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Ian and Lise Manley have won the public relations accounts for the annual Riebeek Valley Olive Festival as well as Abalone House, a new five-star boutique guest house in Paternoster on the Cape West Coast.

The Manley’s will represent the Riebeek Valley Olive Festival for both 2010 and 2011. Now in its 10th year, the 2010 Riebeek Valley Olive Festival will be held from 30 April to 2 May. It is undisputedly the largest festival in South Africa devoted to the hallowed olive but is also an opportunity to sample wines, especially the Shiraz varietal from the many established estates as well as local farm produce found in the Riebeek Valley. (more…)

In a welcome development that will go a long way towards reversing the negative media that South Africa is currently attracting in the German market, South African Tourism in Germany was awarded a Globus Award for conducting the best road show in Germany in 2009.

Globus awards, awarded by Tourist Aktuell (one of Germany’s main trade publications) recognise a range of achievements within the travel trade industry. Prizes were awarded on the results of a survey, conducted in late 2009, which collated the opinions of approximately 1500 travel agents representing 700 travel agencies. (more…)

Remember the days when travellers flew into a country, had fun for a couple of weeks, and then flew home again leaving no impact – except for some litter – behind them?

That’s no longer an acceptable way to travel. Now people want to have fun and feel good about it too, by supporting countries with strong track record in nature conservation and social welfare and by making sure their money reaches the local communities.

This growing interest in responsible travel is great news for Africa, since four African countries feature in the 2009/2010 list of “The Developing World’s 10 Best Ethical Destinations”. (more…)

Lesotho’s first five-star lodge, Maliba Mountain Lodge, has been voted as one of Tatler magazine’s top travel picks for 2010, making it onto the ‘101 best hotels in the world’ list. Chosen by Tatler’s travel editor, Melinda Stevens, the 101 best hotels offer a complete respite from everyday living; they all offer something desirable and glorious, and Maliba Lodge is no exception.  (more…)

South Africa has been named as a top destination for 2010 in ABTA’s Travel Trends Report, released at the end of last year.  The annual report cites ‘x-factor destinations’ – those with something new and unique to offer – and ‘chadventure’  a combination of adventure and raising money for charity, or ‘voluntourism’ based breaks, as key trends in British travel behaviour for 2010.

Sustainable tourism has grown over recent decades to become something of a South African specialty. The ‘new green’ focuses on making sure that the interests of wildlife and communities are balanced and that visitors return home with a heightened sense of achievement, self-awareness and understanding of the host country. (more…)

It was a good end to 2009 for Comair Limited, operator of British Airways in South Africa and kulula.com, when the company scooped an array of commendations at the ACSA Feather awards, held in December.  These awards were in addition to those achieved in November, when British Airways in South Africa and kulula were awarded the top two spots in the airline category of the Ask Africa Orange Index 2009 service excellence awards.

Fr the ACSA Feather Awards, British Airways took home the coveted Best Full Service Airline award at the three leading airports in South Africa – Durban, OR Tambo and Cape Town International Airports, while kulula.com scooped the Best Low Cost Airline awards at both Port Elizabeth and George airports.  (more…)

South African Tourism (SAT) claimed the lime light at the Netherlands’ premier travel trade show by delighting over 13000 visitors with several opening day events. Vakantiebeurs is open to the Netherlands’ public and travel trade from the 13th to 17th January 2010.

South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Martinus Van Schalkwyk opened the busy holiday fair with a speech introducing South African’s 2010 FIFA World Cup signature Diski Dance and welcoming Zakumi, the official tournament mascot.

Using energetic demonstration dancers plus the incentive of winning a trip to South Africa with 5 friends to see the Netherlands – Denmark game, SAT is encouraging Dutch residents to learn the Diski Dance and visit South Africa. The campaign represents a co-operation between SAT, Fox Holidays and Metro, one of the biggest free newspapers in the Netherlands. (more…)

Cape Town Tourism has partnered with three international public relations agencies to proactively represent the Mother City abroad. The appointments are aimed at meeting the current demand for accurate information in the run up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup and will assist in shaping and managing realistic perceptions of destination Cape Town and Cape Town as a Host City in key European source markets.

Lianne Burton, Cape Town Tourism’s Head of Marketing says the appointments signal an exciting new phase in Cape Town Tourism’s commitment to proactively grow Cape Town’s international profile.   “With a desire to continually improve Cape Town’s compelling destination brand and tourism offering, we sought agencies with fresh ideas, enthusiasm, and a thorough understanding of our beautiful city and our source markets. Our three new partners were clear choices to deliver this.” (more…)

The owner of EHRENBERG Kommunikation, a respected and established European public relations consultancy specializing in tourism, has purchased a 25% shareholding in Rosemary Hare Public Relations, which was established in 1983.

“As a frequent visitor to South Africa for the past 15 years, it has always been my intention and vision to establish business links with this continent,” says Magnus Ehrenberg, EHRENBERG Kommunikation’s owner and managing director. “I strongly believe that we in Europe have a lot to learn from the way in which South Africa’s economy develops. At the same time, South African businesses can benefit from our knowledge of large and wealthy overseas markets”, Ehrenberg continues. (more…)

I received the below email enquiry yesterday, please assist Lucinda and reply her directly by email:

I read your article on Oscar the travelling dog. We are wanting to do something similar. We are driving back to the UK from Cape Town, via India (4×4 being shipped from Kenya) and wondered if you know of any pet friendly camp sites or game reserves in SA, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana or Zambia? Best wishes and great blog, Lucie.

Lucie Galt Email: lucinda@vagabondvan.com.