What it is, really, it’s an online discussion hosted by Planeta.com.  Another way of putting it: it’s a mash-up that will explore down-to-earth applications of noble concepts like conscious travel, responsible tourism, the local travel movement, and ecotourism - using effective and inexpensive social media like Twitter, Flickr, Slideshare, and Facebook (amongst others).

Responsible Tourism Week is a great opportunity to learn about new initiatives, and it’s an even better virtual venue for networking, for collaborating with old friends, and for making new contacts.

And among its many advantages - it’s free. And, because you can take part without leaving your home (or even straying too far from your laptop, tablet, or smart phone), there are no travelling costs. So no jet lag, overpriced food or bags to pack.

“One of the many barriers to developing any project occurs when the plan does not budget enough time.  Add bureaucracy and corruption and you have a recipe for certain failure,” said Planeta.com’s Ron Mader - so it’s not surprising that one of the key objectives of Responsible Tourism Week is to create incentives for continuity. (Read Ron’s article ‘What is the Value of Continuity?’ here).

“Let’s take responsibility now and broaden and deepen our commitment to responsible travel. There’s a grassroots momentum around the world seeking the ways to make encounters more friendly to all. So we’d like to hear what’s been accomplished in the past year and what is in the pipeline for 2012.”

How to Participate

Ron writes: “During the event participants are encouraged to organize a local PhotoSafari and/or Green drinks (There’s already a meeting on volunteering scheduled in London on February 15). We recommend such inexpensive get-togethers as a means of introducing responsible tourism to a public that might not use ‘responsible tourism’ in everyday conversation.

“Have fun with this.

“You can announce your event using the Twitter hash tag #rtweek2012 or #responsibletourism and let us know the outcomes.

“Since the discussion takes part on various Web 2.0 platforms, we ask participants to become acquainted with (and register on) Delicious, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube.

“Tag relevant pages and tweets with the hashtag #rtweek2012.

“Prepare something on the ground and online. And be prepared to be surprised and inspired by others!”

And what’s in this for you?

Well, by tweeting, uploading images and videos, chatting and sharing on Facebook and other forums, and by tagging your posts with your destination’s name (and sharing your web address), you’ll be growing your online presence (at virtually no cost) - and this will drive traffic to your site.

What’s in it for the world, though - and for its tourism industry - is something far more important.

It has to do with being generous, with caring for the planet and its inhabitants (human, furry, feathered, and scaly) - and with ensuring our survival.

That’s enough reason for me…More information

You can take Responsible Tourism Week to any lengths you like - and we’re hoping you’ll be creative. You’ll find all the on line resources you’ll need to guide your thinking here - but if you need more information, please contact Ron Mader on editor [at] planeta.com - or visit

• Planeta.com. http://www.planeta.com/planeta/11/1112rtweek.html
• The Planeta Wiki http://planeta.wikispaces.com/rtweek2012
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=135563616538509
• Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/planeta/rtweek2012

… or follow us on Twitter: @ronmader or @martinhatchuel - using the hash tag #rtweek2012

Western Cape experiencing great summer season

I am pleased to report that the Western Cape’s tourism industry is experiencing a great summer season. In December 2011, passenger arrivals into Cape Town International Airport and key attractions around the province achieved significant year-on-year growth.

This December holiday, Cape Town International Airport received 86 910 international arrivals.  This is 12 436 more than last December, representing an increase in arriving international passengers of 17.07 per cent. Regional arrivals increased by 26.78 per cent to 7139, and domestic arrivals increased by 4.52 per cent to 337 385. This followed similar year-on-year increases in November 2011of 14 percent, 11.7 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively.

Preliminary statistics reveal that a total number of 4.21 million passengers arrived at Cape Town International Airport in 2011.  This is 4.16 per cent higher than what was achieved in 2010, the year that we hosted the FIFA World Cup.

Statistics from key Western Cape tourism attractions located around the province are further evidence that we are experiencing a good summer tourism season.

This past December, the Table Mountain Cableway, Cape Point and Kirstenbosch Gardens – three of the province’s most popular tourist attractions – all experienced significant growth. The Cableway achieved a record number of 112 000 visitors, 46.6 per cent higher than last year due in part to better weather. Cape Point received 106 672 visitors, 18.7 per cent more than in December 2010, and Kirstenbosch Gardens received 77 300 visitors, 2 per cent more than in December 2010. Boulders, another tourist favourite, increased its visitor numbers by 22.9 per cent to 68 942 this December.

Despite the good weather, Robben Island received 3140 less visitors than in December 2010, a decrease of 7.5 per cent. This World Heritage Site continues to be plagued by bad service, staff with a questionable work ethic and shoddy infrastructure. Instead of being an icon of our province and country, Robben Island has become a blemish on our tourism industry. I have requested a meeting with the Robben Island team to discuss possible improvements.

While most tourism attractions in locations outside of Cape Town continued to show growth following a strong November, others registered a decline. De Hoop Nature Reserve, Arniston and Napier grew visitor numbers by 23 percent, 144 percent and 16.7 per cent respectively, while Elim and the Agulhas Lighthouse registered 43.7 percent and 11.8 percent less visitors, respectively.

