SA is eyeing a bid for the 2024 Olympics in the wake of the Games in London, with Durban a frontrunner, reports iol.
According to the report, on August 15, Tubby Reddy, CEO of the SA Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation (SASCOC), said they had already commissioned a feasibility study on a 2024 Olympic bid.
Expected to be done in two to three phases and completed next year, it will determine which city would be best suited to make the bid on behalf of the country.
South Africa was originally in the running for the 2020 Olympics until the government decided to withdraw to focus on social priorities.
The feasibility study ties in with the Sports and Events Tourism Exchange (SETE) conference and exhibition to be held in Durban next month, where a 17-year plan will be discussed and decided on with the National Sports Tourism Steering committee.
SETE conference director, Sugen Pillay, said the committee was tasked by SASCOC with developing and implementing a national strategy that would outline the key sports events which SASCOC, and its federations and partners, will be bidding for between 2013 and 2030.
“Almost a year of research and careful planning and preparation is set to come to fruition when the recommendations of the strategy are discussed and adopted at the forthcoming conference,” said Pillay.
He added that the strategy would also look at how South Africa would bid for such events and also look at the capacity of each city.
Reddy said the first phase of the study would look at the year-to-year plan targeting hosting international events, and the second phase would look specifically at the Olympics. He also said SASCOC would also focus on infrastructure – what was already in place and what still needed to be done.
Municipal spokesman, Thabo Mofokeng, said Durban would be guided by government on whether it would bid. He said it would also consider feasibility. It would further require financial support from national government and the province.
Mofokeng said he was confident Durban would have an edge over other cities because it has “the best facilities that can handle any sporting code and also has skilled people to host the best events in the country”.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
Google acquires Frommer’s
The Frommer’s brand has been purchased by Google. An announcement about the Internet giant’s latest acquisition was made by Frommer’s owner, John Wiley & Sons, earlier this week.
While both parties declined to comment on the financial terms of the Frommer deal, South African travel technology company Tourism Radio CEO, Mark Allewell, says this shouldn’t be the focus. “The fact that Google is expanding on its existing travel interests means they’re obviously committed to developing the industry and, in so doing, completely changing the way we travel.”
Google bought restaurant review authority Zagat in September last year and has confirmed that Frommer’s will now be fully integrated into the team. “Frommer’s is one of the most trusted travel guide names in the world and they’re the perfect addition to the Google stable,” says Allewell.
Tourism Radio partnered with Frommer’s in March this year to produce audio travel guides for destinations all over the world on its mobile platform. Allewell says: “At present, we’re very happy with our partnership with Frommer’s, and together we’ve produced some really quality guides for tech-savvy travellers.”
While both parties declined to comment on the financial terms of the Frommer deal, South African travel technology company Tourism Radio CEO, Mark Allewell, says this shouldn’t be the focus. “The fact that Google is expanding on its existing travel interests means they’re obviously committed to developing the industry and, in so doing, completely changing the way we travel.”
Google bought restaurant review authority Zagat in September last year and has confirmed that Frommer’s will now be fully integrated into the team. “Frommer’s is one of the most trusted travel guide names in the world and they’re the perfect addition to the Google stable,” says Allewell.
Tourism Radio partnered with Frommer’s in March this year to produce audio travel guides for destinations all over the world on its mobile platform. Allewell says: “At present, we’re very happy with our partnership with Frommer’s, and together we’ve produced some really quality guides for tech-savvy travellers.”
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Global aerotropolis trend set to take off in SA
A prominent US academic has described the Ekurhuleni suburb of Rhodesfield as “a potential gold mine” once it is developed into South Africa’s first aerotropolis – a growing international trend of developing a mini city around an airport.
Professor John Kasarda, who is recognised as the developer of the aerotropolis concept, says Rhodesfield’s proximity to OR Tambo International Aiport, the Gautrain and Ekurhuleni’s economic hub of Kempton Park makes it an ideal hub for the country’s first airport city. This follows an announcement last year by the mayor of Ekurhuleni that the metropole would host the continent’s first aerotropolis.
