{"id":9237,"date":"2022-03-08T23:48:49","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T21:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/?p=9237"},"modified":"2022-03-08T23:48:49","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T21:48:49","slug":"booming-start-to-2022-as-kzn-south-coast-gets-on-the-global-tourism-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/activities\/hiking\/booming-start-to-2022-as-kzn-south-coast-gets-on-the-global-tourism-map\/","title":{"rendered":"Booming start to 2022 as KZN South Coast gets on the global tourism map"},"content":{"rendered":"

The year has got off to a promising start for tourism along the KZN South Coast with international stars scouting film locations; local tourism products selected for representation at international roadshows; and the business community welcoming the launch of the KZN South Coast Meeting Planner Guide.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cAfter two incredibly tough years, our tourism economy is finally opening up again and we\u2019ve noted significant demand for the KZN South Coast\u2019s business tourism offerings,\u201d said Phelisa Mangcu, CEO of USCT. \u201cConcerted efforts to promote the area\u2019s \u2018bleisure\u2019 tourism opportunities, MICE offerings and dedicated film locations have certainly paid off, and we\u2019re witnessing a big uptake in our business tourism sector. I think it\u2019s safe to say, the KZN South Coast is now on the map as an international tourism destination.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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She said the launch of the Meeting Planner Guide was incredibly well-received at Meetings Africa: \u201cWe\u2019ve already seen an uptake in business tourism enquiries. It\u2019s the perfect one-stop business directory that makes planning business engagements so much simpler as it provides event organisers with a comprehensive listing of business conference, meetings, teambuilding and accommodation requirements.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Having welcomed international film crews for wildlife documentaries, as well as setting the scene for international films and local shows \u2013 including SABC 3\u2019s The Longest Date and \u2018Trippin\u2019 with the Kandasamys\u2019 \u2013 it\u2019s no surprise that the KZN South Coast is becoming established as a top film destination. This was highlighted by a recent visit from Hollywood superstar, Tom Cruise, who was spotted along the KZN South Coast scouting locations for filming.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Building on its extensive recovery efforts, South African Tourism (SAT) will be hosting its biggest, independent travel trade initiative in India \u2013 the annual SA Tourism Roadshow. This in-person roadshow will be the first mega-event post-pandemic and will travel to the four Indian cities of Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai from 7 to 11 March. SA Tourism has chosen five tourism products to feature on the roadshow \u2013 two of which come from the KZN South Coast. These include Wild 5 Adventures in Oribi Gorge and Shark Cage Diving KZN in Rocky Bay.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Paul Jefferys of Wild 5 Adventures said they\u2019d been fortunate to engage with Indian-based travel operators through the \u2018Virtually Yours\u2019 travel roadshow hosted by SAT, but this would be the first in-person engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s definitely easier to engage face-to-face and I know a lot of effort has been put into developing relations with the Indian, Australian and New Zealand markets so this is a great opportunity,\u201d said Jefferys, who added that the roadshow would continue in a virtual format for the Australian and New Zealand travel operators.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jefferys explained that the five tourism products were selected across the tourism industry to showcase the diverse offerings from South Africa: \u201cIt\u2019s incredible that two of the five products are from the KZN South Coast. It shows the diverse tourism offerings we do have, as well as the quality, level of service and value for money afforded visitors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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John Miller of Shark Cage Diving KZN, said it was a \u2018great privilege\u2019 to be included in the roadshow.\u00a0\u201cThe loss of international clients coming into South Africa because of Covid-19 hit us very hard,\u201d said Miller, who started the organisation 13 years ago. \u201cShark cage diving is a big draw card for international tourists and a great way to let people experience sharks in their natural environment. There\u2019s no need for diving experience, and anyone from six years old can do it \u2013 even non-swimmers!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Miller said they were also invited by SA Tourism to participate in the virtual tour for the Indian market and they are so excited to finally meet with tour operators face-to-face.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI hope we will get lots of clients from India – with everything we have to offer both land and sea. This exposure is going to be great for our business. We just have to sell our product and bring the people to the playground of Africa!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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On 24 and 25 February, the geographical footprint of the local tourism economy was further expanded with the launch of the innovative KZN South Coast Agri-CULTURE Tours to a very receptive visiting media. This initiative, which features six farmland venues within the beautiful hinterland region, further promotes the dynamic rural tourism offerings in the area. Visitors enjoying the Agri-CULTURE Tours are treated to a completely unique experience which includes everything from farm tours and produce sampling through to hiking, biking and fishing.<\/span><\/p>\n

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To access the KZN South Coast Meeting Planner Guide, visit <\/span>www.visitkznsouthcoast.co.za<\/span><\/a><\/span>. For more information on tourism offerings, download the free \u2018Explore KZN South Coast\u2019 app from Google Play and Apple stores, check out \u2018South Coast Tourism\u2019 on Facebook or YouTube, @infosouthcoast on Twitter or Instagram, or \u2018Info Ugu South Coast Tourism\u2019 on LinkedIn. Follow the hashtags #outdoorsarein #extendyourstay #beautifulbeaches #kznsouthcoast.<\/span><\/p>\n

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For access to all previous USCT press releases, please visit: <\/span>https:\/\/www.visitkznsouthcoast.co.za\/category\/press-release\/<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The year has got off to a promising start for tourism along the KZN South Coast with international stars scouting film locations; local tourism products selected for representation at international roadshows; and the business community welcoming the launch of the KZN South Coast Meeting Planner Guide. \u00a0 \u201cAfter two incredibly tough years, our tourism economy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9240,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2515],"tags":[5367,5887,5389,5888,4474,5313,5886],"class_list":["post-9237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hiking","tag-olivia-jones-communications","tag-oribi-gorge","tag-phelisa-mangcu","tag-rocky-bay","tag-shark-cage-diving","tag-usct","tag-wild-5-adventures"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}