Festival-goers can visit the South African Tourism and the Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) pavilion at the show and sign up for a Flight Centre Stokvel for only R100. The rate has been reduced especially for the show, from the standard minimum contribution of R500. New Stokvel signups can also win cash to invest in their new account.

“This reduced minimum contribution amount to sign up for a Flight Centre Stokvel is available exclusively for Kasi Food and Drink Festival ticket-holders on the day only,” says Lance Nkwe, Business Leader Emerging Markets at the Flight Centre Travel Group.

“The Flight Centre Travel Stokvel gives members enough time to plan their holiday trip accordingly and travel debt free,’’ says Mashoto Mokgethi, Head: Domestic Tourism at South African Tourism.

2019 is the second year Flight Centre has attended the event together with South African Tourism. “Partnering with a credible partner that backs the idea of getting all South Africans to travel their country is very important,” Nkwe says. “As the fulfilment partner, we want to show South Africans that it is possible, and easier, through our Stokvel solution.”

“We are delighted to be in partnership with Flight Centre at the 5th annual Kasi Food and Drink Festival in a celebration of everything great about South Africa’s hidden gems, food, drinks and music,” says Mokgethi.

“This partnership has assisted us in providing travel opportunities for South Africans and showing them that, through affordable group savings, they too can enjoy South Africa in their way.’’

Flight Centre’s Stokvel provides an alternative savings solution for everyday South Africans who might not have travelled before. “I encourage all visitors to the festival to come to our lounge to meet with us,” says Nkwe.

Three lucky festival visitors who sign up for a Flight Centre Stokvel on the day will be chosen to go into their money vault at the show. They can grab as much cash as they can and, when the allocated time is up, whatever money they have in their hands may be put into their Stokvel account.

“Last year our stand was packed throughout the day, so we’re expecting similar great engagement and interest this year,” concludes Nkwe.

The Kasi Food and Drink Festival is a celebration of South African food, drink, culture and lifestyle. Expect a variety of food stalls, live music, entertainment, art and crafts, a kids area and a beer garden.

The family-friendly festival takes place at the Soweto Theatre Forecourt from 10 am to 8 pm on Friday 9 August 2019. Tickets are priced from R120 to R200. Buy tickets from Webtickets here.

Read more about Flight Centre’s Stokvel here.

Q-Jump lets kulula.com fans speed through the boarding process, as well as giving their baggage Very Important Bag status, meaning their bags will be among the first to arrive at their destination.

Shaun Pozyn, Head of Marketing at kulula.com says, “A recent study by Tripadvisor found that different generations don’t apply the same to social standards to queuing. We also know from our own research that for some customers, waiting in line to board a plane can be stressful.

“That’s especially true for nervous flyers or for corporate travellers who’d welcome some extra time to polish their business pitch. This drove development of Q-Jump, an innovative spin on the traditional airline priority boarding product.”

Q-Jump costs R70, payable when booking online, through the contact centre or at our airport ticket sales counters. “The product will have limited availability on each flight so that kulula.com fans and their prized possessions feel super special when stepping on to the plane and when arriving.

“We continually look at how the needs of our passengers change and how as a long-standing travel partner we can continue to satisfy our fans headed for their business or holiday destinations,” Pozyn concludes.
Q-Jump is available on the kulula.com routes across South Africa

Are you craving a few more weeks relaxing at home, a seaside holiday, or perhaps a big adventure in 2018?

The average full-time working South African should be able to take a minimum of 15 days of paid annual leave. When you decide to take this, however, can significantly expand your overall leave period for the year if you utilise weekends and public holidays cleverly.

You could, for example, take just four days leave and gain ten days for a family holiday, a romantic break, or a fun time with friends away from home over Easter.

If you’re not working full-time, however, and you have greater options for when you can get away, it’s advisable to avoid busy South African roads over peak travel periods like Easter and the Christmas and New Year break. Prices also typically rise at these times, so you might be better off taking advantage of off-peak specials at other times of year.

