GEORGE NEWS - George Tourism's development project Dine with a Local sparked the interest of tourism operators at the annual Tourism Indaba Expo and led to an invitation of two Dine with a Local hosts for possible representation at an expo in New York.
George Tourism showcased the Dine with a Local project - a programme in which tourists can enjoy traditional meals in the homes of locals in communities such as Thembalethu and Pacaltsdorp - at Indaba in Durban and the World Tourism Market in Cape Town earlier this year.
Indaba took place from 2 to 4 May and George Tourism attended on the Wesgro platform.
They took with them Uman Gila and Nomzamo Entile of Explore our Hood traditional Xhosa experience, while Moody Sylvester of Moody's Foods promoted her Cape Malay style evening.
"Bringing our hosts to tourism exhibitions is an ideal opportunity for hands-on training and experience in marketing their product at trade shows," said George tourism manager Joan Shaw.
As none of the hosts had ever been to Durban, it was also an opportunity for them to explore what other cities are doing in the cultural tourism space. They went on a bus tour of the city of Durban and visited Uskaka Marine to dine at Moyo, a traditional African restaurant.
They also took the opportunity to do some spice shopping and used the networking opportunities to meet new players in the tourism field and colleagues from all over the country.
"Our main goal, however, was to introduce this exciting new product for George to domestic and international buyers.
"There was much interest in the Dine with a Local product and many local tour operators had requested more information to offer this to their clients around the world," said Shaw.
"Unam and Nomzamo from Explore our Hood were invited by SA Tourism USA to present their product at an SMME marketing expo in New York. We are following up on those details, to obtain more details about buyers and funding opportunities."
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