At
the annual AA Accommodation Awards held on May 04, twenty-six winners
of the 2003 AA Accommodation Awards were announced. Undoubtedly South
Africa's best and amongst them is, from the Highlands Meander, Dunkeld
Country Estate situated just outside the village of Dullstroom won the
award for best establishment in the category "Country Style Retreat
- Large".
Dunkeld Country Estate and Sabi Sabi Game Reserve, who won
the award for the previous three years and received the "Wall of
Fame", are the only two venues in Mpumalanga that hold the titles
of "5 Star Grading" by TGCSA, Superior Accommodation status
by the AA, and are winners of the prestigious AA Accommodation Awards.
There are only another eight establishments that can claim the same in
South Africa.
The
other four winners from Mpumalanga are:
Protea Hotel Hazyview in the category "Full Service Hotel",
Blue Mountain Lodge, Kiepersol, category "Luxury Lodge",
The Rest Country Lodge, Nelspruit, category "Guest House Dinner
by Arrangement", and Dusk to Dawn, Piet Retief, category "Farm
Accommodation". Mpumalanga delivered five of the twenty-six winners.
Mpumalanga also won two of the eight Gold Achievers, meaning that
they specialised in International tourists. Their assessment is done by
South African incoming tour operators and travel agents, as well as outbound
agents in the UK and Germany. They are Royal Malewane, Thornybush
Private Game Reserve and Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge, Sabi Sands
Game Reserve.
The
programme, now in its tenth year, was sponsored by the Industrial Development
Corporation, Visit SA and Europcar, and hosted by ICC Durban. These annual
awards are in recognition of those venues that strive for excellence,
contribute significantly towards the tourism industry and maintain the
standards necessary to meet both the needs of the local and international
accommodation market.
Convener, Vanessa Sands, says it is the only formal opportunity for consumers
to make their opinion of the quality of tourist accommodation in South
Africa. She said one couldn't compare a city hotel with a B&B, hence,
the 26 categories. Being a finalist or a winner gives venues a definite
marketing advantage. This has led to the popularity of the awards programme.
She also said that close to 900 venues enter the programme, more than
22 000 consumer questionnaires were received and 135 finalists have been
announced in 26 categories. Guests commented on aspects such as food,
cleanliness, décor, friendliness and service levels.
THE government proved that tourism is one of its highest priorities when the President Thabo Mbeki himself, opened the Indaba 2003 at the ICC in Durban on Saturday 3rd May.
"I
tell the whole world, Please come to Africa" following a standing
ovation after which he outlined his vision. 'Dream sabbatical'. The president
took his audience on a trip through the African continent, describing
its many treasures. President Mbeki said Africans should do all that they
can to welcome tourists and make them feel safe. "I undertake that
as Africans, we will do everything we can to protect our flora and fauna;
to protect our rivers and seas; to develop our roads, ports and airports;
to protect the great African heritage in the arts, culture and architecture;
to oppose wars and terrorism and crime; to ease immigration restrictions;
to fight corruption; to maintain our sense of humour; to continue to sing
and dance and create a believable world of the imagination; to value our
guests; to say to those who come from outside our continent, "welcome
at the continent that gave birth to all humanity." Mbeki also said
that next year would see the entire world celebrate the tenth anniversary
of South Africa's democratic birth. "It is clear that for the tens
of millions of our people, this will be a great moment of joy and celebration.
However, it is also clear that millions across the globe, in all countries,
who played such a critical role in helping us to emerge out of a long
night of despair, are intensely and justly interested to join our celebrations."
The celebrations did indeed continue throughout the night as SA Tourism again hosted its guests from around the world at a beachfront party on Durban's golden mile. To loud approval, fireworks greeted the largest Indaba to date, which is being held at a time when the world is rediscovering Africa in the midst of the SARS scare in Asia and a post war environment in the Middle East.
The
Proudly Dullstroom Team went to Indaba for the first time this year. They
also represented the Highlands Meander. Other parties that were involved
were the Highlands Municipality, The Highlands Meander and The Belfast Tourism
Market. A special thanks for their support, without which the show would
have gone unattended. The Proudly Dullstroom/ Midveld News also printed
a special edition of the paper that covered the Highlands Meander Region.
2000 copies of this special edition were distributed to all the International
delegates that attended the show. People that visited the stand individually
were given a Map Book of the Highlands Meander together with the brochures
of all the participating parties.750 copies of the Map Books were given to Local and International Tour Operators.
Contacts that were made at the show will be forwarded to all the participating parties. These contact details total 836 delegates that were at the show. Another separate database of all South American Tour Operators (118) will be provided, courtesy of South African Airways.
