Staff Manager, former expedition leader, Daniil Elterman, brought consultants up to speed on new product
developments for 2015 and gave an insider’s overview
of the Silversea Expeditions experience, which Mr. Harrison described as “adventure travel with silver service”.
71 new ports have been added for 2015 (21 classic fleet
and 50 expedition) and 107 (19 classic fleet and 88
expedition) for 2016. The six-star cruise line has also
added complimentary Wi-Fi for Mediterranean sailings booked this year. Silversea’s fares are all-inclusive,
with agent rates available from US$200 per person per
day. Agents can subscribe to Silversea’s online learning
resource, silverseaacademy.com. Pictured above (l to
r): Daniil Elterman with Gaynor Neill, Cruise Vacations
General Manager; Sean Hough, Pentravel Chief Executive Officer and Thomas Harrison.
Personally Speaking
by John Wardall
T
he Great Fire of Cape Town
2015 was quite an experience.
As the flames descended
down the Steenberg Mountain at a rapid rate, due to the high winds, I
evacuated my house at 11 p.m. and headed
over to refuge in Noordhoek.
Mistake. At 2 a.m., I was woken and told
to evacuate again. Looking out of the window, all I could see was a wall of flame. The
fire had crossed Ou Kaapse Weg, rushed up
the mountain, over the top and down the
other side. Evacuation again to lower down
in Noordhoek.
Mistake. At 4 a.m., the smoke was so
thick that 52 people at a nearby retirement
village had been moved to safety and
treated for smoke inhalation, so it was time
to bail out again. This time it was to Fish
Hoek, where I joined other refugees for the
rest of the early hours.
The mountain’s resident baboons were
a lot more switched on than I was and had
beaten a hasty retreat much earlier. Even
so, some of them were caught by the fire
and did not survive.
It could have been much worse in terms
of property loss and personal injury were it
not for the tireless efforts of fire and rescue workers, the water bomber crews and
the hundreds of volunteers. Even so, there
was a shortage of manpower and equipment.
I may be doing them a terrible injustice
by my observation but I saw little evidence
of the defence forces, other than the ultimate arrival of a couple of navy helicopters.
Their early involvement could have made a
huge difference.
But the spirit, cooperation, hospitality
and generosity of community members
was remarkable. If only people treated each
other that way all the time, we would have
a much better society.
The only sour note in the aftermath of
the fire was an article by some cretin in
Business Day who asked: “Why do Cape
Town’s upper classes ignore fires in the
shacklands?”.
It was predictable and could not be
further from the truth. There is a huge
“shackland” in Hout Bay which was in
imminent danger of getting wiped out
and what he described as “upper classes”
are mainly ordinary white people who are
working hard trying to make ends meet and
constantly contributing in many ways to
assist in alleviating crises in the townships.
My suspicious mind also tells me that
fire could not have broken out within such
a short space of time in so many different
locations without arson being involved.
A tragic event during the firefighting
occurred when one of the helicopter pilots
was killed in a crash landing. He was an
old friend of my brother-in-law and had
trained with him many years ago in the air
force.
PS
When the rand breached 12 to the dollar, 13
to the euro and 18 to the pound last month,
its worst level in 13 years, I really did start
to worry about the impact on outbound
travel.
Despite outside issues beyond the
government’s control such as the strength
of the dollar, China’s economic slowdown
and the weakness in resource prices, it is a
clear condemnation of our government’s
economic policies, employment strategies,
labour laws and profligate spending.
Despite everything, the start of the
year has been surprisingly good for many
retailers and forward bookings have been
looking very positive.
How the mainstream of the market
manages to swallow the penalty of our
weak currency is beyond me but let’s hope,
despite all logic, that it continues.
PS
I have been in shock and deeply saddened
by the death of Rob Alp, who came out
from England to be the first Managing
Editor of TTG, the former title of TIR, from
its second issue in 1995 until he returned
to the UK in 2002. Many who were in the
industry at that time will remember him.
Rob had been a close friend since we
were at college together. We shared flats
as young tearaways in London and worked
together there, in the Far East and finally
here in South Africa.
He had wide experience as a photographer and journalist at the British tabloid TitBits, the Sun, the Illustrated London News
and the Daily Sketch.
The Far East bureau chief of the Daily
Mail in Singapore requested assistance to
cover a conflict known as the Indonesian
Confrontation because he was supposedly up to his neck in muck and bullets in
Vietnam, where the war was at its peak. So,
Rob and I were shipped out as a reporter/
photographer team to do the honours.
