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Emirates expands flight schedules across Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban
Emirates Boeing 777-300ER photographed on August 17, 2015 from Wolfe Air Aviation's Lear 25B. Emirates will be bringing new travel opportunities, choice and convenience for customers traveling to and from South Africa with additional services to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The ramp up of flights are part of the airline’s ongoing commitment to support South Africa’s economic and tourism recovery through enhanced connectivity across all of its gateways. The airline’s latest move also reaffirms South Africa’s strategic importance on its network, as it prioritises service expansion and rebuilding its capacity to unlock further growth potential. The airline will be expanding its schedule to and from Johannesburg with three daily flights from 1 March 2023. Cape Town will be served with double daily services starting from 1 February 2023. Emirates will also be adding two more flights to Durban, making it a daily operation from 1 December 2022. The reintroduction of the new flights between Dubai and the airline’s three gateways in South Africa will enhance Emirates’ schedule to 42 weekly services. Emirates’ flight EK 767 from Dubai to Johannesburg will operate with a Boeing 777 aircraft, complementing its double daily A380 operation. The flight will depart at 2325hrs, arriving at 0535hrs the next day to Johannesburg. The return flight will depart Johannesburg at 2220hrs and arrives in Dubai at 0820hrs the next morning. The third daily flight from Johannesburg will help meet high demand with more than 300 available seats each way, and will offer additional flexibility for South African travellers with a new evening departure* for easier connectivity to Europe, the Americas, West Asia and Far East via Dubai. Emirates’ second daily service to Cape Town will depart Dubai at 0910hrs, landing at 1645hrs. It will then depart Cape Town at 1325hrs, arriving in Dubai at 0110hrs the next day. With the double daily service to Cape Town, the airline will have restored its pre-pandemic schedule, supporting the city’s tourism industry right during peak season arrivals by providing convenient connectivity from key source markets such as Europe, the Middle East, West Asia and Australasia. As part of its longstanding commitment to support tourism recovery efforts in South Africa, Emirates and the South African Tourism Board signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) earlier this year to jointly promote tourism and boost visitor arrivals to South Africa across the airline’s network of over 130 passenger destinations. The additional services to all three gateways will also benefit customers with more connecting choices to an array of domestic and regional cities across Southern Africa via Emirates’ codeshare and interline partners including South African Airways, Airlink, FlySafair and Cemair. The unique connections and onward travel options are not offered by any other airline. Customers flying between Dubai and South Africa can look forward to an elevated experience across every cabin class, with thoughtfully designed menus and locally sourced beverages, signature amenities and exceptional hospitality delivered by the airline’s diverse, multinational crew. The airline continues to raise the bar on the premium experience for its South African customers with a local selection of South African wines including Ken Forrester, Porseleinberg, Klein Constantia, Waterkloof, Boekenhoutskloof, amongst others. In addition to this, customers can look forward to dining on authentic, proudly South African dishes and flavours with an array of local cheeses and Rooibos-inspired cuisine. In addition to providing much needed seat capacity in and out of South Africa, Emirates’ new flights to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban will collectively provide more cargo belly-hold capacity to further scale up import and export opportunities for local businesses, helping carry vital exports including seafood, fruits and vegetables, fresh and frozen meats, wine, pharmaceuticals, and gold – between the UAE, South Africa and beyond.
Emirates’ first-class suite debuts in Durban
Emirates has announced the launch of its new first-class cabin in Durban. This launch is also in conjunction with the seasonal increase of weekly flights to the South African city. The seasonal increase will last from 14 June to 4 August. According to the statement from Emirates, the aircraft will operate the additional flights in a three-class cabin configuration, offering eight seats in first class, 42 in business class and 310 spacious seats in economy class. Fouad Caunhye, regional manager of Emirates Southern Africa, said: “As we approach 10 years of operations to Durban, introducing our award-winning first-class experience is a milestone in our history of operations to the city. Travellers will have an opportunity to experience the luxury product offering the Emirates is so well-known for, whether they are heading to Dubai or connecting to popular destinations across our network including India, the UK and the Far East.” “Over the years we have seen Durban grow into the thriving metropolis it’s become, from its busy port facilitating global trade to developing a vibrant culture and distinctive landscape, the city has become a hub for both trade and tourism. The seasonal frequency increase is a result of the growing demand for travel in and out of Durban,” Caunhye continued.
