National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Artman In The House
Friday, November 23, 2012
21
FACT FILE •
Phumi holds a BComm Hons and MBA and is currently studying for a Masters of Commerce in strategic Marketing.
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Born in KwaZulu-Natal, Phumi started his career at Alexander Forbes as a Junior Consultant.
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Before joining SA Tourism, he was General Manager of Sales and Marketing at the South African National Parks.
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Phumi heads a unit whose destination marketing efforts are focused on Nigeria, Kenya, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Mpumalanga is one of South Africa’s most beautiful and most visited provinces and Nelspruit is the capital.
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Mpumalanga Province lies to the east of Johannesburg and includes the eastern part of the Highveld, the scenic escarpment and Drakensberg Mountains.
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Mbombela Stadium is a newly built, all-seater, 40,929-seat stadium and was one of the 10 venues for the FIFA World Cup 2010.
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The largest game reserve in South Africa, the Kruger National Park (of nearly two million hectares of land that stretch for 352 kilometres or 20,000 square kilometres) is in the province. The national park stretches from north to south along the Mozambique border and is given over to an almost indescribable wildlife experience
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It is also home to the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, as well as the scenic Panorama Route with its spectacular views and waterfalls.
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The ‘Cooperation in the field of Tourism Agreement’ between Nigeria and South Africa has been reactivated for accelerated execution by the visit of Nigerian Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, to South Africa in September 2012.
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Chief Duke was invited by South Africa’s Tourism Minister, Mr. Marthinus Van Schalkwyk for closed-door meetings.
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The tourism bilateral agreement between South Africa and Nigeria covers interactions between tourism and travel trade officials, the exchange of tourism research, statistics and human resource development.
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It also includes investment, exchange programmes, joint marketing and establishment of a joint commission, entry formalities and environmental matters between the two countries.
Mbombela Stadium, where Nigeria would be playing all of her group matches.
FNB Stadium Soccer City Johannesburg hosted the opening and closing matches of the 2010 World Cup and will also host same matches for AFCON 2013.
Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
Nations Cup. My best advice is to explore all the options on travel to South Africa online site to secure flights, accommodation and other tourist services and experiences in and around South Africa for the duration of the tournament. But is your country adequately prepared in the short time it took to be awarded hosting rights? Yes, I think so; South Africa is well prepared. We are excited and look forward to welcoming the continent back in 2013. Our hospitality industry is ready to welcome you, make you feel at home and give the warm, welcoming South African hospitality to make the tournament a fantastic and celebratory experience. The stadia are ready. The restaurants, nightclubs, pubs and shopping malls are ready in each of the five host cities and across South Africa, too. We are excited about the Nations Cup and we look forward to receiving visitors. Do you have an idea of the total budget for the tournament? In total, South Africa is investing US$53.5m in the Nations Cup. However, the fact that we built stadia for the FIFA 2010 World Cup makes hosting this tournament that bit easier. Of the US$53.3m, US$37m will go to South African national departments to cover costs associated with hosting (including security, protocol and migration ser-
A lion crosses in front of a Safari bus at Kruger National Park
vices). A further US$2m will be used by the provinces and another US$14m will be used by the five host cities to cover various hosting costs This event is very important to us in South Africa for a number of reasons. One of which is that it gives us an opportunity again to showcase our destination, our welcoming people, our capability and infrastructure not only to the continent, but also to the world Its impact will be significant. We are targeting 150,000 arrivals to South Africa from other African countries for AFCON. So far (in the first seven months of 2012), African tourists to South Africa have contributed about $6billion to the South African economy. We expect football fans to contribute about $154million to the economy when they come in January next year. The championship will provide a boost for our hospitality industry; boosted hotel room occupancy, busier restaurants and other entertainment venues and the creation of more jobs for South Africans in tourism and hospitality AFCON fans, of course, will also impact other areas of our economy; sectors that service the tourism industry, but are not tourism businesses per se: the banking and financial sectors of our economy, transport, the agricultural sector and so on. Organising, managing and delivering the tournament
itself is labour intensive. The Local Organising Committee of AFCON estimates that the event is creating about 16,100 jobs (in areas such as venue management, stewards, security and support staff). 2,500 South Africans will work as volunteers at AFCON and gain valuable experience of big event management and delivery. At the end of the tournament, one team will lift the champion trophy... but the whole continent will have scored a decisive victory for celebrating unity and celebrating Africa’s favourite sport. At the end of the day, African unity, celebration, fun, passion and excitement will be the real winners. Why should we come to South Africa for the championship? Why not just stay at home and watch it on TV? You could stay at home and watch AFCON on the TV. But why? You’d miss out on the excitement, the passion and the camaraderie of the crowd. And you’d miss out on South Africa; our wonderful hospitality, the great activities we offer in each of the host cities, the after-the-game celebrations in other host cities, and the opportunity to relax, go shopping, meet fantastic new people at some of the hottest and trendiest night-time entertainment on the planet. You’d miss all the fun.