S. Africa completes training Indians in tourism-boosting programme

Embarked on a programme to train local travel agents in 17 cities, South Africa Tourism concluded its training in Delhi on Wednesday, with a view to equipping locals in boosting the African nation's tourism by catering to more Indian customers.

The training programme, which started on July 6, was conducted with the help of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), which connected the agents in metros as well as tier-1 and tier-2 cities to the South African government body, which trained them under the title -- Learn South Africa (SA).

"Learn South Africa helps ensure that Indian travel agents know how to choose the best quality hotels for their customer's budget and needs. It also teaches them how to choose the best in-destination partners to escort the traveller while on holiday.

"It also gives them updates about new things to see and do in South Africa and basics like visa and logistical know-how to ensure that travellers are catered to efficiently," said South Africa Tourism's Country Head Hanneli Slabber addressing a press conference.

She also said that India is a very important destination for South Africa in terms of tourism.

One of Learn South Africa 2017's focus areas was to train travel agents about new destinations such as Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Port Elizabeth and the Drakensberg region, beyond the immensely popular Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Kruger National Park.

"These are picturesque areas where travellers can pack in a lot of action into shorter time-spans," a statement from the tourism body said.

--IANS

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