The KwaZulu-Natal government has also subsequently revealed plans for an aerotropolis around King Shaka International Airport and Cape Town has hinted at doing the same.
Denel Aerostructures CEO, Ismail Dockrat, says passenger and cargo air traffic to OR Tambo is projected to grow at a rate of more than five percent per year for the next two decades, with the number of commercial aircraft arriving at the international airport set to more than double by 2030.
It is estimated that the development of an Ekurhuleni aerotropolis will create 62 000 jobs and generate R42bn for the economy.
The planned aerotropolis development follows an emerging global trend. China, for example, has plans to build 100 new airports by 2020, most of them on the aerotropolis model. By 2020, 82% of China’s population will live within 90 minutes of an airport.
The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which books more than 153 million room nights for guests each year, has identified aerotropoli as an important development in its 2012 Trend Report, saying the proliferation of aerotropoli is set to continue – the result of changes in travel patterns across the globe.
“For aerotropli in South Africa to be a success, investors and government need to proceed cautiously and make wise decisions based on demand and the scope for growth in the areas which have been earmarked,” says Andrew Davidson, General Manager of the InterContinental hotel at OR Tambo Airport.
“In South Africa, we’re seeing cities capitalising on the need for retail, conferencing and accommodation establishments close to airports. OR Tambo is linked to a modern road system which connects Ekurhuleni to South Africa’s political capital, Pretoria and Africa’s economic powerhouse, Johannesburg.
“Travelling from the airport to a business meeting in Sandton, Rosebank or Pretoria is now very easy and the location of a number of luxury hotels at OR Tambo means business travellers can be based at the airport within a safe, easy walk from the international arrivals and departures hall,” says Davidson.
As evidence of Ekurhuleni’s growing status as an emerging business hub, the city will host the Airport Cities World Conference and Exhibition (ACE) in April 2013. This conference brings together various players in the air travel industry as well businesses that benefit from air travel.
Professor John Kasarda, who is recognised as the developer of the aerotropolis concept, says Rhodesfield’s proximity to OR Tambo International Aiport, the Gautrain and Ekurhuleni’s economic hub of Kempton Park makes it an ideal hub for the country’s first airport city. This follows an announcement last year by the mayor of Ekurhuleni that the metropole would host the continent’s first aerotropolis.
The KwaZulu-Natal government has also subsequently revealed plans for an aerotropolis around King Shaka International Airport and Cape Town has hinted at doing the same.
Denel Aerostructures CEO, Ismail Dockrat, says passenger and cargo air traffic to OR Tambo is projected to grow at a rate of more than five percent per year for the next two decades, with the number of commercial aircraft arriving at the international airport set to more than double by 2030.
It is estimated that the development of an Ekurhuleni aerotropolis will create 62 000 jobs and generate R42bn for the economy.
The planned aerotropolis development follows an emerging global trend. China, for example, has plans to build 100 new airports by 2020, most of them on the aerotropolis model. By 2020, 82% of China’s population will live within 90 minutes of an airport.
The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which books more than 153 million room nights for guests each year, has identified aerotropoli as an important development in its 2012 Trend Report, saying the proliferation of aerotropoli is set to continue – the result of changes in travel patterns across the globe.
“For aerotropli in South Africa to be a success, investors and government need to proceed cautiously and make wise decisions based on demand and the scope for growth in the areas which have been earmarked,” says Andrew Davidson, General Manager of the InterContinental hotel at OR Tambo Airport.
“In South Africa, we’re seeing cities capitalising on the need for retail, conferencing and accommodation establishments close to airports. OR Tambo is linked to a modern road system which connects Ekurhuleni to South Africa’s political capital, Pretoria and Africa’s economic powerhouse, Johannesburg.
“Travelling from the airport to a business meeting in Sandton, Rosebank or Pretoria is now very easy and the location of a number of luxury hotels at OR Tambo means business travellers can be based at the airport within a safe, easy walk from the international arrivals and departures hall,” says Davidson.
As evidence of Ekurhuleni’s growing status as an emerging business hub, the city will host the Airport Cities World Conference and Exhibition (ACE) in April 2013. This conference brings together various players in the air travel industry as well businesses that benefit from air travel.
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