Andrew Stegmann
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Air France’s New Sister Airline ‘Joon’ Debuts in Cape Town

In a strategic move aimed at sustainable growth, Air France introduced its Joon airline to Cape Town last week, with the first flight on April 3rd.

Described as the “baby sister” of Air France, Joon takes over the direct route between the Mother City and Paris from Air France.

Joon CEO Jean-Michel Mathieu said at a media briefing in Cape Town that the airline represents “the new generation journey by Air France”.

It targets younger travellers and commenced three direct flights between Paris and Cape Town this week. Joon cabin crew, for instance, wear white tekkies and polo shirts.

According to Paul van den Brink of Cape Town Air Access – a partnership between Wesgro, the Western Cape Government, the City of Cape Town, Airports Company South Africa, South African Tourism and Cape Town Tourism – the French market has been earmarked as one of Cape Town’s fastest growing markets.

A total of 17 574 French arrivals are expected through Cape Town International Airport between November 2017 and April 2018 with a 22.9% year-on-year increase forecasted. The French market is now the 6th largest source market for the Western Cape.

Nationally, the top two age groups to visit South Africa are 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 year olds among passengers originating from France and Europe.
Historically, Western Cape tourist arrivals boasts a solid youth market with the 25 to 34 year age bracket showing a consecutive growth rate between 2013 and 2016, indicating sound prospects of continued growth into 2018.

“We aim to offer innovative, high quality service at competitive pricing,” said Mathieu. “Joon will enable Air France to keep on growing and increase our market share. The objective is to have Joon as an innovative lab for Air France.”

In answer to a question from Fin24, Mathieu said he is not sure that the water crisis in Cape Town will impact the city as a destination.

“Joon is not just aimed at the leisure market, but also at the tech and innovation industries in Cape Town,” he said.

“I am still optimistic that the water crisis will not impact the attractiveness of the destination.”

An Air France representative indicated that the aim will be to make passengers aware of the water situation in Cape Town and that the water situation has so far not impacted bookings.

Van den Brink agreed that there has actually been an increase in air passengers to Cape Town and that flight bookings have not decreased.

For a list of Joon’s destinations, click here.

 

 

Sources: Carin Smith (Fin24) [1]. Image sources: [1].

Andrew Stegmann

DA Members Opposed to Supposed Maimane Power Grab

More divisions have emerged in the higher echelons of the DA, with a top party member strongly objecting to moves to extend the office term of leader Mmusi Maimane from three to five years.

In a strongly-worded letter to delegates attending the DA national elective congress scheduled for next weekend in Pretoria, chief whip John Steenhuisen has become the latest influential party MP to object to proposed changes to the DA constitution aimed at strengthening Maimane’s grip on power.

Steenhuisen has written to party delegates, urging them to reject a constitutional amendment to extend the office term of DA leader from three to five years, saying this would make it difficult to hold leaders accountable on a regular basis.

The DA chief whip is also lobbying delegates to reject changes to the DA constitution that would see the party’s national management committee, tasked with managing the daily affairs of the party, being reduced to just four members led by Maimane.

Steenhuisen is arguing that, if adopted, the proposal would amount to nothing but centralisation of power in the hands of a fewer leaders in a rapidly growing party.

Last week other top DA MPs, Gavin Davis and Michael Cardo, voiced their opposition to a proposal to introduce race and racial representation in the constitution of the DA.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, and Remuneration needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: TimesLIVE [1]. Image sources: [1].

Andrew Stegmann

Plant Dome Planned for Cape Town CBD

Luthuli Plaza, in Cape Town’s CBD, is set to undergo a significant redesign at the hands of LOLA Architects and Design Indaba.

The plaza, named after South African Nobel Peace Prize winning struggle stalwart, Albert Luthuli, was built as a way of connecting the transport hub where people catch taxis, trains and busses to the Artscape precinct. But now the Luthuli Plaza stands gray and mostly unused.

Rotterdam-based landscape architect Peter Veenstra, in collaboration with bamboo builder Olav Bruin of Nomadic Resorts, is planning to revamp the plaza. The redesign will include an urban public garden that starts at the Cape Town taxi rank and ends at the Artscape Theatre. A Dome of Plants will form a centerpiece of the garden.

The dome is intended to serve as a beacon of sustainable design for the city, and be a functional venue where public forums, lectures, and performances can take place.

It will be constructed with natural materials such as bamboo, wood and fynbos plants like Spekboom which is known for its hardiness and ability to convert carbon dioxide into clean oxygen. Cape Town is in a water crisis, and Veenstra says the dome will be fed by purified urine from the bureaucrats working in the Cape Town Civic Centre building, right behind the dome’s proposed location.

Inside this vegetated shelter, there will be 175 square meters of indoor space, complete with amphitheatre-style seating, stage and podium. Together they offer space for discussions, events, workshops, exhibitions, meetings, lunch and a quick coffee outside the big institutions, accessible for everyone.

It is an attractive venue that can contribute to the cultural life of Cape Town. At night, the site will transform, casting a soft green glow on Luthuli Plaza. The designers aim to revitalize this part of Cape Town and bestow it with a meaningful purpose for citizens to enjoy throughout the year.

For more information on and pictures of the project, click here.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, and Remuneration needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2], [3]. Image sources: Design Indaba [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

Tourism Minister Puts Visas Back on the Agenda

Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom is to meet with Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba to put South Africa’s unresolved problematic visa regime back on the national agenda.

Speaking at a Wesgro briefing in Cape Town today (Tuesday), he said dealing with the visa issues would be top priority in coming months. He already had a date for “a robust engagement” with Home Affairs and he was “quite hopeful that we will be able to address some of the visa issues”.

“We think the situation has changed, because we have a President who really sees the importance of tourism and who is going to be supportive.” He also suggested that Minister Gigaba might have gained a different perspective during his tenure as Finance Minister.

“While being the Minister of Finance, he was able to look at the economy very seriously, knowing very well that unless we do all sorts of smart things, we are not going to get economic growth. So I think things have changed somewhat. He has already indicated a real interest in expanding online visa applications and also (to increase) more visas on arrivals. So that will all form part of the discussions.”

Minister Hanekom criticised as “national stupidity” and “retrogressive” the Department of Home Affairs’ decision in December 2016 to impose reciprocal visas on New Zealand visitors. This was done during Minister Gigaba’s first tenure as Minister of Home Affairs. It was in response to New Zealand’s announcement in October 2016 to impose visas on South Africans travelling to that country.

“The notion of reciprocal visa requirements is unwise to say the least. It’s not very smart to retaliate.” He cited as an example that Russian arrivals to South Africa had increased by more than 50% last year after Russia was granted a visa waiver to South Africa, whereas arrivals from New Zealand declined by 17% during the same time “for no other reason than the visa requirement”.

Minister Hanekom said he would also again table South Africa’s requirement for unabridged birth certificates, which he said, was “costing South Africa heavily”. “Even the little bit of advance that we have made in China and India by not requiring people to go in person to collect their visas, is not enough. We need to do a lot more. It is still too difficult to get visas for South Africa. We also need to pay attention to the three-month limitation on visas and we need to pay attention to the long (immigration) queues at airports.”

He said addressing all these issues would make a huge difference in bringing more tourism to the country.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, and Remuneration needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Source: Hilka Birns, Tourism Update.