These figures suggest that we need to devise more innovative solutions, in collaboration with the private sector, to market the province’s entire tourism offering.

Despite the ongoing economic downturn that is affecting tourism numbers across the world, the Cape’s tourism industry showed remarkable growth in 2011.

Our success in achieving these statistics is in part due to the hard work of the industry and the welcoming attitude of all residents of the province. In 2011, Cape Town achieved a number of international accolades, many of which were voted for directly by travellers, which achieved the destination significant exposure.  They include:

• TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Number 1 Destination of 2011
• World Design Capital 2014
• Table Mountain voted a New 7 Wonder of Nature
• Cape Town was Runner up in the Telegraph Travel Awards of 2011 (biggest selling daily in UK)
• One of Lonely Planet’s Top 10 beach cities
• One of New York Times top ten hippest cities that think about how they work
• Conde Naste’s Top City to visit in Africa and the Middle East in 2011
• Huffington Post’s top 10 most popular study abroad cities

In 2012, we will continue to focus on this industry to achieve growth and job creation in our province.  Our multi-pronged strategy is focused on:

• Promoting the destination in traditional and new markets, with a special emphasis on Africa, the Middle East and the BRIC countries.
• Encouraging domestic tourism as it is the bread and butter of our tourism industry.
• Boosting business, events and sports tourism by providing a competitive offering. The expansion of the CTICC is key to this objective.
• Increasing direct air lift by engaging airlines in key source and emerging markets.
• Promoting the development of tourism small and medium enterprises to widen access to jobs in this industry. This includes training and business mentorship programmes.

We will also be placing special emphasis on increasing the standard of service delivery in our province by calling on all hospitality establishments to up their game.

The above initiatives have put us firmly on track to achieve our aim of growing the contribution of tourism to the region’s GDP from 10 to 15 per cent by 2014. There are still 5 months of good summer weather ahead, and we look forward to the boost that this will bring our tourism establishments.

A small snapshot exit poll conducted at the Cape Town Airport by the Western Cape Government has yielded overwhelmingly positive results.

The exit poll, amongst 25 respondents from 14 countries, was conducted on the 11th of January 2012 to measure foreign visitor perception and experience of the destination.

Amongst visitors surveyed, 36 per cent perceived the destination as safe, 20 per cent felt really safe and 32 per cent felt very safe. The remainder (12 per cent), felt either unsafe or very unsafe, and in these cases, aggressive driving by other road users was cited as the primary cause.

The perception of the destination was much more positive than upon arrival.  32 per cent indicated that they viewed the destination more positively.  36 per cent indicated that they felt much more positive about South Africa since coming here. One respondent indicated that she felt more negative since arriving here.

Of all the respondents, not one indicated that they would not be returning to the destination. 60 per cent indicated that they would return, and 40 per cent indicated that they would return with their family. This is a positive indication for the future growth of our tourism industry.

When asked whether they had heard that Table Mountain was chosen as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, 64 per cent of recipients responded in the positive.

The snapshot poll respondents gave their Western Cape holiday experience an overall rating of 8.5 out of 10.

I would like to thank the residents of the Western Cape, and those in the tourism industry, for playing their part to attract tourists to the region and ensure that they have an experience that encourages them to return. Our tourism industry is a key source of growth and jobs, and we are striving to ensure that it continues to go from strength to strength.

Other snapshot poll results in brief:

• 64 per cent of those surveyed were first time visitors to the destination.
• Females accounted for 32 per cent of those surveyed, and males made up the remaining 68 per cent. This is in contrast to the poll conducted during the World Cup, when males accounted for 82 per cent of respondents.
• The average age of respondents was 42 years (2010 = 40 years).
• The average group consisted of 2.5 persons (2010 = 6 persons).
• The Winelands was the most popular region visited outside of the City of Cape Town, with 56 per cent of respondents indicating that they travelled there.
• Hire cars were the primary mode of transportation (52 per cent).
• The top three experiences in the Western Cape were:

1. Winelands
2. Table Mountain
3. Nature / scenery

For media enquiries, or to arrange an interview with Minister Alan Winde, please call Tammy on 082 378 2235.

ENDS
Tammy Evans
Spokesperson for Minister Alan Winde

Following on COP17 in Durban, you can’t help but get the feeling that South Africa is beginning to take its green issues seriously, and that it’s hungry for information about them. So tourism practitioners will be pleased to learn about Planeta.com’s Responsible Tourism Week  and its Responsible Tourism Unconference  - ‘Fall in love with responsible tourism’ - that’s slated to take place from February 13 - 17.

But don’t panic! It’s not THAT kind of expensive gabfest that calls for wasteful exhibition stalls and ridonculous printing bills, and that’s  filled with unnecessary politicians (wink wink).

No - Planeta.com’s Responsible Tourism Week is an annual, week-long online event.

“2012 is the fourth year for Responsible Tourism Week and we expect the conversations to take a great leap forward thanks to inspired participation and Planeta.com’s 12th year of online conferencing,” said Ron.

