PHOTO: South Africa's Cape region has been a wine-growing center since the 1600s. (photo by David Cogswell)
South African Airways Vacations, the branded tour operator of South African Airways, introduced a new wine-themed culinary vacation package called Sommelier's Choice that focuses entirely on the Cape Wine Region of South Africa.
The package marks a break from standards of the past and is a sign that South Africa is moving into a new era with its tourism.
The eight-day package, priced from $3,450 with transatlantic air included, forgoes any wilderness activity and dives straight down to Cape Town and the Cape Wine Region, where it delves deeply into the wine experience, the wine culture, the craft of winemaking and personal meetings with the creators who devote their lives to the creation of fine wine. It also represents a break from the kind of tourist packages that have previously been on the market.
The standard introductory package to South Africa for Americans has historically been the Cape-Kruger combination. Most travel packages to South Africa include a safari in South Africa's vast Kruger National Park because the sub-Saharan Africa's extraordinary wildlife is unmatched anywhere else in the world and is still what draws most foreigners to the country.
For first-time visitors, the safari component is almost a requirement. Few Americans want to travel all the way to South Africa and not see the country's lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos and other charismatic wildlife.
But since South Africa opened to the world in the post-apartheid era, the world has gradually become aware of its urban attractions, its first world infrastructure and its cultural attributes. South Africa's cuisine reflects the country's rich multi-cultural heritage. Its wine is the product of centuries of tradition dating back to the 1600s soon after the Dutch established their first colony in the Cape.
South African Tourism's market research has consistently shown that it is the wildlife that attracts first-time visitors, but once they are there the cultural and urban attractions of the country are revealed to them. Almost without exception, only return visitors will forego a safari.
SAA Vacations' Sommelier's Choice is a sign that the number of return visitors to South Africa has reached critical mass and made it viable to offer packages that do not include a safari component.
"The South African wine region continues to gain prominence as a world-class destination and one that should be on every wine-lovers bucket list," said Terry von Guilleaume, president of SAA Vacations.
"We offer a number of wine-themed packages, but the Sommelier's Choice takes it to a whole other level, providing private experiences that are not open to the public, and that would be of interest to those wine enthusiasts who are looking for a more in-depth experience. This package certainly fits the bill."
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