“The Sho’t Left Travel Week is a robust and aggressive response to the challenges highlighted by South Africans as to why they don’t travel or explore South Africa often or at all,” says CEO of South African Tourism, Sisa Ntshona.

Under its distinct campaign positioning: Everything Must Go, Everyone Must Go, Sho’t Left Travel Week is a first of its kind initiative to give tourism trade partners a unique platform to showcase their product with high value marketing support to further promote their business.

To date, more than 90 local tourism businesses, within the leisure, outdoor activity & recreational activity industries have registered. Registered partners will receive extensive marketing support to the value of 12 million to drive consumers to their booking platforms.

Travel partners such as; Tsogo Sun, Sun International and City Lodge, Kulula & Thompsons have registered to participate by offering travel packages between 30 and 50% discount. Participation benefits include:

• A toolkit and collateral support designed to offer important elements to promote their business and discounted deal packages
• Increased provincial visibility to showcase their offerings and affordability to a much wider audience
•Showcasing select product deals on a dedicated website during Sho’t Left Travel Week during 24-30 September 2018

Boost our local travel economy by registering at https://bit.ly/2PHzR85 Registration closes on 21 September 2018.

In a statement the hospitality group said that should the property close down, it would result in 126 job losses.

“The resort has over the past number of years recorded escalating costs and declining revenues in a depressed economic environment‚ with little prospect of financial recovery. The option to sell the resort has been complicated by an outstanding land claim‚ making this option unviable‚” said the statement read.

It is understood that dozens of farms and small holdings were being claimed as historical land by the Prudhoe and AmaZizi community. Sun International’s property is on some of the land which is in dispute.

Fish River Sun said it had explored all avenues to keep its doors open and satisfy the communities involved.

“[The hotel has] considered several cost-saving and revenue improvement alternatives which had either been implemented or rejected. However‚ these had not improved the financial position of the resort and the company therefore has no alternative but to close the business‚” the statement said.

The hotel giant said that economic pressure and subdued trading‚ taken together with the land claim uncertainty‚ had made cross-subsidisation by the Boardwalk in Port Elizabeth increasingly unaffordable.

The company would engage with the staff union about its closure