Direct flights from Durban to London to debut on 29 October
Great news for British passengers heading to Durban in South Africa as British Airways announced that it will offer a direct flight from London Heathrow Airport to King Shaka International Airport three times a week starting 29 October. The direct flight will impact around 90,000 passengers that fly to Durban each year. This includes businesspeople, tourists, and expats that frequent the city. It is the first and only non-stop link between the two cities and will be operated by the British Airways’ newest aircraft, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The new route will be of great convenience for all customers based in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). It will also allow quicker travel time and will promote KZN as a prime travel destination in South Africa. "The beginning of efforts to open up the east coast and KZN region to international routes" Association of Southern African Travel Agents CEO Otto de Vries said: “For business travellers, in particular, it means better, shorter, access to key business destinations, instead of being forced to fly through another gateway like Johannesburg. "The announcement also bodes well for KwaZulu-Natal and Durban, as Cape Town has very much been the focus for increasing airlift over the past few years thanks to its Wesgro Air Access Partnership which has seen the announcement of several new international routes to the Mother City." “Perhaps, this signals the beginning of efforts to open up the east coast and KZN region to international routes and if this is the case, as we have seen from the Cape Town example, inbound tourism and outbound travel will thrive,” he added. Flight Centre Travel Group general manager for product and marketing Sue Garrett said they welcomed this move from British Airways and benefit both leisure and corporate customers. The main market of the new route is the small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMME). However, price combined with comfort and convenience is the deciding factor for consumers. If packages remain at a low price point, it would be a huge selling point. Since British Airways fly three times a week only, travellers may still choose to fly on other airlines that offer indirect flights from and to London. However, if the route proved to be popular, it will attract competition that will regulate the price or make it even lower.
Durban to host Indaba Travel Show for Five More Years
Travel Trade Show Rebrands as Africa’s Travel Indaba and Launches New South African Tourism Marketing Campaign Slogan: “We Do Tourism”South African President Jacob G. Zuma opened Africa’s premier travel trade show, Indaba 2017, in Durban this week with the announcement that the show would be held in the city for another five years and would rebrand itself as Africa’s Travel Indaba to focus on the entire continent. A new campaign, entitled “We Do Tourism” was also launched.Credit: Becca Blond“This is a wonderful way to celebrate Africa Month and to showcase the beauty of our country and our continent. This week we bring Africa and the world together at this homegrown trade show where Africa markets itself to the world,” Zuma said.The event, which has been held annually in South Africa for more than 20 years showcases a variety of experiences and tourism products from across Africa, attracted more than 7,000 global vendors, buyers and journalists to the Durban Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre for three days of networking, exhibitions and social events.This resulted in more than 20,000 confirmed meetings between delegates over the three show days, an increase of more than 20 percent compared to last year’s figure.The new positioning as a pan-African travel show re-emphasizes South Africa’s commitment to furthering tourism and economic development across the continent. At this years event more than 1,000 businesses from 18 African countries showcased a diverse range of travel and tourism offerings to 1,449 local and international buyers as well as 692 registered media representatives from across the world, which was an 8% increase from 2016, according to South African Tourism.“African tourism is growing at two times the rate of the global average,” Zuma said. “We’ve seen a 13% increase. (I believe) tourism has the potential for hope in these depressed economic times globally. And working together with global partners we can increase these numbers even more. The time has come to bring the world home to the cradle of mankind, Africa.”Africa’s Travel Indaba also saw the launch of South Africa’s “I Do Tourism” marketing campaign, which will highlight how tourism, a rapidly growing sector, has the potential to change people’s lives for the better by making a direct and tangible contribution to inclusive economic growth.South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Tokozile Xasa, invited all South Africans to become tourism ambassadors for their own country, hailing I Do Tourism as a movement that will show the social and economic value of tourism in people’s day-to-day lives. The Minister also launched the National Department of Tourism’s campaign to achieve 30% of women in executive management and board directorship positions in tourism in the next five years.South African Tourism Chief Executive Officer, Sisa Ntshona also praised this edition of Africa’s Travel Indaba as a resounding success.