The Philippines has seen a 6 percent growth from the previous year and South African Tourism expects it to only grow further in the coming years

Charge d’Affaires Boiki Motloung and South African Tourism Middle East, India and South East Asia hub head Neliswa Nkani (fourth and fifth from right, respectively) with officials of the South African embassy and Singapore Airlines.

Connections, engagement and showcasing South Africa’s diverse tourist offerings were discussed at the second “Learn SA” workshop in the Philippines on 4 September, which was hosted by South African Tourism, South African Embassy and Singapore Airlines.

South African Tourism (SAT) Middle East, India and South East Asia hub head Neliswa Nkani presented South Africa’s key travel opportunities, establishments and experiences to the travel trade and media.

“We are excited to be showcasing South Africa’s rich and varied travel offerings that can be packaged to the Philippines trade. We would like to extend our relations in this market by encouraging the large DMCs to work with small and media enterprises (SMME) while incorporating them into itineraries in a meaningful way. We look forward to building and strengthening relationships in this market while inspiring and encouraging people to visit the beautiful country of South Africa for business and leisure,” Nkani said.

With an aim to train over 1,000 agents across South East Asia, the program is aimed to facilitate a more collaborative and mutually beneficial learning environment.“We noticed that behavior of the Filipino traveler is changing, they look for more experience based and memorable holidays than simple itineraries. Keeping this in mind South African Tourism is investing a lot of time in educating the trade partners on how they can maximize from the offerings available. We have received encouraging response for Learn SA each year which shows that it is a perfect platform to enhance trade partners’ knowledge on South Africa,” she added.

Speaking at the event Acting Ambassador Mr. Boiki Motloung said, “In 2018, the SAT and the South African Embassy held a very successful �?Explore South Africa’ tourism seminar where over 250 marketers and destination promoters participated. We are excited to once again host this auspicious occasion which promotes people-to-people contact between the two countries.”

The Philippines workshop saw over 200 trade partners attend the event.

The Philippines has seen a 6 percent growth from the previous year and South African Tourism expects it to only grow further in the coming years.

South African Tourism will be conducing this workshop across South East Asia in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.