How the wheel turns! Visit Stellenbosch, the town’s official destination marketing agency, has predicted that mountain biking tourism could surpass wine-related travel in the area in the near future and wants to position Stellenbosch as the mountain biking capital of South Africa.
Jeanneret Momberg, CEO of Visit Stellenbosch, said the town had the best infrastructure for mountain biking in the country and hoped to attract more international riders. She was speaking during a recent webinar to promote new and emerging travel products that are keeping destination SA fresh and exciting for new and returning visitors.
The webinar was part one of a series titled ‘Around the Globe in 9 Months’ that’s being hosted by Embassy Direct, a platform for an international network of embassy employees and ambassadors, and is aimed at the luxury, upper-end market.
Momberg spoke alongside a panel of fellow Satsa members, which included representatives for Sun International, Inspirations Travel & Tours, and The Safari Guys.
SATSA CEO, David Frost, was on hand to moderate the discussion. He said SATSA members were working hard to re-package South Africa, and said repeat visitors usually returned with a group. He was especially keen to see South Africa’s extensive line-up of adventure travel products and services get more attention.
Momberg revealed: “We are working on becoming a bike town! Wine is the big (tourism) hook for Stellenbosch, but the second-biggest hook, which might even become bigger than wine, is mountain biking.”
The challenge, according to Momberg, is to put the town on the map in overseas source markets. “We compete very well with the rest of the world. What is lacking at the moment is to package it (mountain biking) so that somebody can sit in the US or Germany and identify a mountain biking holiday in Stellenbosch.”
For now, Visit Stellenbosch said wine remained the leading tourism sector and the biggest drawcard for tourists. Food and wine events and festivals are also as popular as ever, and a week of wine-related festivities is planned to take place in August.
Momberg said Stellenbosch was also an ideal base for any returning visitor to Cape Town looking to explore highlights like the V&A Waterfront, Cape Point, etc, as well as neighbouring winelands and outlying towns. “We call ourselves the gateway to the winelands.”
Momberg also called Stellenbosch ‘the Tuscany of South Africa’ with 11 wine bars making up an unofficial suburban wine route through the town (there were just four wine bars before COVID-19 struck), which trade partners can also get behind and promote.
Visit Stellenbosch is also making it easier to identify products, services and activities linked to five categories – food, wine, the outdoors, culture and art.
Meanwhile, Frost encouraged industry to contact local tour operators to discover South Africa’s hidden gems and raft of adventure travel products. “We’re happy to help and to talk about how you want to experience your stay.”
