Emirates and the South African Tourism Board have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly promote tourism and boost visitor arrivals and inbound traffic to South Africa from key markets across the Emirates network…reports Asian Lite News
The MoU was signed by Badr Abbas, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Commercial Operations for Africa, and South Africa Tourism Board’s Acting CEO Mr Themba Khumalo in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group, and Minister of Tourism in South Africa, Lindiwe Sisulu. Also present at the signing ceremony was Adnan Kazim, Emirates Chief Commercial Officer, and a senior government delegation from the South African Consulate in Dubai, His Excellency Consul General David Magabe and members of the South African Tourism Board.
Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer said: “For more than 25 years we have invested in, and grown our operations to, South Africa. We’re working hard to restore our services to pre-pandemic levels to help generate more opportunities for travellers from around the world to experience South Africa’s unique natural experiences, world-renowned cuisine, and local culture. Emirates is well-placed to support the recovery of South Africa’s tourism sector and help raise the profile of the destination again, offering convenient connections from over 130 destinations, and providing even more links for travellers who want to explore beyond our three South African gateways through our four airline partners.”
Minister of Tourism in South Africa, Lindiwe Sisulu welcomed the signing of this MoU, citing the benefits it will yield for travel between South Africa and the Middle East. “We want to continue ensuring ease of access into South Africa for Middle Eastern travellers and this collaboration will assist us in elevating our trade efforts; in terms of packaging the destination. We look forward to welcoming more travellers from the Middle East, to experience the various quality assured products and experiences that cater for this market, including; family friendly accommodation establishments and activities, a diverse offering of cuisine as well as wildlife and safari,” says South African Minister of Tourism, Lindiwe Sisulu.
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“The Middle East is a critical market for South Africa so this partnership will be very instrumental in ensuring ease of access to and from South Africa for travellers from this region. This will increase direct airlift, making room for more travellers, and as our tourism sector recovers we look forward to welcoming more visitors from the Middle East.,” says South African Tourism Acting CEO, Themba Khumalo.
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Aimed at supporting South Africa’s tourism recovery efforts, the partnership between Emirates and the South African Tourism Board is part of the airline’s longstanding commitment to grow the tourism market in the country. Under the MoU, Emirates will explore opportunities to promote South Africa and encourage travellers to experience the abundance of attractions that the country has to offer across its network of over 130 destinations. The South Africa Tourism Board will also work closely with the airline to support travel trade partners and tour operators across the Emirates’ network to develop and promote itineraries, introduce special packages and promotional giveaways, encourage incentives, among other marketing initiatives.
Both parties will also explore opportunities to collaborate on joint advertising and marketing campaigns, as well as familiarisation programmes to South Africa for travel trade and media representatives, among other initiatives. Emirates will also support the transport of South African Tourism’s marketing collaterals to select destinations in its network.
Emirates has been serving South Africa for 27 years, proudly connecting close to 20 million travellers to and from South Africa and Dubai and beyond to its global network, firmly establishing the airline as a long-term partner of South African aviation, tourism, and trade. Today, the airline currently serves South Africa with 26 weekly flights, including double daily services to Johannesburg, daily services to Cape Town and five weekly flights to Durban. Customers can also access popular regional destinations across South Africa via the airline’s codeshare agreements with South African Airways and Airlink, and interline agreements with FlySafair and Cemair.