Getting ready for 2010 - South Africans entice East Africa

In preparation for 2010, South African Tourism (SAT) officials have planned a trade visit to East Africa. The SAT officials will be accompanied by 20 South African hospitality establishments and provincial authorities as part of a strategy to grow the number of visitors from the region.

Kenya is one of South Africa's competitors in the tourism sector. Tourism accounts for 10% of the gross domestic product, the third largest contributor to Kenya's GDP after agriculture and manufacturing, and Kenya's third largest foreign exchange earner after tea and horticulture. The government of Kenya has been identified as one of the key drivers in achieving the goals of Vision 2020.

The tour by SAT will involve trade shows that will be held in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania on 21 July, Kampala, Uganda on 23 July, climaxing in a workshop that will be held in Nairobi, Kenya on 25 July.

The events are being organised in Kenya by South African Airways and South African Tourism. The trade visit comes after CNN International announced a partnership with SAT to produce its first ever user-generated content-driven advertising solution that is geared at raising the profile of South Africa to CNN's elite audience of business and leisure travellers. The campaign runs until the end of 2010. The deal builds on SAT's successful six-year advertising relationship with CNN International.

The three-year partnership was launched this month and enables SAT to capture the 'zeitgeist' of shared multimedia experiences through a multimedia brand campaign, 'My South Africa,' driven via bespoke website: www.mysouthafrica.tv. The ‘My South Africa' brand campaign encourages CNN viewers worldwide to harness their creativity and upload compelling photographs, moving images and stories that encapsulate their experiences of South Africa, via the ‘My South Africa' website, for the chance to win a trip to South Africa.