BrandSouthAfrica.com

Speaking at this year's tourism festival in Berlin, Beckenbauer described South Africa as the new frontier of travel. "South Africa changes you'" he said. What he loves about the country he frequently visits, is the warmth of its sunshine, its wild spaces and its attitude to make things go right.

A special effort is being made to lure more German tourists to South Africa. SATourism will begin an intensive campaign in Germany the moment World Cup 2006 ends, upping its budget for Germany by 40%, as it focuses on SA being the next World Cup host. 

Already Germany is the second biggest European source market for SA tourism, with 4.2% of all German tourists coming to SA. SATourism aims to up that figure considerably.  Although far more German tourists go to the US, South Africa's figure of just over 4% in 2004 is a close run for figures fron Brazil, Canada and China, making it one of the top destinations for Germans.

Germans traditionally come here in the European winter and 70% of them head for the Western Cape where they go to see the V&A Waterfront, Table Mountain and the Wine Route. Some 38% visit Gauteng and 30% go to KwaZulu-Natal.

These tourists are well-liked by South Africans, because, among other things, they don't mind spending money - a total of R2.4bn was brought into South Africa in 2004 by German tourists.

Just over a quarter of German tourists use their visit to SA as an opportunity to visit neighbouring countries, notably Namibia, Swaziland and Zambia, thus contributing to these economies as well. It is expected that this spill-over effect will increase as SATourism is mindful of the general South African approach that 2010 is not only a South African event, but truly an African one.

Already plans have been mooted to institute a single visa for Southern African countries to assist in this effort.

Germans like South Africa's scenery, wildlife and culture as well as its warm climate and friendly people. What they rate highly when they consider where to go on holiday, is safety, value for money and memorable and relaxing experiences. They clearly find all this in South Africa, which is why some 75% are positive or very positive about their South African experience, according to research done by SATourism.

Already tourism is contributing 8% to South Africa's gross national product, with this figure possibly rising to 12% in the next few years. Hosting the 2010 event is expected to help in this effort. Travel and tourism will benefit substantially and it is expected that these benefits will be sustainable beyond 2010.

South Africa is aiming to become the world's top destination in terms of service excellence, hospitality, authenticity, variety and awesome experiences. So listen to ‘der Kaizer" and let SA change you.

(Sourced from SATourism information and SAgoodnews)