SOUTH African Tourism has set its sights on the Arabian market as part of strategies to fast-track the sector’s recovery. It will participate in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), to be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from May 1 to 4. ATM, now in its 30th year, brings together global tourism decision-makers, industry experts and thought leaders to unlock the sector’s potential. Zinhle Nzama, the Acting Chief Convention Bureau Officer at SA Tourism, believes South Africa’s presence at…

ARTEFACTS traders, mostly elderly women, in Kariba have decried low business amid lack of customers. This can be attributed to the challenges facing Zimbabwe’s tourism sector over the years but some believe this is because of poor marketing of the resort town by authorities. Most of the vendors are women selling souvenirs such as bags, necklaces, bead wear, key holders, printed tablecloths and bed covers. Among these is Gogo Simbi, who started her informal business 36 years ago.Through this business,…

THE Western Cape tourism agency will forthwith halt comparisons with pre-COVID numbers when reporting on figures around airport arrivals. This as international arrivals at the Cape Town International Airport, exceed levels last seen before the pandemic. The Western Cape Tourism, Trade, and Investment Promotion Agency (Wesgro), confirmed the development. Wesgro noted the domestic passenger recovery remained stable, with March 2023 recording a 75 percent passenger recovery when compared to the same period in 2019. Overall, the domestic terminal handled 577…

THE rebranding of Holiday Inn Sandton to Southern Sun Sandton is hailed as a new era of hospitality for business travellers, meetings, conferences and events in the area’s Central Business District. That is according to Southern Sun, which is delighted to extend its presence in Sandton with this addition to one of the area’s most well-established business and conferencing hotels. “In addition to re-branding the hotel, we have fully refurbished the restaurant and bar, and refreshed the reception area and…

RWAND-AIR’S new codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines will allow the former’s customers to access 124 countries served by the latter and improve connections for inbound travellers to Africa via an extensive continental network. The new codeshare will also offer the African airline’s customers greater travel choices and seamless connection opportunities in the local capital, Kigali, and Istanbul. “RwandAir is always exploring new commercial opportunities to expand its reach into markets which can deliver financial return and benefit our growing customer…

TWO people have died and others injured after attacks by stray buffaloes in northeastern Botswana. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism confirmed the deaths in the town of Kasane, located near Botswana’s borders with Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Among the deceased is a 13-year-old student at the Chibe Junior Secondary School. Department of Wildlife and National Parks security have killed the buffalo at the Noka ya Botshelo English Medium Primary School. They were alerted to another lone buffalo near the…

MAVHUTO BANDA TOURISTS are encouraged to visit Malawi and not to be deterred by the recent devastation by tropical Cyclone Freddy. The Southern African country is recovering from the floods, which impacted on some infrastructure. The Central African Wilderness Safaris provided an update on the Liwonde National Park. Mvuu, located in the north of Liwonde, was spared from the devastating effects of Freddy. After a surge of rainfall, the Shire River level has begun to drop slowly and the wet…

Socialite and one of Mzansi’s top dancers, Zodwa Wabantu, has defended herself against allegations that she cheated club owners out of R15 000 in deposited funds and later failed to pitch for a series of performances in Mpumalanga. The 37-year-old celebrity, real name Zodwa Rebecca Libram, was booked to perform at four entertainment establishments in and around Mbombela on March 4 this year. Her 45-minute performances were expected to entertain patrons at Coyotes Pub & Shisa Nyama in Mbombela, Matsulu…

The excitement of driving into Zimbabwe to witness the annual Cultural fair organized by Gaza Trust-Centre for Cultural Development Initiatives (CCDI) under the leadership of Hebert Phikela, the Head Master of Muhlanguleni high school and the founder of CCDI. South Africa generally has a negative attitude towards Zimbabwe as many media houses portray Zimbabwe as poorly governed and a poverty hub. This also engulfed my mind as I entered Beitbridge border post. I spent three hours at the gate as the process of obtaining…

MALESELA MAUBANE Going through news notifications recently, boom, appears the 2017 story about ratings agency Moody’s R11.7 billion in penalties for false credit ratings and its role in theUnited States 2008 financial crisis. S & P Global Ratings was also reported to have paid about R26 billion fines in 2016 on similar charges. These stories prompted me to reflect on Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa’s assertion on the occasion of the 8th Annual Percy Qoboza Memorial, that there is generally ethical and…