SA Tourism roll out red carpet for 15 Japanese delegate

Johannesburg – After successfully lobbying to host the annual international board meeting of the Japanese Association of Travel Agents (JATA), destination South Africa, on 18 November, welcomed 15 directors and owners of Japan’s top outbound travel agencies and their spouses for a seven day tour of the country.

Japan is a significant and highly lucrative tourism market for South Africa. Last year, South Africa welcomed an 18% year on year increase in arrivals from Japan, making it the fastest growing source market in the Australasia region. This trend continued into 2006 with South Africa posting a 14% increase in arrivals from Japan during the first quarter.

Commenting on these positive results Moeketsi Mosola, South African Tourism CEO, said: “While these figures are encouraging, our aim, in line with our Tourism Growth Strategy is to actively and aggressively invest in growing markets, in order to attract even more arrivals from Japan and the rest of the rapidly growing Australasia region.”

Hosting the 2006 JATA meeting provides South African Tourism and the destination with an excellent opportunity to share the best of the best of South Africa’s tourism products and experiences with decision makers and influencers from Japan’s tourism industry.

It also allows representatives of the local tourism industry to network, nurture relationships and forge mutually profitable business ties with Japan. “We know that, as an outbound tourism organisation, JATA is working towards discovering new destinations to market to the Japanese trade and the well-travelled Japanese consumer.

We strongly believe that South Africa is well placed to be an extremely attractive option, and we hope that the JATA trip will cement our position in this regard,” Mosola said.

A comprehensive itinerary has been complied for the delegation, which will include a number of new tourism products and experiences as well as a few world-renowned and well-established favourites.

New experiences will include a trip to Madikwe Game Reserve, one of the few game reserves in the world to be proclaimed on the grounds of being the most sustainable land use for an area, and a ground breaking joint venture between the State, the private sector and local communities.

As South Africa steadily gains international recognition as a luxury spa retreat destination, delegates will experience a sample of this new trend at the Santè Wellness centre in the picture-perfect Franschhoek Valley in the Western Cape.

In the ‘old favourites’ category, the itinerary will include visits to: the iconic Table Mountain, the ever-popular Victoria and Alfred Water Front, and the visually dramatic landmarks of Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope.

The delegation will also spend a day at the majestic Sun City Hotel Resort and Casino – a popular resort with visitors from the Asian continent.

In conclusion, Mosola emphasised that: “South African Tourism is committed to dedicating its time and resources towards assisting the Japanese trade in marketing and selling South Africa more effectively.

In June this year, South Africa hosted a group of fifty agents, media and stakeholders from the Japan travel trade, who experienced our destination first hand.

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