Archbishop Desmond Tutu Thanks The Travel Corporation And The Tollman Family For Contribution To Tourism And South Africa

2010 has been a year of immense importance to South Africa as a nation and international tourism destination. The country’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup put spotlight on the nation as a centre of international sport, receiving extraordinary levels of fan visitation and global media viewership over the 30 days of the tournament. In addition to offering the nation a unique opportunity for infrastructure development and image re-definition, the Games were key establishing South Africa as a leading tourism destination in the world.

Importantly, the Games could not be expected to be a stand-alone event which would unlock on-going tourism interest and visitation. Post-Games tourism promotion was deemed critical to long-term destination success.

As a result, an international business conference and mega-FAM organized by The Travel Corporation (TTC) , which brought over 350 of the world’s A-List travel trade decision makers to Cape Town for just under one week, was viewed by South Africa’s tourism industry as one of the most important events for destination South Africa in 2010.

Joining statements of appreciation from the national Minister of Tourism for the efforts of The Travel Corporation to sustain 2010 momentum, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, speaking at the TTC 2010 International Sales Conference opening ceremony, stated:

“With the Games now past the leadership of South Africa’s tourism industry know very well that memories of the 2010 FIFA World Cup are not enough to sell the destination. The destination must actively, assertively and engagingly work with the global travel trade to sustain momentum of interest and travel intent.”

Furthermore, expressing direct thanks to the founder and leaders of TTC, the Tollman family, the Archbishop continued:

“I am delighted to see that one of our nation’s greatest visionaries, architects and investors in global tourism is part of the South African family. Your hosts of this conference, the Tollman family, have spent their lives building South Africa through Tourism, and building tourism throughout the world. They are people who truly believe in the power of tourism to change lives, to bring people closer together, no matter how far apart they started.”