South Africa’s Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mr. Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has…
South Africa’s Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mr. Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has welcomed the 2005 Dertour Akademie to Cape Town and to South Africa, saying the fact that Dertour has chosen to return to South Africa for the second time in five years makes South Africa one of the most envied destinations in the world because of the exceptional value Dertour is set to deliver to the South African travel and tourism industry.
Minister van Schalkwyk was speaking to Dertour delegates at the visiting party’s official welcome event at Spier Wine Estate in Stellenbosch.
Dertour last visited South Africa in November, 2000. Sales of South African holiday experiences in Germany grew 30 percent in the wake of that visit and have continued to climb steadily.
There were, for example, 245 000 arrivals from Germany last year. German visitors had spent in excess of R650 million while visiting South Africa in the first three months of 2005 alone confirming, Mr. van Schalkwyk said, “Germany as one of South Africa’s most critical source markets.”
Dertour is one of the largest tour operator groups in Germany, and hosts its annual marketing event – the Dertour Akademie – in South Africa this month.
The Akademie brings 700 of Dertour’s top travel agents and 150 international product managers to South Africa to showcase and give them first hand experience of our destination.
“We know that the 2005 Akademie will exceed all our expectations and that South Africa’s relationship with Dertour will be further strengthened by a series of Joint Venture Agreements between South African Tourism and Dertour to undertake destination marketing work in Germany that will further stimulate bookings to South Africa,” Minister van Schalkwyk said.
The Dertour Akademie consists of two groups of 350 agents who experience a six night/seven day back-to-back stay in South Africa.
It is an opportunity for the agents to gather information and relevant details about South Africa that will result in their clients getting added value in the form of in-depth knowledge and personal experience when deciding on destinations to visit.
It will also equip the travel agents with renewed excitement and vigor to sell a destination that they have experienced and that they know personally. For South Africa, it means more arrivals from Germany in the next 24 months.
“This is the biggest trade familiarisation trip from Germany since the last Dertour Akademie in 2000,” says Annemarie Ferns, South African Tourism’s General Manager in Germany.
“We are confident that the akademie will reignite the excitement and charms of South Africa’s diverse travel offerings in the German market. We look forward with confidence to increased arrivals to South Africa as a result of this initiative.”
Dertour has hand-picked agents for this Akademie from a pool of 3000 top performers and people who are already selling South Africa. The Akademie is but one component of South African Tourism’s relationship with Dertour in its quest to grow arrivals from Germany.
In June this year, Dertour declared South Africa as its Destination of the Year, and this has included collaboration in specific marketing activities such as road shows to educate travel agents on how to sell South Africa effectively and media presentations about the diverse holiday experiences available in South Africa.
“With this second akademie, South African Tourism is showing its commitment to a partnership for profitability with Dertour. This initiative is designed to further grow German arrivals to South Africa and to entrench South Africa as a diverse holiday destination with the warmest welcome, friendliest people, unrivaled scenic beauty and excellent value-for-money,” Ferns says.
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