“The West African markets are critical to us being able to achieve the goal of 5 million tourist arrivals by 2021 because the potential to grow the region is significant enough to make a big impact to South Africa’s tourism results,” says Sthembiso Dlamini, Chief Operating Officer at South African Tourism.
Growth in tourist arrivals means a better performing economy and increased job creation. In South Arica, 1.5 million jobs were supported by travel and tourism in 2017, which is 9.5% of the total employment in the country. The total contribution of travel and tourism to South Africa’s GDP was R412.5bn (8.9% of GDP) in 2017 and is forecast to rise by 2.9% in 2018.
Rakolojane takes over from Hloni Pitso who has since been appointed as head of SA Tourism’s South Europe Hub. Rakolojane brings 18 years’ worth brand management experience to his new role and will call upon his tourism industry knowledge to ensure market excellence.
Dlamini adds, “We are excited at the prospect of seeing Thekiso building on successes generated in these markets and enhancing stakeholder relationships to deliver on mutually beneficial business results.”
Talking about his focus in his new role, Rakolojane had this to say, “Addressing travel barrier concerns are important to our business goal and is the focus for South African officials in negotiating an ease on travel restrictions for Ghana and Nigeria.
I look forward to entrenching myself in new cultures, learning from our partners, and with my team, implementing innovative campaigns and effective business projects.”
Prior to being Hub Head, Rakolojane served as Regional Brand Manager looking after the Africa and Domestic Tourism markets at SA Tourism. Before that he was the Marketing and Communications Manager at the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa, a business unit operating within SA Tourism and is still the only recognised and globally credible quality assurance body for tourism products in South Africa that other African Tourism Boards are benchmarking themselves against.
Rakolojane admires the innate entrepreneurial spirit of Ghanaians and Nigerians and as an avid football lover, he will be based at the SA Tourism West Africa offices in Lagos, Nigeria, where football is life.
]]>Lagos: (June 17th, 2017) The most anticipated movie of the year, 10 days in Sun City is finally upon us. This time AY takes us on a journey to the beautiful Sun City in South Africa with fellow cast members – Richard Mofe Damijo, Adesua Etomi, Gbenro Ajibade, Mercy Johnson Okojie, Falz, 2face Idibia, Alibaba, Alex Ekubo, Yvonne Jegede, Annie Idibia, Uti Nwachukwu, Fathia Balogun and more.
The premiere took place this weekend on Saturday 17th June 2017 at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos. The movie is set to be released in Nigerian on Friday June 23rd 2017.
Aside the A-list Nigerian cast, the hilarious star-studded comedy, shot in Sun City: Northern West Province of South Africa and Lagos, Nigeria also features Miguel Nunez Jr. a Hollywood actor and an equally hilarious South African cast consisting, the sensational Amanda Du Pont, comedian Thenjiwe Moseley, Celeste Ntuli and lots more.
10 days in Sun City is directed by award-winning South African-based Nigerian Director Adze Ugah, written by award-winning writer-director Kehinde Ogunlola and produced by Ayo Makun, Darlington Abuda and Kirsty Galliard.
South African tourism, has an incredible passion for innovation, culture and community, and we’re happy to help bring alive this movie alongside The Sun International who hosted the cast and crew to a variety of treatments Sun City has to offer.
One of Africa’s premier vacation destinations, Sun City in South Africa is internationally recognized for its superb resort, offering of hotels, attractions and world-class events. From adventure sports and safari options to a world-famous golf course and a wide variety of rides and games, Sun City provided the perfect background for the cast to enjoy the experience of a lifetime. Perhaps one of the stand out scenes from the movie is the Elephant Sanctuary scene which features the stars having an interactive elephant experience. Some of the breath-taking scenes in the movie to look out for are: Hartebeespoort Dam, which is an hour away from Sun City. Locally known as Harties, Hartebeespoort Dam is as famous for its sunset cruises as it is for the Lesedi Cultural village, a world heritage site which showcases the fascinating cultures and tradition of the people of South Africa.
The scenes in Johannesburg, which is only two hours away from Sun City, showcases the famous Sandton City and the world renowned Nelson Mandela Square. Soweto also made for a vibrant and colourful background to the movie, sitting thirty minutes south-west of Johnnesburg, scenes were captured from Hector Peterson Memorial and Vilakazi Street where both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu lived.
South Africa continues to support increased economic cooperation between the Southern and Western African regions. This relationship is pivotal to maintaining an economically vibrant and resilient Africa that grows through partnerships between nations.
Mr Hloni Pitso regional manager for South African Tourism in West Africa, said of the partnership:
“South African tourism is delighted to partner with the AY on the production of ‘10 Days in Sun City’!
“We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr AY Makun on what promises to be yet another blockbuster production. AY is a passionate, determined, dedicated and hardworking individual. This time last year on one of South African Tourism’s influencer hosting trips AY saw opportunities as he travelled through out South Africa. He did not hesitate to seize the opportunity when he decided that this had to be a location for his next movie. A year later, we are here in Lagos for the movie premiere to watch the much anticipated movie ‘10 Days in Sun City’.
We saw this partnership as an opportunity not only to showcase South Africa as a holiday and business destination but also as a platform to encourage inter-Africa travel. It is important for Africans to explore their own land and discover its people. It is through travel and tourism that we can learn about each other’s historical and cultural heritages.
Tourism, entertainment, arts and culture are the key sectors that have the potential to unify this continent through people to people relations for the better advancement of Africa. We are seeing this more and more lately through music collaborations, comedy and now movies. I trust we will see more of such partnerships and collaborations. Africa united, only greater things can come.”
For more details on the variety of experiences visit southafrica.net.
Twitter: Travel2SA1 Instagram: travel2sa
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