Emirates and South African Tourism (SA Tourism) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that will pave the way for joint marketing and promotional activities aimed at boosting visitor numbers to South Africa.

(TRAVPR.COM) SOUTH AFRICA - October 23rd, 2013 - Emirates and South African Tourism (SA Tourism) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that will pave the way for joint marketing and promotional activities aimed at boosting visitor numbers to South Africa.

Under the terms of the MOA, Emirates and SA Tourism will collaborate to promote tourism to South Africa from the Middle East region and the rest of the world through Emirates’ vast global network. Both parties have committed to explore joint marketing initiatives, as well as familiarisation programmes for trade and media.

"South Africa is a very important market for Emirates, and this agreement reinforces our commitment to promote inbound tourism to the country. Emirates flies to three destinations in South Africa - Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. It is a diverse country with a rich heritage, world-renowned cuisine, and the friendliness of its people makes it a very attractive destination for leisure travellers and adventure seekers. We are pleased to play our part in growing the market,” said Hubert Frach, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, and Commercial Operations West.

Emirates currently has a fleet of more than 200 aircraft, including the world’s largest Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 fleet, and flies to over 130 destinations in 76 countries across six continents.

“South Africa provides a great value proposition for any tourist and we believe by working together with Emirates we can further broaden this appeal and encourage tourists to visit and experience what our country has to offer. The Middle East region has strong potential to make significant contributions to the local tourism industry. As we are focused on working with major trade and airline partners, Emirates is a key partner for the Middle East and the rest of the globe where we see an increased number of arrivals to SA. At SA Tourism we also see the importance of increased airlift to our country as the key to make South Africa accessible to tourists from across the globe,” said Thulani Nzima, Chief Executive Officer at South African Tourism.

Emirates first started operations in South Africa in 1995. Since then Emirates has expanded to offer greater connectivity for travellers with twice daily flights from Cape Town and daily flights out of Durban. The airline also operates three daily services from Johannesburg.

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