“This year was all about listening to the feedback from exhibitors and partners that resulted in some fundamental changes, to ensure the event stays fresh and relevant. These ranged from the show’s updated diary system that provided more matchmaking and meeting opportunities to a brand-new Indaba app as the show’s primary source of information about news, meetings and events,” Ntshona said.Other event enhancements included the new Lap of Luxury pavilion, showcasing five-star products, and the Hidden Gems pavilion showcasing small tourism businesses.“Hidden Gems was a pioneering initiative between the private sector and public sector aimed at accelerating inclusive growth in the tourism industry. The programme identified 90 quality tourism SMEs from all nine provinces, and helped get them market-ready before their sponsored participation at Africa’s Travel Indaba. It proved to be a highly successful platform for them to meet and network with fellow exhibitors as well as travel buyers, and gain valuable exposure for their enterprises,” Ntshona said.Summing up the show’s success, Ntshona stated: “We’re confident that the additional offerings, SME showcase and enhanced platforms for dialogue and information-sharing contributed to the success of Africa’s Travel Indaba 2017. We’re not done yet though, with several more enhancements and a refreshed brand planned for 2018, and we trust that exhibitors, delegates, media and buyers will be as excited as we are for next year’s event.”
Rosewood Hotel Group receives coveted GSTC certification
Rosewood Hotel Group recently received the prestigious Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) certification, including its key properties in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The certification, granted by Bureau Veritas, an accredited GSTC certification body, applies to 47 properties across Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, New World Hotels & Resorts, and Carlyle & Co. GSTC chief executive Randy Durband said: “We extend our congratulations to Rosewood Hotel Group on achieving GSTC certification at a group-wide level, and particularly, twelve certified properties of their portfolio are among the first in their respective countries to receive GSTC-Accredited Certification, the highest level of assurance of credible validation of hotel sustainability claims.” Durband also expressed hope that Rosewood Hotel Group’s achievement will serve as an inspiration for others to embrace and prioritise sustainability with rigorous and credible external verification. Team effort The GSTC certification is a result of efforts steered by Rosewood Impacts, the group’s roadmap for delivering positive impact on all its communities and our shared planet, which reflects the Group’s ambition to become a purpose-led organization. This year, Rosewood Impacts will continue to empower Rosewood’s community and ecosystems towards a more sustainable future by launching a group-wide carbon-neutrality journey, welcoming five additional properties as Impact Trailblazers, and rolling out more business-with-purpose restaurants at select properties. With GSTC certification, Rosewood Hotel Group solidifies its role as a leader in sustainable hospitality, ensuring its properties, including Rosewood Abu Dhabi and Rosewood Jeddah, meet the highest environmental and social standards. Meeting stringent standards The certification verified that the Group’s operational standards and guest experiences align with four key GSTC Criteria: effective sustainable management, social and economic benefits for local communities, preservation of cultural heritage, and environmental responsibility. A key differentiator of the Group’s ethos is its commitment that sustainability and social impact initiatives are not mandates but core pillars, in which each property embraces every detail: from eco-conscious culinary creations and educational guest programming to sustainable design elements alongside those that celebrate local heritage and artistry, to partnerships that uplift local livelihoods. Rosewood’s vice-president of impact and sustainability Mehvesh Mumtaz Ahmed was moved to remark: “We endeavour to create experiences that are exciting and meaningful, and elevated yet responsible. The GSTC certification is a welcome endorsement that we are affixing this enrichment lens on every part of our business, from hiring, supply chain, and partnerships to procurement, design and more.”
Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism (PHIST 5)
PHIST (Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism) 2022 is an innovative event rallying the hotel industry and its stakeholders to discuss both environmental sustainability and social impact and governance.