GEORGE NEWS - George Tourism will be celebrating Tourism Month in September with a range of activities, festivals and events throughout the month. 

Tourism officials will be speaking to schools in the region to inform learners what tourism is about and how they experience working in the industry.

Public meetings on tourism are taking place in Thembalethu and Pacaltsdorp to discuss tourism development and the way forward for these areas. 

A group of aspiring entrepreneurs will be taken on a Township Tour of Knysna to give them some inspiration on what can be done in their own townships and suburbs.

During July and August George Tourism, in association with the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, is offering customer service training to 30 employees from tourism products already operating in the area. The class will graduate in September, putting 30 newly trained and enthusiastic staff on the front lines of our tourism industry.

Petrol stations have been asked to choose their top employees to go on a 'Tourism Activity Tour' of George and Wilderness so that they can experience everything our beautiful area has to offer. This will enable them to give tourists first-hand information on things to do in George and surrounds, as they are often the first people from our town that tourists have contact with when filling up their vehicles.

Several festivals are taking place in the area. The main tourist attractions will be the Thousand Sensations Craft Beer, Spirits & Food Festival on 15 and 16 September, the Karoo to Coast Bicycle Race on 23 and 24 September, starting in Uniondale, and the Strawberry Festival at Red Berry Farm on 30 September and 1 October.

All these festivals and events create the perfect opportunity to take interesting photos and video footage. In this regard, George Tourism in association with George Herald will be running a photographic competition for the month of September, as well as a short video competition on Facebook. Great cash prizes are up for grabs, so look out for these on the various media platforms. 

During September, George Tourism will be hosting 20 members of the media and trade from India for three days. The group will explore George on the 12th, attend a Speed Marketing Session for the region on the 13th and explore Wilderness on the 14th. While all this is happening on the home front, George Tourism will also be exhibiting at the Getaway Gauteng Consumer Show in Johannesburg from 23 to 25 September to encourage Gauteng residents to spend their holidays in the great outdoors in the George area.

George Tourism will also have regular talks on both Edenfm and Heartbeat FM, so be sure to listen out for what is happening around Tourism Month.

For information contact Joan Shaw on 044 801 9103.

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