The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : South Africa much talked about as a tourist destination

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 09, 2007
ePaper


<SCRIPT language='JavaScript1.1' SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/N4322.hinduonline/B2155503.3;abr=!ie;sz=468x60;ord=[timestamp]?"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT> <A HREF="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/N4322.hinduonline/B2155503.3;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=468x60;ord=[timestamp]?"> <IMG SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/N4322.hinduonline/B2155503.3;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=468x60;ord=[timestamp]?" BORDER=0 WIDTH=468 HEIGHT=60 ALT="Click Here"></A> </NOSCRIPT>

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

South Africa much talked about as a tourist destination

Staff Reporter

Indians prefer to travel with a tour group that takes its own chef "Indians are eager to experience different lifestyles and travel more"

CHENNAI : South Africa may have risen in popularity as a tourist destination in recent times, but to Indians, it just isn't any good without package tours of the Cape Town- Sun City-Johannesburg triangle, that too, with an Indian chef in tow.

At a trade workshop in the city, hosted by the South Africa (SA) Tourism Board on Wednesday, the main question Indian travel agents had for their South African counterparts was about food.

Fatima Lorgat, representing the Limpopo province, said that as Indians often have strict diet restrictions such as vegetarianism, they prefer to travel with a tour group that takes its own chef. "As long as they notify us in advance, this is not a problem," she said.

Another trait of the typical Indian tourists, according to SA tourism representatives, is that they want to do a lot in a short time. The usual itinerary would include big cities, sighting of South Africa's most famous wild animals — lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo — and maybe, a bit of culture.

Lance Littlefield, country head, South African Tourism, India, said that India is different from any of their other markets. "Most travellers from the West are interested in culture, history and the roots of South African society while Indians want lifestyle — nightlife, entertainment and shopping, he said. "Indians love glamour. With a little bit of culture thrown in," he added, explaining that you couldn't sell culture and history to a nation that already had so much of its own.

"India has become more important in the global space. Indians are eager to experience different lifestyles and travel more," said Mr. Littlefield. In September 2005, the figure of Indians' arrivals in South Africa was 36,500. In the latest figure in September 2006, there has been 38 per cent increase in the arrivals. No particular factor contributed to this, it's just that South Africa is talked about more now, said Mr. Littlefield. The travel industries on both sides realise it makes business sense to sell SA as a product, he said. Most of the arrivals in SA are tourists, but there has been a lot of investment in the country by Indians. Another source of tourism is through companies who send their employees there on incentives as it is packaged to be affordable by air and the visa process easy.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu