South African Tourism began 2018 with the 15th edition of its biggest travel trade initiative in India. South African Tourism’s Roadshow travelled to five Indian cities; Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Delhi and Ahmedabad that started from February 12th to 19th 2018.
The participation and scale is a reflection of the strong consumer demand witnessed from India which, is currently the eighth largest international source market for South African Tourism. This roadshow will capitalise on the growing demand and align efforts to meet the evolving demands of the Indian traveller. There were over 50 South African Suppliers at the event that catered to accommodation and experiences along with DMCs, airlines and tourism associations.
One of the top suppliers catering to accommodation was The SunLux Hotel Collection by Sun International. The SunLux Collection by Sun International is the Luxury Hotel chain located prominently in South Africa. The SunLux collection was the first South African hotel company to open its India representation in 2006. Following are some of the hotels-
The Table Bay with its 329 Rooms including 18 Suites stands as a graceful gateway to the abundant wonders of South Africa’s Western Cape Province and the latest addition to the exclusive SunLux Collection is the Boardwalk which is one of the top five-star hotels in Port Elizabeth.
Speaking exclusively to Express TravelWorld, Sherene Allaman, vice president, International Sales & Marketing, said, “The SunLux Collection stands out from the rest not just for its magnificent beauty but more importantly for the services we provide to our guests. The guests that come stay here are and will always be our first priority. This is the very service I want to offer to the Indian market and for me, India is my second home. By promoting the SunLux Collection here, we plan to get more and more Indians to South Africa.”
Speaking further on how will the SunLux Collection cater to Indian guests, Allaman says, “For example, we know how much the food matters to Indians and we have customised special menus for them. We also want to cater to the Jain community and for this, the guests can get their very own chefs to the hotels. When it comes to promotion, we are looking at three main important cities; Mumbai, Delhi and Ahemdabad. Apart from this, I also have a marketing team that specifically caters to two-tier and three-tier cities.”
The other hotels from the SunLux Collection include The Palace of the Lost City which is one of the top 5-star hotels in South Africa and the crown jewel of The Sunlux Collection and also The Maslow with its 281 Rooms including 23 suites which is renowned for offering premier four-star Sandton accommodation for business travellers.
The total room nights received at all Sun International properties collectively from the Indian market for 2017 is 21, 366. Capitalising on this number, Allaman asserts, “This number not just includes family travellers but also the MICE market as well. Through aggressive marketing and online strategies, we look to increase this number by double this year. The main chord we want to touch upon is that guests are not coming to a five star hotel but rather they’re coming to their home.”