With September being Tourism Month in South Africa (and World Tourism Day on 27 September) it is appropriate that our cover sponsor, Fancourt is featured in this edition.
Commemorating its 21st birthday this year (1994-2015), Fancourt has definitely come of age. Located just 7km from George Airport in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, Fancourt is not only a premium business tourism facility (read our venue review on pages 20 to 22 or click here) – it is also highly ranked as a golf tourism destination with three golf courses, namely; The Links (ranked No. 1 in South Africa and 34th in the world); and the Montagu and Outeniqua golf courses (both ranked in the Top 20 in South Africa).
As a luxury leisure tourism destination, Fancourt offers a range of 5-star accommodation options, from 115 rooms in the main hotel, 18 suites in the Manor House boutique hotel, and a range of self-catering lodges through the Fancourt Master Homeowners’ Association – each resplendent with top class features and amenities.
Fancourt’s leisure offerings are designed to provide entertainment for all age groups – from activities at the Fancourt Kids Club and Teen Lounge, to leisurely strolls through the expansive Fancourt grounds, a relaxing experience at The Spa, teeing off at one of the award-winning golf courses or spending quality time with family and friends.
The Fancourt estate is home to some of the Garden’s Route most prime real estate. Catering to a broad spectrum of clients, each property type is tailored to encompass both unmatched style and uncompromising levels of comfort. The 613 hectare landscape provides ample space for balanced, secure and exclusive living, complimented by all the modern lifestyle essentials. Abide, explore, indulge – Fancourt is a five-star setting for countryside living.
Situated in the heart of the Garden Route – one of South Africa’s most iconic tourist attractions – Fancourt is also a popular adventure tourism destination with hiking / trail running (8-18km) and mountain bike trails (15 – 30km) that commence from the Fancourt grounds. Adventure activities along this coastline between Mossel Bay to the Storms River include hiking, bird and whale-watching, quad biking, paragliding, water rafting, canoeing, Huey helicopter rides, and Treetop canopy tours in the Tsitsikamma forest. Just outside of Storms River is the Bloukrans bridge – the site of the world’s highest bungee and top of the must-do lists of many extreme sporting enthusiasts. Bungee jumping at this location entails a drop of more than 200 metres into the lush Bloukrans River Valley below.
Getting back to Tourism Month, which coincidentally coincides with Heritage Month, South Africa’s Tourism Minister, Derek Hanekom announced at the official launch on August 16th that a new Domestic Tourism marketing campaign – A Million New Experiences Are A Sho’t Left Away – will be the theme for this year. The new domestic campaign, informed by consumer insights research conducted by South African Tourism, encourages South Africans to take a leisure break away from home and start travelling their own country. The campaign premise is about the joy of discovering new experiences for the first time, thus highlighting that South Africa has a myriad tourist experiences to be discovered, whether one is a new or a seasoned traveller.
In support of the Sho’t Left campaign Tourism Tattler, in association with Mantis and BidorBuy.co.za are auctioning 2-night fully inclusive weekend holiday vouchers for two people sharing at selected luxury Mantis Group properties in South Africa (read more on pages 24 to 27 or click here).
In this edition, we look at the viability of Golf Estates in Africa – a sector of the tourism industry that generates R29.2 billion and creates 50 000 jobs in South Africa. The overall worth of Golf Tourism across Africa is estimated to be R58.4 billion (read more on page 18 or click here).
Continuing with the viability issue, we also look at South Africa’s low domestic airfare prices, which could threaten the local airline industry as new carriers vie for passengers (see page 10 or click here). Linked to the subject of aviation is SATSA’s Market Intelligence Report, which provides the latest tourist arrival statistics, hotel room rates and car rental data for South Africa (see page 12 or click here).
Tour operators will find Lindsay de Heer’s article on quoting and lead conversion to be of benefit to their businesses (pages 14-15 or click here), while our property reviews provide unbiased recommendations for tour itineraries (see pages 24-29 or click here and here to read online).
Our two reviews in the Transport section will also be of interest to Tour operators – the large as life Mercedes-Benz V-Class, and a road test on Ford’s 7-seater Grand Tourneo Connect (see pages 32-35 or click here and here to read online).
And finally, we take pleasure in welcoming members of the Africa Travel Association (ATA) onboard as out latest trade association partner. With headquarters in New York and chapters around the world, the ATA shares Tourism Tattler’s dedication to promoting travel and tourism to Africa.
Enjoy your reading!
Des Langkilde. [email protected]
