Romantic: AFRICA
Ghana and Angola with additional cross-border routes to Sierre Leone, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Togo. Ghanaian no-frills operator Starbow meanwhile has launched fl ights to Abidjan and plans to serve 12 African cities, including Abuja and Dakar. Despite open sky policies, funding plus high fuel and passenger duty charges are traditional barriers to low-cost airline expansion in Africa. Fastjet recently held potential
partnership talks with Emirates (
emirates.com) which serves 24 African points in competition with Kenya Airways and principal legacy carriers from the UK, including South African Airways (fl
ysaa.com), British Airways (
batraveltrade.com), KLM (
klm.com) and Virgin Atlantic (
virgin-atlantic.com) Accommodation: Iconic Cape
Town hotel Mount Nelson
(
mountnelson.co.za) has re-opened its Oasis Wing with 30 refurbished rooms and restaurant included in four-night romantic itineraries from £1,769 per couple. Hilton Worldwide has opened a
new property in the fashionable Woodstock district of the city. The 183-room DoubleTree by Hilton Cape Town – Upper Eastside (Hilton. com) is the third of the brand in Africa and fi rst in South Africa. Kempinski (
kempinski.com/masalmara) has opened a luxury-tented camp, including 100-sq.m honeymoon suite, on the banks of the Ntiakitiak River in Kenya’s Maasai Mara. Hemingways (hemingways-nairobi.
com) has opened a 45-room property in Nairobi, adding to a growing selection of boutique properties. Attractions: Zambia
(
zambiatourism.com) is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of explorer David Livingstone, the fi rst European to discover Victoria Falls. A year-round range of music, arts, sports, dance and street-theatre events will culminate on Independence Day in October. Botswana’s tourism authorities (
botswanatourism.co.bw) re developing a new series of cultural and heritage trails to heighten visitor interest beyond wildlife attractions.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE LARGE KIND BY JONATHAN HART
“Paying a premium buys both serenity and excitement. Fresh from our black tie banquet in the bush, with fine wines and crisp linen, we were on our own personal game drive. Just the two of us in a solitary vehicle with driver, guard and guide, we shared a vast wilderness with only big game for company and could drive or walk at whim. All was peaceful until we were charged by an enormous, disgruntled buffalo. The guard loosed off a couple of warning shots and scarpered faster than we could. Only our warrior guide stood
firm. Spear in hand, he yelled one ear-piercing word – and stopped the beast in its tracks. Phew. That was close…”
“Flying directly north- south to Africa means little jetlag; local fly-in arrangements add
exclusivity and sales” JONATHAN HART, TRAVEL JOURNALIST
Tourism talk “Kenya is a trade favourite. With such holiday variety and normally involving
two- or three-centre itineraries, it encourages customers to book through agents. Our 2013 roadshow for travel agents is visiting Dublin, Edinburgh and London during June. Having sales knowledge and confi dence is key and retailers focusing on selling Kenya will benefi t.” Jacinta Nzioka, Director of Marketing Kenya Tourism Board
Where to book it RAINBOW TOURS - 020 7666 1250
Seven nights, including fi ve at Garonga Safari Lodge in South Africa, is from £2,480, including return SAA fl ights London-Hoedsprit via Johannesburg, transfers plus all meals, local drinks, laundry, game drives, bush walks and sleep out with bush bath.
rainbowtours.co.uk THE GAMBIA EXPERIENCE - 0845 330 2087 Seven nights, inclusive of return fl ights and B&B from £899 at Ngala Lodge, one of Tripadvisor’s ‘ 10 most romantic hotels in Africa’. Similar Mandina Lodges at Makasutu are from £1,280 half board for winter 2013, including fl ights, transfers, airport taxes and tourism levy.
gambia.co.uk
James Westrip Director, Africa Collection
Where would you recommend for romance in Africa?
Africa offers an abundance of romantic places and experiences.
What are the continent’s most romantic aspects?
Africa has many faces. South Africa offers world-class hotels, restaurants, wines, spas and game lodges. Coupled with stunning destinations like Cape Town, Francshhoek, Kruger
National Park and the Elephant Coast, South Africa is able to do a sophisticated kind of romance. Another aspect of Africa’s
romantic appeal is being able to go somewhere genuinely remote, authentic and unusual. Places that spring to mind are Likoma Island in Lake Malawi, Serra Cafema Camp on the Namibia/ Angola border, the northern
section of the Serengeti National Park or a Dhow Safari around the islands of northern Mozambique.
How should agents sell romance in Africa?
The classic ‘Africa & Beach’ twin-centre can combine any or all of these types of experiences, and is perenially popular with honeymooners and romance seekers. The combinations are almost limitless and all destinations in Southern or East Africa can be combined very easily with Mozambique, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Zanzibar, Lake Malawi, to
mention just a few. The fl ight connections in the region are improving constantly.
Sample Package
Facing page: Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Wellness Retreat; This page: Sabora Tented Camp, Tanzania
www.sellinglonghaul.com
Three nights on safari in South Africa followed by seven nights in Mauritius, from £ 2,329pp.
africacollection.co.uk
June 2013 27
Meet the Operator
ELEGANT RESORTS SANBONA
ELEGANT RESORTS TANZANIA
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