11/02/12, 23:31:26 EST

  e-mail this article

Scandinavian tourist push drew 71 000

theherald.co.za

SINCE the launch of the project to increase the number of tourists from Scandinavia visiting Port Elizabeth in October 2002, more than 71 000 visitors over and above the baseline had travelled to South Africa, Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa has told the National Assembly.

Replying to a written question from Eddie Trent (DA), the minister said that as part of the national industrial participation (NIP) programme flowing from the multi-billion-rand arms deal, BAES/SAAB had invested in the McArthur swimming pool complex, the only project linked to tourism.

The project, he said, formed part of a campaign to promote tourism in the Eastern Cape and Scandinavian tourists were targeted for chartered tours to South Africa via marketing and PR campaigns sponsored by BAES/SAAB.

BAES/SAAB had further invested in upgrading the swimming pools at the McArthur baths to make the location more attractive to tourists.

The increase in the number of Scandinavian tourists to the Eastern Cape had been monitored, using the information from Satour to calculate the incremental increase in the number of tourists to the region and country over a baseline number – the average prior to the start of the project.

Mpahlwa said the project had “substantially increased” the number of tourists to the city, particularly during South African peak holiday periods.

The country, and in particular the Eastern Cape, had not been a destination promoted by Scandinavian travel agents before the BAES/SAAB interventions.

 Printable Version  | published May 22, 2007