SA ups cruise offerings

  1. Posted on Wednesday 25 November 2009 - 12:00
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    Peter Griffiths, AfricaNews reporter in Johannesburg, South Africa
    South Africa's port city, Durban, is upping its luxury cruise offerings ahead of next year's FIFA World Cup.
    durban harbour
    According to Allan Foggitt, director of Starlight Cruising, the MSC Sinfonia will be docking in Durban, bringing an additional 2100 passengers and crew to South Africa.

    “The arrival of the new generation MSC Sinfonia in South Africa ushers the region into a new era of world-class cruising. This is definitely the biggest single development in the local cruise industry since we first pioneered leisure cruising off this coast,” said Foggitt.

    The MSC Sinfonia, which started seasonal operations out of Durban on Friday, is thought to be the largest modern cruise ship to ever operate out of Durban.

    Foggitt added that the liner will call at Durban more than 30 times over the next five months, and will cruise the Indian Ocean between Mozambique, Mauritius, Reunion and the Comoros.

    Massive exposure

    James Seymour, of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, believes although this may not be the busiest cruise season for South Africa, that the introduction of several luxury liners to the country’s coast, including the luxurious RMS Queen Mary 2, would offer massive exposure to the market.

    Queen Mary, which will make its maiden visit to South Africa in March next year, is almost three times as big as the Sinfonia.

    “This will definitely be a landmark [season] with not only the introduction of MSC Sinfonia, but the maiden call of the giant Queen Mary 2,” said Seymour.

    Seymour added that the MS Noordam would also be based in Durban for the 2010 World Cup.

    “All this is going to have tremendous economic spin-offs for KwaZulu-Natal and bolsters our efforts to promote the southern Indian Ocean region as the new frontier and destination of the cruise tourism industry,” added Seymour.

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