The Blue Train sees surge of international guests in 2021

The Blue Train. Picture: Supplied

The Blue Train. Picture: Supplied

Published May 4, 2021

Share

The South African tourism industry is slowly starting to recover from the Covid-19 lockdown setback.

Various sectors within the hospitality industry are showing promising results for 2021, and this includes The Blue Train.

In fact, the luxury train has had a noticeable increase in the number of local and international guests.

Of course, the worldwide Covid-19 vaccination rollout programmes have played a huge hand in this turnaround.

And The Blue Train has confirmed that in the first quarter of this year, they've welcomed visitors from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium as well as Switzerland.

Closer to home, locals have also booked trips on The Blue Train. This has been happening since November last year.

“Since returning to operations, we have had the great fortune of overwhelming support from local guests.

“We kicked off with fully booked trains as per new capacity dictates well into the first quarter of 2021, and we continue with that winning streak.

“Worth mentioning is the increasing number of international guests from the United States of America and European countries that we have been hosting on board The Blue Train over the last few weeks,” said Nomasonto Ndlovu, executive manager of Tourism, Hospitality and Heritage at Transnet.

What's also helped with the boost of travellers is the fact that The Blue Train, aligned with the Covid-19 guidelines as outlined by the Department of Tourism and World Health Organisation, has introduced rapid antigen testing for all guests and crew before departure.

In addition, everyone is required to wear masks in shared spaces and frequent sanitising is required. They've also serviced the air-conditioning systems to ensure the ultimate comfort and peace of mind for guests.

The luxury train, also known as 'A window to the soul of Africa, includes routes between Cape Town and Pretoria, Hoedspruit on the western edge of the Kruger National Park, and Gqeberha at the eastern end of South Africa’s Garden Route.

For more information, log onto their website: www.bluetrain.co.za.

Related Topics:

Luxury travel