DRMumbai: Most famous for its wildlife-driven holidays, South Africa is now making its mark as the adventure capital of the world. Standing testament to this achievement, is the unanimous vote of confidence South African adventure holiday received from readers of Travel + Leisure, India for the second year in a row!
Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head for Middle East, India and Southeast Asia, South African Tourism said, “At South African Tourism, we have always been and will continue to remain traveller-centric; striving to deliver top quality immersive experiences. This award is especially heartening for us because it tells us about how South Africa is viewed by one of our most important stakeholders – the Indian traveller.
While we’re established worldwide and in India as a wildlife destination, South Africa’s multitude of adrenaline pumping and liberating adventure activities cannot be missed. We’ve spent much of the last three years strengthening our positioning as the world’s adventure capital and an adventure award from the readers of one of the largest travel magazines delivers the assurance that we’re on the right track. While truly humbled, there are miles to go before I sleep.”
With a readership of nearly 350,000, Travel + Leisure India is a brand that caters to the sophisticated traveller, and offers global travel lifestyle content on offbeat destinations, art and design inspiration, food and wine vacations, shopping hubs and more.
For the past eight years, Travel + Leisure India has asked its readers to vote on everything from the best country in the world to the best airport, shopping destination and cruise. Readers who participate in this survey rank their favorites and those with the most votes are elected winners.
Research among holiday-makers also indicates that adventure is one of the key experiences that Indian travellers seek when they decided to go to South Africa. The Rainbow Nation boasts of more than 300 adventure activities across 3000 adventure operators including the world’s highest bungee (among other bungee options for those who are looking for variety / subsequent bungee experiences), shark-cage diving, big swing options, zip lining amidst beautiful scenery, kayaking and sky-diving.
For those who have tried nearly every adrenaline high, there are unique options such as abseiling, surfing, sandboarding and stand-up-kayaking. For off-road lovers, there’s off-road driving courses and lots of challenging terrain to explore.
Besides a diverse and easily accessible banquet of adventure activities across the country, value-for-money and safety are the two critical drivers that have contributed to South Africa’s win. Safety is of paramount importance in South Africa with the country’s own residents being the highest consumers of adventure.
Indian travellers, often on family holidays or honeymoons, find this to be a primary consideration. Moreover, despite considerable investments in safety, South Africa offers incredible value-for-money for these bucket-list activities. This of course, makes it an even sweeter proposition.
