German travellers would love to combine beach and wildlife experiences during a trip to South Africa. This is the feedback from several top German travel agents who were hosted by Tourism KZN (TKZN) and Tourvest Destination Management (TDM), as part of an incentive and training programme. TDM recently partnered with Dertour, one of the largest German-based tour operators, making this incentive progamme possible.
The travel agents landed in Johannesburg at OR Tambo. They travelled through the Drakensberg Mountains, sleeping over on the Midlands Meander, before arriving in Durban.
“We usually just sell Johannesburg, Cape Town and the Kruger National Park,” says Necip Soylemis of Artz Reisen. He explains that German travellers just don’t know about KZN yet, but that both the beaches in Durban and the Drakensberg Mountains will definitely appeal to them. Soylemis says he is planning to organise a KZN themed evening for his clients when he returns to Germany.
“It will be ideal for clients to come for a few days to the beaches of Durban after a wildlife safari,” says Julia Heyns from ADAC Reisen, adding that clients will love the good food and the tropical beaches.
Most German travellers like to self-drive in South Africa, adds Mario Thomas, Der Deutsche Reisburo. He explains that first-time travellers will always insist on travelling to the Kruger, but KZN is the ideal option for repeat travellers. “For the moment, they might know that Durban exists, but they don’t know yet all that it offers.”
Commenting on their role as TDM in this partnership, CEO, Martin West said “The partnership will for the first time ever bring a material number of German agents to KZN to admire the highlights of the province. It has the potential to materially increase the overall visitor numbers to South Africa and this province in particular.”
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The MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Michael Mabuyakhulu, welcomed the guests at a Gala Dinner at uShaka Marine World. He said: “Germany is currently our third non-African key source market, and according to our Tourism Master Plan, Europe is a key growth focus area for KZN. In 2013, we received over 42 000 tourists from Germany and we are determined to grow those numbers. KwaZulu-Natal has what the German market is looking for, the wildlife, the beach, culture, history and lifestyle.”
