Articles tagged “south africa”

Accountants at Emirates, British Airways, and South African Airways must be breathing a sigh of relief. A combination of economic carrots and airline sticks — smoothed over by IATA diplomacy — has helped international carriers recoup more than $500 million in blocked funds from African governments since the start of 2018.

While there’s interest among African tourism boards in marketing actively to black Americans, these boards are missing opportunities by not diversifying their strategies.

The Cape Town water crisis has more to do with improper water management and inaccurate, inconsistent messaging than the city actually being in completely dire circumstances. That's why collaboration matters, between huge global organizations all the way down to individual travelers and locals, to promote the reality of international issues and the benefits tourism can have if done in a sustainable way.

Regionally focused online travel success stories are as rare as rhinos in the wild these days. But this merger of two South African players may help an endangered species — independent-booking players — keep thriving in a market where so much is dominated by the global duopoly, the Priceline Group and Expedia.

Airbnb is booming in Africa, but the first cracks in the success story are beginning to show – in hotels griping about the lack of regulations, and locals priced out of prime property. Can African cities avoid the side effects of the sharing economy that already blight more-developed markets?

High-end travelers are much more likely to embark on a very long-haul flight to a new destination than are budget tourists, so it is wise for the boards to focus on big spenders for any partnership.

From wild safari getaways to its vibrant colorful cities, Africa has more than enough to tempt the 200 million Chinese tourists forecast to be trotting the globe by 2020. But is enough being done to roll out the welcome mat? It depends where you look.

Building up an affiliate network became a great marketing tool for Travelstart in South Africa a decade ago because print ads weren't effective. The incumbent competitors weren't particularly effective because they had no focus on e-commerce.

Destinations from Vienna to Los Angeles are promoting their smart city infrastructure and technology to engage meeting planners and attendees.

Cape Town has a unique set of challenges, but it's thinking smart about the assets it has in order to grab the share of visitors it thinks it deserves.