SA is open and ready to welcome travellers from the UK, tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu said on Thursday.
She said SA had a variety of products and experiences — old and new emerging out of the pandemic — geared specifically for the UK market.
“SA has globally benchmarked health and safety protocols to ensure the safety of all travellers,” she said after the Meetings Show in London.
Launched in 2013, the Meetings Show brought together leaders in the business events sector to share insights and opportunities for doing business.
“It is critical for us to use such opportunities to ensure we position SA as both business events and leisure destination as well as to engage key decision-makers in our sources markets such as the UK.
“We aim to increase visitor growth from the UK market by promoting the unique experiences in SA, pushing for more direct flights from the UK to ensure the market helps SA's sustainable community growth. SA continues to work closely with airline partners to ensure that the country is easily accessible to this market.”
The government aims to recover UK visitor numbers to 2019 levels of 430,000. The country has already seen a boost based on March 2022 figures of 25,000 UK visitors compared to 1,700 in March 2021.
“We believe from October onwards we're going to see about 80% of the arrivals we were seeing in 2019. We're seeing really positive feedback from trade partners,” said Sisulu.
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SA ready to welcome UK travellers: Sisulu
Image: EDREA DU TOIT/ File photo
SA is open and ready to welcome travellers from the UK, tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu said on Thursday.
She said SA had a variety of products and experiences — old and new emerging out of the pandemic — geared specifically for the UK market.
“SA has globally benchmarked health and safety protocols to ensure the safety of all travellers,” she said after the Meetings Show in London.
Launched in 2013, the Meetings Show brought together leaders in the business events sector to share insights and opportunities for doing business.
“It is critical for us to use such opportunities to ensure we position SA as both business events and leisure destination as well as to engage key decision-makers in our sources markets such as the UK.
“We aim to increase visitor growth from the UK market by promoting the unique experiences in SA, pushing for more direct flights from the UK to ensure the market helps SA's sustainable community growth. SA continues to work closely with airline partners to ensure that the country is easily accessible to this market.”
The government aims to recover UK visitor numbers to 2019 levels of 430,000. The country has already seen a boost based on March 2022 figures of 25,000 UK visitors compared to 1,700 in March 2021.
“We believe from October onwards we're going to see about 80% of the arrivals we were seeing in 2019. We're seeing really positive feedback from trade partners,” said Sisulu.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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