A lot of business was conducted at the functions and parties that happened after the closing of each day. The highlight must have been the Beach Party that South African Tourism hosted on the North Beach in Durban. About 2500 people, mostly international, attended this event and they marveled at the best that South Africa has to offer. South Africa's International marketing team did a great job of bringing together International buyers and the local tourism products. Under the relaxed atmosphere of these functions a lot of contacts were made and deals were closed.
The
CEO of SA Tourism, Cheryl Carolus attended all the functions held and used
her legendary charisma to win over many hearts. "Team South Africa"
is the slogan she is using to bring together all the diverse bodies that
make up tourism. She talks with the passion, fluency and since of fun that
infects everybody around her." Tourism is a bread and butter industry,
it can put food on the table of even the poorest rural home, provided everybody
buys into the vision," she declares. A truly remarkable woman doing
a remarkable job!A bit closer to home and the highlight for the Highlands Meander was when Dunkeld Country Estate won the AA Accommodation Awards.
They were crowned the Best In South Africa under the category "Country Style Retreat- Large". Being a member of Proudly Dullstroom we are very proud of them.
Overall, the show was a great success and there is no doubt that the show will be attended again next year and for years to come.
You can bet it will be fun, exciting and electrify everybody who attends next year!
The first Dullstroom Classics took place in 1996 with total of 27 anglers
participated and it was a great success. The formula of the event remained
unchanged, the status however has grown in leaps and bounds.
Each
year the top fly-fishing syndicates donate their waters for the day, where
these waters were otherwise be inaccessible for the year. Participants
can only enter by invitation and gladly pay the entry fee. Along with
un-pressured sponsorship and a professional auction, funds are raised
and allocated by the committee to local needy charitable organizations.
The objectives in broader view are to promote Dullstroom, to draw people
into the town prior and over the weekend of the event, to fill accommodation
facilities and support all establishments in and around the village.
The event started, as every year, with a get-to-now function at the well-known
Poacher and closed with the traditional black-tie and fishing jacket gala
dinner, which was held at the Dullstroom Inn.
The main sponsor of the Dullstroom Classics 2003 was Amstel Lager who
donated R30 000.00 to charity and the co-sponsor was Bedfordview Landrover
who handled the logistics of the anglers.
The event organiser was Frank Gaweda from Gaff Construction and Joe Wapenaar
from The Poacher and a total of 97 anglers enter the competition.
The winner was David Methven and Jo-anne Bendall won the prize in the
ladies category while Raymond Cloete won the overall prize as well as
the best farm manager.
Dullstroom Inn, Dunkeld Country Estate and Touch Game lodge, all donated
a weekend as prizes to the winners.
Building on last's year's Indaba launch of its Tourism Growth Strategy and the launch earlier this year of four marketing campaigns in key growth areas; 'My SA Story' (US), 'Sunsation' (UK), 'Live the Moment' (India) and 'The Great Urban Getaway' (Kenya and Tanzania), South African Tourism is looking at expanding these campaigns to include markets such as France, Germany and China. This was announced by South African Tourism (SAT) CEO Cheryl Carolus at a media function held at Indaba 2003.
She spoke of the organisation's successes over the past year, outlined its key focus areas for 2003, and addressed the challenges faced by SA in order to maintain its status as one of the fastest growing tourism destinations in the world.
To achieve the latter, SA Tourism will expand its market segmentation research into China, Japan and East and West Africa - all areas which showed major growth potential in 2002.
Emphasising the need for accurate information, Carolus also announced an initiative by Statistics South Africa to launch a new satellite statistics account, done within the framework of the national statistics system, which will provide more comprehensive tourism statistics and allow the industry to effectively measure the economic impact of tourism on the South African economy.
Building on last year's launch of the E-Business platform, Carolus said SAT's next project was to build a trade extranet to connect key travel buyers with the trade.
A dipping and de-worming day in Sakhelwe was a huge success. Despite
the weather, almost one hundred dogs arrived in all shapes and sizes,
to be examined, de-wormed and dipped against ticks.
Intervet's kind sponsorship of 600 de-worming tablets was the first
step in allowing the team from the Dullstroom Animal Hospital, under the
leadership of Dr Edda Pohlandt Buttle, to give practical aid to the dogs
of Sakhelwe.
Dr Pohlandt said that she is very pleased to see that the dogs, generally,
were in good condition, with only two cases of mild mange. One dog had
a broken foot and another one had pyometra.
All the dogs arrived on leads of some fashion and were extremely well
behaved, with many owners and dogs waiting in the queue for up to an hour.
(Miguel de Sousa)
In future, establishments that have not been graded by the Tourism Grading
Council of South Africa (TGCSA) may not be allowed to attend Indaba.
