Durban - Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN) has struck a marketing deal with South African Airways (SAA) that will save international travellers thousands of rand.
The multi-pronged agreement was struck during a workshop between the two parties at a session of the three-day tourism Indaba, currently under way at the Durban ICC.
One aspect of the deal means that international travellers booking SAA flights to Durban will no longer have to pay for the internal leg.
“In the past, when people booked an international trip to Durban, they would pay more than if they landed in Johannesburg, because they would have to catch an additional flight down to Durban. It is this internal flight cost that has now been done away with,” explained Boni Mchunu, TKZN’s general manager of marketing.
“This means that if people are travelling from London to Durban, or from Brazil to Durban for instance, they will pay the same rate as if they landed in Johannesburg or Cape Town. This makes our destination even more attractive,” she said.
SAA has also agreed to promote KZN tourism events – and to foot the bill for the fares when TKZN invites international buyers and media to the region on educational visits.
Costs
“We bring people out every month and normally have to meet these costs. Our side of the deal is that we would pay the ground-handling costs of the transport and accommodation,” Mchunu said.
SAA has also agreed to share information about market demand.
“This will enable us to tailor-make our marketing message to a particular market. If Brazilians, say, are interested in culture, it would be no use us pushing beach tourism to them.” - Daily News