ECCO TOURS TRAVEL ACADEMY - SOUTH AFRICA
trip on the Blue Train, a night at the African Pride Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, two nights each at the Victoria Falls Hotel and Victoria Falls River Lodge and three nights at one or more of Orient Express's Botswana luxury tented safari camps. Emirates will fly Jonathan and a partner to South Africa while British Airways/Comair will provide
the regional flights. He said: “It’s been a hard week. They threw plenty of work at us but we have socialised a lot too. I’m still not sure how I got the balance right! “I was in South Africa 12 years ago, as a backpacker, but the country has clearly moved on. The 20102 World Cup upgraded so many facilities and I'm really looking forward to a third trip out here."
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WHAT THEY SAID The Agents
DAVID BLYTHE TRAVELBAG “The Travel Academy was very interactive; we
have seen and been exposed to areas and products that we previously knew little about. There is so much more to South Africa than meets the eye; I have always pushed it as country to visit but this week taught me that there is more to the country than I imagined.”
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NICOLA TEARLE TRAILFINDERS “This was my first time in South Africa. It was
The Suppliers WHAT THEY SAID
NQOBILE MAJOZI General Manager Marketing, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal
“We really want to raise the profile of our province in the UK so the kind of exposure the ECCO Travel Academy provides is priceless. We were delighted that for the first time the Academy agents started in KwaZulu-Natal. We hope we provided them with enough abiding memories to make them come back to experience more of our battlefields, culture, heritage and history ”
BRIAN MULLINS General Manager Rippons Safari Lodge “There is a greater diversity
of mammalian species in the Eastern Cape than in most other parts of Africa. And of the seven different biomes that occur in the province we have six of them on the Shamwari/Rippons complex. The UK is essential to us and the ECCO Travel Academy provides a wonderful opportunity to passionately explain to agents what we have”
TEST YOURSELF...
Below is a sample of questions agents faced during their daily workshop sessions in Cape Town...
1 Where in KwaZulu-Natal can you go hiking and see bushmen
paintings?
2 How many championship golf courses does Fancourt have and
who designed them?
3 How many suite categories are there on Rovos Rail trains?
4 Grootbos Private Nature Reserve near Cape Town
1. Study time 2. Tea break at The Bay Hotel, Camp's Bay 3. Arriving in Durban 4. ECCO Tours' Steve Bailey (right) and delegates at Granny Mouse Country House 5. Delegate workbooks 6. Main Guy: Jonathan Goodall, Trailfinders 7. Hosted dinner at the Protea Hotel President 8. The ECCO Tours team 9. Mohamed Baba, Ilios Travel
features what form of vegetation unique to the area?
5 How many different
accommodation establishments are there at Shamwari Game Reserve?
www.sellinglonghaul.com • September 2012 83 7
great to see Cape Town because we sell so much of it. Now I’m here I can understand what all the fuss is about! It was great to see Table Mountain, the Waterfront, Camp's Bay, and just wander around. When I go home I will be able to sell it with confidence because a week like this makes a massive difference.”
LAUREN ROSS TRAVEL 2
The week was very beneficial. ECCO Tours
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did a fantastic job; the whole week is just geared to making sure we learn as much as possible. I had an idea what to expect from South Africa but it has over-delivered on that in so many ways. Safety is still an issue for many customers… but I have not felt threatened at all. It is a case of being sensible and watching your possessions, like you would anywhere.”
JAN EVANS TRAILFINDERS “I had been to South Af- rica before, to the north,
and knew all about the wildlife but had little idea about the overall diversity in the country – and that has been the biggest eye opener and learning curve this week. I have discovered that this is a country that suits a wide range of people, from old to young. There is so much product here that you can tailor it accordingly.”
ANSWERS: 1. The Drakensberg 2. Three and Gary Player. 3. Three. 4. Fynbos. 5. Six: Long Lee Manor, Sarill Lodge, Bayethe Tented Lodge, Riverdene Family Lodge, Eagles Crag Lodge, Villa Lobengula.
TRAVEL ACADEMY WINNER
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