“Speaking about the forthcoming FIFA World Cup, people tend to believe that our global advocacy is about the World Cup, no! To us, the competition is only just a tool to serve as the hook for drawing tourists into South Africa,” Dhlomo explained to Nigerian trade and media partners at SA Tourism’s annual Africa Trade workshop in Lagos.

According to him, “We are using the competition to say, look; apart from the World Cup, there is a lot you can see in South Africa; a lot in terms of South African wines; its unique and breathtaking sights. We want them to come and stay beyond the competition and still want to call back after then.”

Reviewing SA Tourism’s global marketing drive, Dhlomo said Africa has become the centre piece of its destination marketing efforts owing to the fact that statistics of visitors from Europe indicate that arrivals from the European continent have reached its peak.

“Most European markets have reached their peak and that is why we are focusing more on the continent. We have begun intensive marketing drive in the continent and Nigeria is very critical in these efforts”, Dhlomo told his audience at the trade and corporate break fast, which was the prelude to the three-pronged events that took place that day.

Dhlomo said Nigeria, with 11 per cent of total arrivals from Africa, has become a unique and important market to SA Tourism because of what he termed, “consistent improvement in arrival figures from Nigeria recorded in the last seven years.”

Appreciable improvements

He further disclosed that, “all arrival indicators from Nigeria have shown appreciable improvements in all classes of travelers from Nigeria. Nigerians are the biggest spenders in Africa, apart from Angola. Most visitors from Nigeria are business travelers making Nigeria, a core markets and we intend to make them stay longer than their business trips."

South Africa Airways’ (SAA) Head; North, Central and West Africa, Aaron Munetsi said the airline is scheduled to open a dedicated Premium Passengers’ Lounge in September at Murtala Mohammed International, Lagos as part of its efforts to improve on its ground services to premium class passengers.

Munetsi disclosed that Nigeria is an important country in its global network which has been making profit for the airline since it began flight service to the country from South Africa in 1998, adding that “the country is one of the only two countries where the airline fly the Boeing 747-400 aircraft configured in three cabins of First, Business and Economy.