DRMumbai: 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 at the PATWA International Awards, South Africa can now stake claim as one of the world’s most exhilarating adventure tourism capitals, says Alpa Jani, Acting Hub Head, Middle East,India and Southeast Asia region, South African Tourism.
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 said, “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.”
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. ‘Soft’ adventure activities such as kayaking, walks in the wild, snorkelling and quad-bike riding are also popular.
“A major factor in the growing popularity of South Africa’s adventure tourism attractions is the high premium the local industry places on safety. 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 the adventure kicks definitely adds to the allure of the destination.”
Almost 100,000 Indian travellers sampled South Africa’s tourism delights last year. South African Tourism is looking to maintain and accelerate this growth in the Indian market by vigorously promoting the multitude of adventure tourism experiences on offer across all nine of its provinces.