This according to the interim chair of the TGCSA (and CEO of the Tourism
Business Council of South Africa ), Dr Tanya Abrahamse, who was speaking
at the TGCSA's industry briefing held at Indaba on Sunday.
She also said that the industry was working with the National Roads Agency
to prevent non-graded establishments from erecting signage on national
roads. TNN questioned these apparent 'penalties' especially in the light
of the fact that the grading process was not compulsory, but rather voluntary.
"We do not want to regulate the industry, but rather offer incentives
to join the national scheme," responded Abrahamse. Her colleague,
the TGCSA's executive director, Dr Salifou Siddo echoed her sentiments
by saying that the industry would in time discover that there were many
more benefits to joining the scheme than being excluded from it.
The council is also negotiating with the South African Bureau of Standards
- which runs the Crystal Grading scheme - to gradually phase out the crystal
scheme in favour of the national star rating system. The SABS was not
present at Indaba, which proves that this process is already in full swing.
To date, some 1 300 accommodation establishments have been graded across
the country, with over 500 of those being in the Western Cape. The council
is in the process of preparing to grade camping and caravan sites as well
as restaurants and other food establishments around the country.
The TGCSA also announced that it has contributed to the fact that an additional
R76,5m has been invested in hotels, lodges, guesthouses, B&Bs and
self-catering establishments. The council added that it would sponsor
18 accommodation establishments that fall into the SMME category, as part
of its efforts to promote PDI involvement and transformation in the industry.
It was a great opportunity for the Platorand Equestrian Club to have
hosted an FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale) 3 Star 160, as well
as a 2 star 130 km ride at the farm Elandskloof in Dullstroom on Saturday
12 April. For riders and horses to qualify for the World Championship
they need to complete a 3 star 160 km ride.
South Africa is planning to send a team to the World Championship in Dubai
next year and this event is widely regarded as the first qualifying ride
to be eligible for selection. It takes a minimum of three years to build
a horse up to be competitive in this grueling event.
Officials
from different overseas countries were present at the ride. They were,
Mr. Ahmed Al Hammadi (U.A.E.), Dr. Bobby Surendra-Babu(India), Dr. Jim
Bryant (Canada) and Maj. Brian Dunn (Ireland) all whom are working in
the U.A.E. The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) Equestrian and Racing Federation,
as well as the Emirates International Endurance Racing sponsored the attendance
of these jurors.
17 riders from all over South Africa and Namibia entered for this prestigious
event, while 138 riders entered for the shorter distances of 80, 60 and
30 km.
The latter distances are governed by the Endurance Riding Association
of South Africa (E.R.A.S.A.) and in effect it was a completely different
competition.
The course was prepared over a huge area including fourteen adjacent farms
in the Dullstroom area. Approximately 1200 people including riders, spectators,
veterinarians and back up teams (grooms) for the horses and riders participated
in the ride. Belfast Toyota was the main sponsor.
The 80 km distance was also the qualifying ride for the National Championships
being held in Fauresmith in June. To qualify for the National Championship,
three 80 km rides have to be successfully completed in the early season
with the same horse and rider combination.
Results:
The 160 km FEI three star ride was won by the Springbok rider, Janita
Doyer with her No1 horse on the SA listing, Arkab Mirarti.
The 130 km FEI two star was won by Solette Lubbinge.
Results for the 80 km National ride:
Standard weight category senior: Adri Snyman from Tzaneen
Heavyweight category senior: Willem Swanepoel from Duiwelskloof
Lightweight category senior: Amanda Botha from Bronkhorstspruit
Junior category (14-17 Years): Lilanie Liversage from Belfast
Children's category (10 - 13 Years): Wilné Swanepoel from Duiwelskloof
Littered plastic bags have drawn a lot of attention and, as a result, legislation kicked in on the 9th of May 2003 aimed at limiting the unsightly litter. So far, pages and pages of documentation have been issued addressing various aspects of the new legislation. What are the important issues?
Objective of the legislation is to reduce the amount of litter, encourage the re-use of plastic bags and ultimately enhance the recycling of plastic shopping bags. The plastic bags referred to are any plastic bags given to a shopper at the point of sale, whether they are vest-type carrier bags or flat bags. This is known as secondary packaging and therefore excludes bags used for primary packaging, i.e. chopped biltong, loose peanuts, fruit, rice, etc.
Legislation, as amended, on plastic bags were published in the Government Gazette on 9 April 2003 (No. 24739, No. R518), and called for public comment until 9 May. The proposed compulsory specifications on plastic bags were published in the Government Gazette on 17 April 2003 (No. 24734, No. R522), and called for public comment within two months. As the regulations refer to the specifications, the regulations cannot be enforced until such time that the specifications have been promulgated. With this in mind, we believe there will be a window period of approximately 45 - 52 days from 09 May in which retailers will be able to get rid of their stock of thin bags.
