Choose your country and language:

Africa

  • Global
  • Angola
  • Botswana
  • Congo Democratic Republic
  • Ethiopia
  • Ghana
  • Kenya
  • Malawi
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Nigeria
  • South Africa
  • Tanzania
  • Uganda
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe
  • Shot Left

Americas

  • USA
  • Argentina
  • Brazil

Asia Pacific

  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • South Korea
  • Australia

Europe

  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • United Kingdom
Back

MMumbai, India: The Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) has given South Africa’s tourism offering another ringing endorsement by naming the country’s thrill-packed adventure attractions the best in the world during its annual awards, handed out at ITB Berlin 2018.

By winning the prestigious Best Destination – Adventure Award in the PATWA International Awards, South Africa is truly staking its claim as one of the world’s most exhilarating adventure tourism capitals, says Alpa Jani, South African Tourism’s acting hub head for the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia region.

Handed out annually at ITB Berlin, the world’s biggest travel trade fair, the PATWA International Awards are highly sought after by organisations and destinations, as they are voted for by accomplished travel journalists across the Pacific region.

Jani notes that the award shows that South Africa’s intensified efforts to promote itself as a “wildlife plus” tourism destination, with a strong and varied menu of adventure experiences, are bearing fruit.

“This award is highly encouraging as it affirms our endeavours to showcase the adventure capabilities of South Africa. We’re established worldwide and in India as a wildlife destination, but we spent much of last year strengthening our positioning as one of the world’s adventure capitals – and an adventure tourism award from the trade tells us we’ve arrived,” she explains.

“Besides bungee jumping, which is also available in the culturally rich Soweto township in Johannesburg, other high-powered activities that South Africa promotes in India include shark-cage diving (where the adventurous are dunked into the ocean in a safety cage to view sharks up close), paragliding, abseiling, sand-boarding (a desert-based version of surfing), zip-lining and sky-diving,” Jani says. “Soft” adventure activities such as kayaking, walks in the wild, snorkelling and quad-bike riding are also popular, she adds.

A major factor in the growing popularity of South Africa’s adventure tourism attractions is the high premium the local industry places on safety, observes Jani.

“Safety, coupled with great value for money and the staggering variety of breath-taking, adrenaline-pumping activities on offer in South Africa, is a priority for Indian travellers. They often travel to South Africa on holiday or honeymoon, and having peace of mind when getting their adventure kicks definitely adds to the allure of the destination.”

Almost 100 000 Indian travellers sampled South Africa’s tourism delights last year, and Jani says South African Tourism is looking to maintain and accelerate this growth in the Indian market by, among other measures, vigorously promoting the multitude of adventure tourism experiences on offer across all nine of its provinces.

For further information, contact:
Monde Mateza at South African Tourism
Tel: +27 11 895-3135
Email: monde@southafrica.net  OR
Email: mediaq@southafrica.net
Website www.southafrica.net                  

Note to editors:
South African Tourism is the national tourism agency responsible for the marketing of South Africa as a preferred tourist destination. It is headed up by Chief Executive Officer Mr Sisa Ntshona.

South Africa on social media

Copyright © 2024 South African Tourism
|Terms and conditions|Disclaimer|Privacy policy