With faster online speeds, the dominance of e-commerce and the rise of social media networking- the tourism business has been revolutionized. Add to this the global interest in Africa for the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup™, and it is critical that tourism companies in South Africa and across Africa take advantage of online marketing opportunities.

Last year E-Tourism Africa held Africa’s first international online tourism conference in Johannesburg to educate the local trade about the need to increase their online presence- as Africa has not kept up with these global trends. A new E-Tourism Africa Summit, is now planned for Johannesburg on 1-2^nd December. This conference, sponsored by Vodacom Business, VISA and Travelport, will be their biggest event yet- with a line up of leading local and international speakers.

Google’s Head of Tourism and Trip Advisor’s Head of Africa will be there- along with Jerome Touze, the Co- Founder and Co-CEO of the largest travel social network Wayn.com- who have been working with SA Tourism promoting South Africa for 2010. Also presenting are Expedia, SA Tourism, Quirk eMarketing and a host of innovative projects and products- including Wild Earth TV, SA Direct, Wildlife Direct and Virtual Africa.

CEO of E Tourism Africa, Damian Cook, explains that this year’s event has an all-new programme “At last years event- Twitter was barely known- now it is a major tool for tourism”.

There will be a special presentation from Uganda Wildlife Authority- who grabbed world headlines recently by putting their endangered gorillas on Facebook- garnering over 12,000 supporters in the first weeks of operation via social media.

The summit will demonstrate how media such as Twitter, Facebook and social networks can create awareness, build contacts and drive business- and how technology can be used for reservations, sales and management.

The E Tourism Africa Summit will be held in Johannesburg at the Gallagher Convention Centre – Midrand on the 1st-2nd December 2009.

You can see a video about the event here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET1w4l-g5KQ

Registration for the E Tourism Africa Summit is open now –

www.e-tourismafrica.com

Entries for the South African Tourism and South African Breweries’ (SAB) annual award have grown by more than 30 percent this year

After a rigorous judging process, 27 travel and tourism businesses have been announced as the 2009/10 Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Award (ETEYA) semi-finalists.

Last year’s award attracted 151 entries. When entries closed at the end of June this year, 206 businesses had entered, representing a 30 percent increase in entries. These semi-finalists represent guest houses, lodges, conference centres, car hire and shuttle services, tour operators, taverns and restaurants.

Hanneli Slabber, Global Manager: Product at South African Tourism says this is encouraging indeed and points to a growing industry and to more people building careers, and creating jobs for others in tourism.

Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy and historically disadvantaged people are finding opportunities to start businesses and make a good living out of this robust industry. This year’s awards are dominated by women with 18 out of the 27 businesses being women-owned.

“It gets harder every year to choose the semi-finalists as the entries get better and better. This is a show of the passion and hard work that emerging entrepreneurs are putting into their businesses. We hope that through ETEYA, we can help put these businesses on the map, assist in job creation and increase the quality of service delivery in the industry.”

Three semi-finalists representing each province have been selected from the 206 entrants. A finalist from each province will be announced at World Tourism Day celebrations that take place on September 29 in Kimberley.

September is Tourism Month in South Africa. Celebrations each year rotate between the country’s lesser visited provinces, with Northern Cape hosting 2009’s World Tourism Day celebrations.  It is also fitting that the finalists for ETEYA will be announced at the World Tourism Day celebrations as part of South Africa’s celebration of Tourism Month.

One of this province’s shortlisted candidates, Neiso Mophule from Repa Guest House says the Northern Cape is ripe for new businesses ventures in tourism.  “We have many hidden gems that visitors are unaware of. This makes it the perfect place for budding entrepreneurs like me to seize these opportunities and show just what the province has to offer.”

Says Chris Meyiwa, SAB’s Enterprise Development Manager: “ETEYA is about more than just winning an award. Candidates are taken through rigorous training programmes to help develop their businesses through mentorship, marketing and networking opportunities to create really sustainable business ventures. We congratulate all those who have made it to the semi-finals and wish them well on the journey to become well equipped, leading entrepreneurs.”

These semi-finalists were chosen based on their level of business acumen that examined their strategic business planning, leadership, financial records, marketing, social responsibility, people management and customer service.