Once the specifications have been promulgated, the regulations on shopping bags will be enforced, and any plastic shopping bag that does not fall within the specifications will not be allowed. However, in the spirit of the Agreement reached between Organised Business, Organised Labour and Government in September last year, no thin bags will be manufactured after 09 May 2003.
In principle, all retailers should charge for the bag. It is felt that if a shopper pays for the bag, it is less likely that the bag will be indiscriminately dumped, thus helping to reduce the litter of bags seen countrywide.
A Memorandum of Agreement was entered into in September 2002 and signed by Organised Business, Organised Labour and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. One of the points in the Agreement is that retailers will charge for the shopping bag. The Retailers Plastic Bag Working Group was one of the parties to the Agreement.
Unprinted bags can be used as long as the name of the manufacturer and the country of origin can be traced. This can be on a consignment slip inside the outer bags. If printed with an ink that is a single resin-based system, based on a co-solvent polyamide is used, the dry ink must weigh less than 2,25% of the weight of the bag or all the dry ink must weigh less than 1,125% of the weight of the bag.
An excise duty/levy will be imposed on each bag sold. SARS will collect this levy from all registered bag manufacturers and importers. The formal SARS collection system will not be ready by 9 May, therefore the bag manufacturers will, in the meantime, pay 2c per bag into a Trust Fund set up by Buyisa-e-Bag, a Section 21 company which has been set up to educate the public, promote recycling and clean up litter hot spots. This levy will be part of the total cost of the bag to retail as well as to the shopper and all plastic bag manufacturers and importers of bags must be registered with SARS, Buyisa-e-Bag and the SABS.
(African Eye News Service)
MPUMALANGA'S new R350m international airport has finally managed to navigate
government's maze of bureaucratic red-tape and has been granted permission
to land international flights. The final authorisation, published in the
Government Gazette, follows months of bitter wrangling that saw 177 American
eco-tourists and travel executives stranded at the airport when immigration
officials refused to allow them to take off last month.
"Now we've finally jumped the last hurdle and signed the last document.
We are now officially an operational international airport, and will be
welcoming our first international charter from America later this week,"
said Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport spokesman, Irvin Phenyane.
"The Boeing 727 charter, with about 140 American Express tourists,
also signals our introduction of a Cape Town, Kruger Park and Victoria
Falls 'golden triangle' circuit for tourists.
KMIA currently processes roughly 7 000 passengers per month, 5 500 less
than initial projections that envisioned 150 000 passengers using the
airport in its first year of operation. "We obviously didn't envision
the degree of government intransigence on the license issue, and expected
to be landing international flights months ago, when we opened last year,"
added Phenyane.
(African Eye News Service)
A man was found dead in the Kruger National Park on Thursday, 24th April
2003 after apparently being trampled by an elephant the previous night.
The man was found in the Stoltznek ranger section in the south of the
park at about 20h00. "The body was found while rangers and the South
African National Parks Corporate Investigation Service (CIS) were investigating
possible poaching activities in the Stoltznek area after gunshots were
heard there on Wednesday night," said Kruger National Park spokesman,
Raymond Travers.
"Preliminary investigations suggested that an elephant might have
trampled him to death," said Travers. He said the man may have been
a poacher and that his accomplices fled when they saw the elephant. Police
were called and the body is at a mortuary in Hazyview where an autopsy
will be held.
The man has not been identified but he is believed to have come from a
neighbouring village.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between THE AFRIKAANSE
HANDELSINSTITUUT ("AHI") and FOUNDATION FOR AFRICAN BUSINESS
AND CONSUMER SERVICES ("FABCOS") and THE NATIONAL AFRICAN FEDERATED
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ("NAFCOC") and THE SOUTH AFRICAN CHAMBER
OF BUSINESS ("SACOB") recognising that in the past, organised
business was structured along racially segregated lines, the national
Chambers of Commerce, represented by the AHI, FABCOS, NAFCOC and have
acknowledged the need for greater unity within the organised business
community. Accordingly agreed to establish Interim Council to negotiate
a new permanent unified organisation, which will permit national Chambers
of Commerce to speak with one voice.
The objective of the Unified Organisation is to de-racialise and integrate
the national chambers of commerce; promote economic growth and development;
promote the development and growth of SMMEs; promote black economic empowerment
and transform the economy so that all can share in the benefits that growth
will bring; provide an organisation to represent and promote the collective
views of members; and create an environment in which business can grow
and prosper.
November 2002 Edition
