Our front cover for this edition features the luxurious Kempinski Seychelles Resort (read our Property Review on pages 22 – 25).
Hoteliers since 1897, Kempinski has travelled the world in search of the most fascinating destinations without forgetting the finest traditions of its European heritage. With luxury holiday resorts, business and Spa hotels around the world, every Kempinski Hotel is unique, designed for guests who value five star holidays and luxury getaways.
New properties being added to the Groups already extensive portfolio this year, include the stunning Yanqi Lake Kempinski Hotel in Beijing and the Kempinski Hotel Changsha in China, the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra, Ghana and the Kempinski Al Othman Hotel in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
During an interview with Lashley Pulsipher, the Regional Director of PR for India, Middle East and Africa, while on location in the Seychelles, I got the lowdown on the Groups future expansion plans into Africa.
“Kempinski already operates seven hotels in Africa, five of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. The company is opening new hotels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, and its third hotel in Egypt, within the next 12 months,” said Pulsipher.
“Africa is THE future market for us, both from a strategic and a financial point of view,” added Reto Wittwer, CEO of Kempinski Hotels. “Important key destinations which play a vital role for the economic development of the continent are our target there. As we were industry pioneers in Russia and China, we also want to be pioneers in enhancing the luxury hotel market in Africa and set new standards in quality, service and luxury. We are focusing particularly on sub-Saharan Africa, which has seen exceptional economic growth for several years now.”
Kempinski employs around 20,000 staff in over 25 countries, and has an average of four million guests each year.
As a global company, Kempinski believes its responsibility extends beyond its employees and guests, into the communities in which it operates, and has a corporate social responsibility programme that includes community health, arts and culture and an environmental programme for efficient energy usage.
In this month’s magazine
In the Destinations section of this edition, we also feature Namibia as a RETOSA Transfrontier Conservation Area (pages 16 – 17), and introduce a new Education section that focuses on English writing tips (page 18) and a new series on Wine Appreciation under the Hospitality section (pages 26 – 27). Our regular features in the Business section include the SATSA MIR for the latest inbound travel and hotel occupancy statistics for South Africa (page 08), South Africa’s record tourism numbers for 2013 (pages 10 – 11), and a useful article on ‘9 Essential skills that every entrepreneur must have’ (page 12).
The Events section looks at how Sports & Events Tourism will promote Africa to the world, and at how safe Online Ticketing is. Youth travel accommodation trends are covered on page 29, while the Photography section covers Exposure (page 30) and Visa limitations for South African travellers are revealed on page 31.
We also have two reader competitions in this edition and don’t forget to post your comments online to win yet another prize.
Enjoy your read.
Yours in Tourism,
Des Langkilde.