SOUTH AFRICAN Tourism has unveiled the winner of its National Geographic Adventure campaign. He is Jason Peters, a 36-year-old from Brighton who is ‘interested in everything, prepared to do anything, resilient, resourceful and most of all a big time adventurer!”

From May to July this year, South African Tourism had been looking for outdoor-types from across the UK to give one lucky winner the chance to win a 10 day trip of a lifetime, following an action-packed itinerary including trekking, surfing, wildlife tracking, canoeing, bush walking, safari, bungee jumping, paragliding, diving and hot air ballooning.

Peters is in South Africa right now on this sensational and exciting trip.

The competition, run in conjunction with National Geographic Channel and natgeoadventure.tv (an adventure travel website launched by the National Geographic Channel), has helped to highlight some of the more active pursuits that are available in South Africa to travellers looking for anything from gentle walking or cycling to pushing themselves to the limits with some of the most challenging adventures in the world.

Jason, and nine other shortlisted finalists, faced a judging panel made up of representatives from South African Tourism, the National Geographic editorial and production teams, as well as an auditor from Delloitte and Touche to make sure the process was fair and equitable.

All entrants were asked to upload a short paragraph to a dedicated website on why they think they should have been chosen for the trip, demonstrating a thirst for adventure and a true desire to visit South Africa and explore what Jason describes as ‘the most diverse and exciting country in the world…’

Jason has the opportunity to share his experiences via multi-media platforms, including video diaries and blog updates on the website, during and after his trip and will even get the chance to address a specially selected audience at the Nat Geo Store in London’s Regent Street.

Lebo Mokhesi, Country Manager for South African Tourism in the UK says:  “It was a difficult decision to make, with more than 300 entrants and a superb shortlist that offered us a variety of winners to choose from. In the end, it was Jason’s incredible enthusiasm for South Africa that won through - his passion for wildlife and adventure sit perfectly with the South African culture, and we are very excited to hear all about his trip on his return to the UK.”

Sophie Potter, Account Director for National Geographic Channel UK says: “We are delighted to have found a candidate that so embodies the spirit of adventure we were seeking through the competition and will bring to life the wonderful opportunities South Africa offers for our audience.”

Jason Peters’ South African Adventure Itinerary Outline:

Day 1 - London/Johannesburg/KZN

Depart London for Johannesburg and take connecting flight to Kwa Zulu Natal

Day 2 - Kwa Zulu Natal

Game experience at Phinda Private Game reserve and Boma dinner

Day 3 - Kwa Zulu Natal

Early morning game drive. This morning Jason meets his ranger and departs on a river cruise, followed by lunch and an interpretive bush walk

Afternoon Game drive

Day 4 - Durban-PE

Check in for flight to Durban, and onwards flight to Port Elizabeth

Depart on a Shebeen Tour, followed by dinner at Shebeen and an overnight at Shamwari Townhouse

Day 5 - Jeffreys Bay

Depart to Jeffrey’s Bay for a day of surfing. Lunch at Island Vibe

Depart to Plettenberg Bay and stop over at Tsitsikamma Canopy Tours to enjoy an afternoon adrenaline rush

Day 6 - Tsitsikama

This morning Jason departs for hiking in the Tsitsikamma National Park, a Bungee jump from one of the worlds highest bungee point, and a mountain bike tour

Day 7 - Oudtshoorn

Depart to Oudtshoorn to visit an Ostrich Farm, the Cango Caves & Cheetah Park

Day 8 - Knysna

Depart to Knysna for a Featherbed Nature reserve tour and an afternoon abseiling

Day 9 - Cape Town

Transfer to George airport for flight to Cape Town. Visit to Table Mountain, a half day Peninsula tour including lunch on-route and dinner at Gold with interactive drumming

Day 10 - Cape Town

Depart the hotel after breakfast for a fun filled day with Adventure Tours, including tandem paragliding, a 4×4 Adventure tour, Sand boarding, and Volley Ball

Day 11 - Winelands

Depart to Winelands to enjoy quad biking through the Winelands in Stellenbosh before heading back to Cape Town International airport for a return flight to London