“It’s a fun, free, five-day mash-up exploring down-to-earth applications of noble concepts including responsible tourism, conscious travel, the local travel movement and ecotourism with effective and inexpensive social media.

“Friends have asked … but why an unconference?

“My response: Traditional conferences are overly scripted without opportunities to engage one another. We created the Responsible Tourism Week as an inexpensive way to broaden and deepen conversations about travel and tourism.

“The past three years Responsible Tourism Week has encouraged everyone to show the practical actions of making tourism beneficial to locals and visitors alike. With citizens seizing the day around the world in 2011, we think it’s about time that we organize ourselves in travel and tourism,” said Ron.

“Who should participate?

“For travelers, this is an opportunity to see where to go, how to travel and who to meet.

“For travel businesses and local tourism leaders, this is free advertising and an opportunity to learn good practices from around the globe.

“For journalists and other media pros, this is an opportunity to scan beyond the horizon for new stories.

“Another plus: admission is free and there’s no jet lag!”

There’s a whole heap of links to useful resources regarding Responsible Tourism Week in this post on This Tourism Week - but if you need more information, please contact Ron Mader editor [at] planeta.com or visit Planeta.com.

For more about Responsible Tourism Week on the Web, visit

• Wiki http://planeta.wikispaces.com/rtweek2012
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=135563616538509
• Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/planeta/rtweek2012
• Twitter @ronmader - using the hashtag #rtweek2012

Looking for the largest tuskers in Southern Africa?

According to equine and wildlife surgeon Dr. Johan Marais  - who’s published two books on Africa’s elephants (Great Tuskers of Africa, and In search of Africa’s Great Tuskers) - you’ll find them in the unique sand forests and grasslands of the Tembe National Elephant Park.

Situated on the KwaZulu-Natal side of the South Africa / Mozambique Transfrontier Park, Tembe is managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and is home to more than 260 of the largest elephant in the world - and to three of the largest tuskers in Southern Africa: Isilo, Mkadebona, and Siqualo. (Isilo, the largest of them all, is thought to be between 45 and 53 years of age, to weigh between 6,500 and 7,000 kilograms, and to stand about 3.2 metres tall. His tusks are estimated to be about 2.5 metres long, and to weigh between 60 and 65 kg).

The pristine wilderness of the reserve boasts the Big Five – elephant, lion, leopard, rhino (black and white) and buffalo – as well many other mammal species (including the tiny Suni, one of the world’s smallest antelope), and more than 340 species of birds.

… And you don’t even need to go there to see them: just click on the webcam whenever you need a reality check.

Dr. Marais, who has travelled extensively in Southern, Eastern and Central Africa in search of free-roaming elephants, recently wrote that the species is, “The marquee of African wildlife… with their highly social complexity and intelligent minds [they] have always compelled respect.”

And, he says, tuskers (bulls with tusks that exceed 100 pounds - or 45.45 kg - in weight) play a vital role in their ecology.

But they’ve been systematically destroyed.

“During the early 1900s, great tuskers were the norm in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the south-western corner of Ethiopia, southern Sudan and the grassy plains of Tanzania and Kenya.”

Elephant bulls reach their breeding prime at about 35 to 40 years of age - but, “Unfortunately this is the same time when they also emerge as hundred-pounders.”

Also: “Their ivory grows exponentially at this stage so that it becomes very large over only a short number of years.

“Hunting of these magnificent bulls takes place exactly at this stage, so that few of these bulls are able to pass their genes on to future generations.

“This is exactly the reason why the once numerous hundred-pounders have diminished to less than 40 bulls in the whole of Africa today.”

Dr. Marais’ concern is that, “Selective destruction of great tuskers by trophy hunters in particular has resulted in the loss of some of the finest great tusker genes in Africa today.

“The best genes for ivory in Africa are currently in Kenya, in Tsavo National Park.

“The second best place in Africa in my opinion for ivory is Tembe Elephant Park. Nowhere else have I seen so many bulls with such good ivory.

“Even in a park like Kruger National Park, the average bull carries much smaller ivory than the average bull in Tembe.

“Tembe definitely features as one of the top reserves in Africa when it comes to conservation of elephants with large ivory. The park has been managed really well and the fact that no hunting or poaching has been permitted has allowed the elephant population to develop a fair number of great tuskers – more than Kruger currently!”

Having said that, Dr. Marais urged Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife to gear its programmes, “Towards protecting these old, magnificent lords of the bush so that their genes may live on in the young bulls that wander across the African savannah.”

For visitors, Tembe combines the best of both worlds: an authentic Big Five experience with the personal touch and world class service of a private luxury lodge - at very reasonable rates.

Interestingly, from a responsible tourism point of view, the lodge is co-owned, managed and staffed by the Tembe tribe, under Inkosi (Chief) Tembe.

For more information, visit the Tembe National Elephant Park - and don’t forget to check in on the webcam  - you might even catch a glimpse of Isilo himself: he visits the waterhole daily.