Somehow, our colleague seemed to spend
an awful lot of time reporting tales of derring-do while wining and dining at Raffles
in Singapore or propping up the rooftop
bar at the Caravelle in Saigon, while Rob
and I were sweating buckets and dodging
giant creepy crawlies more than insurgents
in Sarawak.
Back in England, Rob was the Best Man
at my wedding.
He later moved to Durban as a reporter
on the Daily News before going on to the
South China Morning Post in Hong Kong
and the Daily Telegraph in Sydney.
From there, he became the editor of the
Brunei Bulletin before falling afoul of the
Sultan over an article about Royal Brunei
Airlines. He headed back to England and
settled in Sussex, working for a chain of
south coast newspapers before returning
to South Africa, where we were reunited on
TTG.
His wife, Trish, who Rob was devoted
to, was never comfortable with the crime
situation in South Africa, so they finally
returned to their home in West Sussex
where he operated his own freelance news
agency.
Although we only kept in touch a few
times each year after his return to the UK,
I will miss knowing he is there but treasure
the memories of the sometimes extraordinary shared experiences over the years,
which often confirmed the old adage that
truth is stranger than fiction. So a memoir
is not on the cards; it would have no credibility.
R.I.P., Rob.
PS
I was discussing things aeronautical recently with Madam’s brother, who was in the air
force when I think they were flying Sopwith
Camels. He pointed out an astonishing fact
I had not thought of before.
When the U.S. Air Force retires its B-52
bombers in the planned year of 2045, they
will be not far off 100 years old!
I don’t know how many of today’s
aircraft will still be flying at that age but it
is a remarkable tribute to the aeronautical
industry.
PS
A travel agent friend, who had just returned
from a long-haul trip, said recently over
lunch: “I hate travelling.”
He didn’t mean it in such a sweeping
generalisation. He was referring to the experience most people have on long-hauls
when they turn right when boarding an
aircraft. It is a common sentiment.
Years ago, I used to regularly fly from
London to Barcelona on a British European
Airways Viscount during family holidays
on the Costa Dorada, before much of the
Spanish coast was frequented by lager
louts and criminal fugitives.
Check-in was much faster than it usually
is now, there were no security checks and
the airports were airports, not overpriced
shopping malls.
The aircraft were all-economy, with
plenty of legroom, comfortable, heavily
padded seats and there were large oval
windows letting in lots of natural light.
There was no entertainment system, just a
light meal and instant, polite service. All in
all, it was a pleasant, stress-free experience.
In the years since, it has all changed.
Check-in is crowded, noisy, time-consuming and stressful, security is tiresome and
irritating, as is the boarding process and the
battle to find space to cram carry-on items
into an overhead bin.
Seats have shrunk and become “ergonomically designed”, thinner and legroom
has been designed for people without legs.
The meals, wines, 1,000 movies, Wi-Fi
and in-flight shopping are all stuff I really
don’t care about and the promise that you
will arrive rested and relaxed after a comfortable sleep is surely stretching creative
licence.
Somewhere along the path of progress,
the understanding of what the customer
really wants has been lost.
I recall being at a presentation at Boeing
in Seattle when the 747 was being introduced and being regaled with videos and
mock-ups demonstrating how much more
room each passenger would have, how
many more facilities there would be and
how much faster it would be to board and
deplane because of all the doors down
each side of the aircraft – obviously forgetting how everybody would get to and from
those doors!
For a while, first class passengers had an
upper deck lounge, a bar and one airline
even had a dance floor and a grand piano.
But the compulsion to fill every nook
and cranny with a revenue-generating seat
of the smallest possible proportions has
continued.
Continually-increasing passenger numbers obviously mean the desire to travel
overrides any inconvenience or discomfort
and low-yield business simply comes down
to price.
Maybe when technology does away with
the need for oil and solar energy powers
aircraft, a solution will be in the offing to
satisfy travellers’ pleas for space and also
meet the airlines’ financial challenges.
In the meantime, sell up to business or
first or at least premium economy. It is a
continued on page 20
TIR Southern Africa
•
April 2015
19
News Digest
Fares on most competitive
routes cheaper in 2015
TR AVELSTART says increased competition on domestic airline routes is having the biggest impact on
fares in 2015, with a recent
fare comparison for January
and February 2015 against
the same months in 2014 revealed fares have dropped up
to 39 percent on some local
routes.
Of 18 routes analysed,
14 were cheaper to book in
the first two months of 2015
compared to the same period
last year.
Travelstart attributed the
decline to increased competition from new carriers,
including FlySafair, which
began operating in October.
The OTA said it expected
fares could slide even further after new low-cost carrier, Skywise, launched last
month.
However, the company
was cognisant “low prices
are typical of a launch strategy”, with Russell Jarvis, the
Head of Communications,
warning consumers against
“hastily accepting current
prices as a sign of things to
come” – more so as demand
on popular routes grows.
Still, Mr. Jarvis remarked:
“We hope to see prices move
even further in favour of consumers...”
The sur vey shows consumers paid up to 39 percent
less for a f light from Cape
Town to George in January/
Febr uar y, while the most
popu la r com muter route
from Johannesburg to Cape
Town was on average 16 percent less than it was at the
same time last year.
Although baggage costs
were not factored into Travelstart’s calculations, routes
that were otherwise more
expensive to book this year
included Bloemfontein –
Joh a n ne sbu rg, up seve n
percent; East London – Johannesburg, four percent; Johannesburg – Bloemfontein,
three percent and Johannesburg – East London, two percent more than last year.
... desire to evacuate
continued from page 19
stretch for most but once they have tried it,
it is hard to go back.
PS
I hadn’t thought of our traffic carnage as a
deterrent to the inbound car rental market
before. But an overseas visitor mentioned
to me recently that he was nervous about
renting a car because he had read about
South Africa’s appalling road accident
statistics.
His concern was underlined by the
accident which killed Public Service and
Administration Minister, Collins Chabane,
last month.
His was just one of the many unnecessary deaths during the month. The truck
driver involved in the accident was identified as the cause even before an investigation began but, when I saw pictures of
the wreckage, it was beyond doubt that
Chabane’s car had been travelling at grossly
excessive speed.
It was probably driven by one of his bodyguards and, although it was late at night, I
wouldn’t be surprised if he was wearing the
signature goon Ray Bans.
The typical speed at which government
VIPs cars travel is ridiculous, fuelled by arrogance, entitlement, power, untouchability
and self-importance and it is long past time
that they started to set an example.
In next month’s issue of TIR...
We explore new ways to sell, book and promote
hotel, car rental and airline ancillary product in TIR’s annual
Technology & Productivity feature and visit more leading
attractions in the Pacific Asia Destination Report.
Sun International
acquiring Peermont
SUN International plans to
take over Peermont Group, in
a deal to acquire 100 percent
of the issued ordinary shares
of Maxshell for close to R9.5billion.
The hotel chain said it
would explore selling-off
some of Peermont’s assets
after closing the transaction.
Should a deal be reached before the transaction is closed,
the initial funding requirement would be adjusted.
Peermont owns nine casino resorts, including three
stand-alone hotels and one
stand-alone casino, as well as
its flagship Emperors Palace
casino resort, one of the largest casinos in South Africa,
with an attractive financial
and operating profile, according to analysts.
Sun International said its
medium-term objective is to
create a group with fewer,
larger quality assets.
Skål International Cape Town held its annual general
assembly last month. Joy Strydom was reappointed
President, with Rory Goldhill and Judi Buikman joint
Vice Presidents. Pictured (back, l to r): Aneli Gerber,
Two Oceans Aquarium; Nicci Fourie, Western Province
Caterers; Martie Malan, Destination Marketing Services; Carol Bayne, Oceanair Travel; Michelle Andrew,
The GSA; Lindie Strauss, Nac Helicopters; Lodewyk de
Klerk, Southern Circle Tours and Shirley Brown, Keyside
Conferences and Events. Front (l to r): Philip Morse, National and Cape Town Skål Committee Treasurer; Joy
Strydom, Rovos Rail/Ellerman House; Rory Goldhill,
Global Elite Events and Touring and Anne Lamb, Skål
National and Cape Town Secretary. Absent: Committee
Vice President, Judi Buikman and Lindsey Gibaud, Big
Tree Marketing.
Briefly.
C
onsultants who book clients in either First or Club World are eligible to
win two fully-paid Club World tickets for travel anywhere on BA’s route
network. Booking and outbound travel period ends June 30. The keyword
POFR ZA and passenger’s Executive Club details must also be provided.
The prize draw is scheduled for July 10.