The Point Hotel, Mossel Bay2012 started on a high note for Mossel Bay’s iconic The Point Hotel, with occupancies approaching the heady days of 1995, when South Africa was enjoying its initial tourism boom.

2012 started on a high note for Mossel Bay’s iconic The Point Hotel, with occupancies approaching the heady days of 1995, when South Africa was enjoying its initial tourism boom.

“2011 was an excellent year for us, with good growth over 2010’s somewhat disappointing figures; and now it looks like 2012 is going to be even better than 2011,” said the hotel’s owner, Louis Harris.

“In fact, if things keep going the way they are, we could even post record occupancies in 2012.”

He said that the hotel is currently completing a two million rand upgrade.

“We’re installing a gym and spa next to our business centre, and a Japanese garden outside the spa that will provide our guests a tranquil place to relax and rejuvenate.

“We’ve installed chic wooden flooring in the Lighthouse Restaurant, and redecorated it in a modern style that fits with its dramatic views over the ocean – and we’re also extending the restaurant’s patio to give our guests more space to watch the waves, and, of course, the dolphins and whales that so often swim past the hotel.

“Then were also repainting the exterior, and re-decorating the rooms: all of them have been fitted with flat screen TVs and new carpeting, and the first of the bathrooms have been upgraded,” said Mr. Harris

He said that the Municipality of Mossel Bay has committed itself to an extensive upgrade of The Point area, on the tip of Cape St. Blaize.

“Judging by the plans, The Point is going to become a really attractive tourism hub, which is exciting because the Province recently gave it Icon status.”

He said that Portnet’s recently announced new waterfront development in Mossel Bay will be a game-changer for the town.

“Mossel Bay is already known as the Do Stuff Destination because it’s got so many unusual attractions and adventures, and these developments will provide even more incentives for travellers to extend their stays.

“And The Point Hotel – with it’s sea-front rooms and friendly, welcoming staff – is the ideal place for that.”

More information: www.pointhotel.co.za

Bloukrans bungy: world's highest commercial bungy bridge

Maybe you’ve only recently heard about Responsible Tourism – it’s a concept that’s caught on especially quickly since the Responsible Tourism in Cities conference at last year’s Indaba – but Face Adrenalin, which was established in 1990 (and has been offering bungy jumping at the Bloukrans Bridge since 1997), was founded on the principles of Responsible Tourism.

“Bloukrans is situated in the Tsitsikamma area, on the border between the Eastern and Western Cape Provinces and about 150 kilometres from the nearest economic centre,” said Face Adrenalin’s Devan Tuohey.

“It’s a neglected area which doesn’t have much of an economy, and we realised from the start that the only way we’d be able to develop a sustainable business there was by building relationships with members of the local community – and so, as part of our agreement with our landlords, SANRAL, we decided to pay a significant percentage of our turnover to the local community trust.

“But we also knew that our greatest security would come from providing as many secure jobs as possible – and we’ve grown to the point where 60 people from neighbouring communities – Coldstream, Thornham, Storms River, Covie, and The Crags – now work in the young, fun and exciting environment at the Bridge.”

Mr. Tuohey said that Face Adrenalin has paid more than fourteen million rand to the Trust since 1998, “and our contribution’s on a sliding scale, so it grows every year.”

The Bloukrans operation is unique, he said, because it’s the only bungy in world that uses a national road bridge as its base. “So a national asset becomes an important source of upliftment for its local communities.”

He said, too, that Face Adrenalin is working with the authorities to develop standards for safe bungy jumping in South Africa.

“We do all our batch destruct testing at Mvelaphanda Resources’ equipment testing facility in Mossel Bay – which certifies our equipment. But we’ve also developed our code of operating procedures based on the Australia and New Zealand Code of Practice For Bungy Jumping, and we’re currently talking to the SABS (South African Bureau of Standards) about adopting this protocol for bungy jumping in South Africa as a whole,” he said.

Since Responsible Tourism is defined as ‘developing better places to live in, and better places to visit,’ Face Adrenalin is clearly leading the way in Adventure Tourism in South Africa.

www.faceadrenalin.com

• Indaba: #Indaba2012
• Responsible Tourism: #RTyear2012 and #ResponsibleTourism

And you can watch how Indaba is doing against New Zealand’s TRENZ 2012 tourism trade show (Queenstown, 7 to 10 May) by following the Hashtag Battle here.

(The hashtag for TRENZ: #trenz2012)

And in case you’re wondering who to follow at Indaba this year: @MartinHatchuel, of course.

This year, I’m going there with a mission: I want to learn as much as I can about products who’re practicing real responsible tourism.

Nothing we’ve done at Indaba (I think this will be my 15th) has ever affected me as profoundly as Cape Town’s Responsible Tourism in Cities conference did last year. Since then, I’ve been a missionary, and a sponge – spreading the word and lapping up all the information I can. (See my Responsible Tourism for the Tourism Industry PowerPoint presentation below.)

And I’m doing this because responsible tourism is the only way to go: at once a mash-up of the entire travel and tourism chain, and a wake-up call to travellers themselves: ‘Every one of you! Catch a wake-up! What we’re doing affects us all, and (as we say in Mzansi) each and every one of us must take responsibility for what we’re doing.

So, what I’m going to do is this: I’m going to be finding out what I can about Responsible Tourism at the Indaba, and then I’ll show you some slides about it during a Zipcast – a live, on-line PowerPoint presentation – which I’ll be presenting on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, at 4:00 p.m.

Here’s what you need to do: register for a free account on www.slideshare.net, and then join me in my meeting room www.slideshare.net/MartinHatchuel1/meeting just before 4:00 on Tuesday. Remember to have your sound turned up – you’ll see the slides, hear me speak, and see my beautifully rugged features (compliments of the site’s video facility). And you’ll be able to communicate directly with me via the on-screen text facility.

See you there! (Well, see me, actually, but you know what I mean).

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It’s just amazing how many people around the world are prepared to share their information with you – for free.

One of the best features on Slideshare is the Zipcast - which allows you to share your PowerPoint presentations through on-line broadcasting.

And I’ve decided that I’ll be doing a Zipcast on Tuesday the 15th – live from the Indaba. So you’ll be getting the news hot off the press if you can’t be at the show.

I’ll be looking out to see how far we’ve come with Responsible Tourism since last year’s Responsible Tourism in Cities Conference. And I’m planning to give you all the news and ALL the skinner.

It should be fun!

So:

1. Sign up for a free Slideshare account at www.slideshare.net

2. Go to www.slideshare.net/MartinHatchuel1/meeting on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. South African time (GMT + 2:00). You’ll be able to watch the slides (see below); watch me; and hear me speak – and you’ll also be able to ask questions via the site’s text messaging service. Allow about half an hour of your time.

Naturally, of course, you’ll also be receiving daily e-mails from me about what’s happening at Indaba in general – and they’ll also be uploaded to www.thistourismweek.co.za

TWITTER

Remember that the #hashtag for Indaba 2012 is – um – #indaba2012.

Here’s a fun idea: watch how Indaba 2012  is doing against New Zealand’s TRENZ 2012 tourism trade show (Queenstown, 7 to 10 May) – hashtag #trenz2012 – by watching their Hashtag Battle here.

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Watch how #Indaba2012 goes up against #trenz2012 on Hashtag Battle.