But for most of us, we have to get the best we can out of what we have at our disposal.

Avukile Mabombo, Group Marketing Manager of Protea Hotels by Marriott® and African Pride Hotels, shares his advice for getting the most holiday time from your 2018 leave.

Easter/School holidays

The Easter break is always popular with families as it ties in with the school holidays.

You can take a holiday from Good Friday on 30 March and take four days off from work the following week (the Monday, of course, is Family Day), returning to work on Monday 9 April. This period falls into national school holidays so it could be perfect for a family break. Similarly, you can also take off from Human Rights Day on 21 March and return after Easter on 3 April – giving you a 13-day break, using just 6 leave days.

Either way, for families it’s wise to book family-friendly accommodation in advance for this popular period. Protea Hotels by Marriott® at Saldanha Bay, Port Elizabeth Marine, Kruger Kate, Karridene Beach, Durban Edward, and many more locations in South Africa offer family-friendly accommodation with a wide variety of amenities for the whole family, and access to beaches, reserves, and parks across the country.

End of April/beginning May: Freedom Day and Worker’s Day

In 2018, Freedom Day on 27 April falls on a Friday followed by Worker’s Day on 1 May the following Tuesday. For just one day’s leave taken on the Monday linking these two public holidays, you will gain a five-day weekend. A break like this for a couple wanting to spend quality time together is great. Choose a destination to suit the romantic mood: the Arabella Hotel & Spa’s setting close to the coast near Hermanus offers breathtaking sunsets, walks in nature and the sort of luxury couples love to share.

For both holidays with friends and family, Gautengers will find plenty of outdoor activities to enjoy at the African Pride Mount Grace Country House & Spa near Rustenberg. Cyclists will enthuse about the mountain bike trails offered through the hotel’s Cob & Sprocket Mountain Bike Club, and one can go fishing, relax with a spa treatment, and revel in good food and fine wine.

Alternatively, you can book four days off and get 10, including the weekends. By taking leave at this time instead of over Easter, you’ll hopefully hit a lot less traffic if you decide to take a road trip.

Christmas/end-of-year break

If you can manage to see the entire year through without a holiday, this is when you will reap your rewards.

This would be the ideal time for a lengthy family holiday. If you save up just eight days of leave to take at the end of the year, you will be able to take a whopping eighteen days off thanks to the Day of Reconciliation, Christmas Day, the Day of Goodwill and, of course, a couple of weekends thrown in. You will then be off work from end of day on 14 December, returning only on 2 January 2019.

If you’re unable to take the week before Christmas off work, however, you’ll still be able to take fifteen days by using seven days of leave – and you’ll be off work for the second week of January while your colleagues are already moping at their desks.

For those who used some leave earlier in the year, but are still lucky enough to have some days left over, you could finish work on 21 December and still enjoy 11 days, using just four days leave on 24, 27, 28 and 31 December.

However you choose to take your leave this year, enjoy the break!

South African visitor arrivals to the Seychelles has increased by 15% year on year for the year ending 2017, ranking the country as the sixth best source market for the island destination.

According to the latest statistics released by the Seychelles Tourism Board, 2017 saw a total of 14,203 visit the Seychelles, compared to 12,354 visitors in 2016.

According to David Germain, Director – South Africa & The Americas Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), arrivals captured from South Africa as a source market stood at 12 039 in the first week of December, compared to 10 443 at the same time last year.

“Throughout 2017, Seychelles as a choice destination for South African travellers gained even more traction through new exposure channels, specifically TV, with the broadcast of Tropica Island of Treasure (TIOT), as well as various other TV programmes hosted by local South African celebrities and conservation teams, as well as bloggers,” says David.

According to David, these channels opened the destination up to market sectors which previously may not have considered Seychelles as a holiday destination.

He also adds that STB is anticipating even greater growth in interest in the Seychelles in 2018.

The breakdown of the top six source markets for the visitor arrivals for 2017 are as follows: