Johannesburg Tourism Company (JTC) has confirmed it plans for the annual INDABA trade show in Durban, which begins in this weekend.

Representatives from the body will be networking with international leisure travel industry and business associates, media and stakeholders at their exhibition stand, as well as a networking breakfast to be held at the Hilton Hotel on May 14th 2012.

At this breakfast session, acting chief executive Phelisa Mangcu will also be announcing the winner of the Joburg Tourism Entrepreneur Award.

This award is presented by Joburg Tourism in recognition of excellent entrepreneurship and outstanding contribution towards tourism growth. 

The first time recipient of the award, which was launched at the Tourism Indaba last year, was Jojo Tsheola of Tsheola Dinare Tours.

Winter Forecasts

As part of its Indaba activities, JTC will be unveiling its winter campaign. 

“A Hot Winter Forecast for Joburg!” the campaign forms part of JTC’s marketing strategy to entrench Joburg as a global, year-round business and leisure destination, brimming with special events, attractions, tastes, sights and sounds to encourage visitors to stay longer, spend more and enjoy exploring further afield.

Joburg’s amazing calendar of diverse signature events throughout the year provide an ideal platform for DMC’s and incentive houses to package offerings. 

Joburg signature events throughout the year range from the Joburg Open Golf Tournament in January, the Joburg Fashion Week in March, the Africa Cup Polo in July and Joy of Jazz in August, to Arts Alive, the Joburg Shopping Festival and Taste of Joburg in October,  to Africa Fashion Week and the Sansui Summer Cup in November - to mention but a few. 

Product Development

While we work at entrenching Joburg’s position as Africa’s leading business tourism destination, the team at Joburg Tourism Company (JTC) balances this with an ongoing focus on tourism product development, and the presentation and packaging of leisure offerings to the consumer market,” said Mangcu.

“Although Joburg is such a youthful City, having celebrated its 125th anniversary last year, it is a treasure trove of economic, social, political and anthropological history.

“The City boasts layer upon layer of fascinating history, development and human interest stories – of course not forgetting the leisure and lifestyle aspects of entertainment, sports, music, arts and culture.

“At Joburg Tourism, we work with both the public and the private sector to publicise the development of city precincts, nodes, sites, attractions and products which are of interest to both locals and visitors.” 

Three recent additions to routes and itineraries promoted by JTC include Joburg’s Nature Route (taking in sites of natural beauty and anthropological relevance in the City), the Indian Route (comprising a history of the Indian community in Joburg, with a focus on Mahatma Ghandi, who lived in Joburg from 1903 to 1914) and the Adventure Route (including some of the high octane spills and thrills on offer in Jozi).

Urban tourism is coming into its own in Johannesburg, with the City seeing an increasing number of visitors keen to explore diverse aspects of the City – from all the exciting developments downtown to the heritage routes and sites in Alex and Soweto.

This includes the rejuvenation of entire districts or precincts, along with the development of public street art, pedestrianised zones, heritage sites and lifestyle activities like the Neighbourgoods Market in Braamfontein and the Sunday market at Arts on Main.