Jonty Rhodes sets the field for South African Tourism in India

Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes will now woo Indian travelers to visit his spectacular home country as he has just been appointed as the brand ambassador to South African Tourism in India.

Last year, South African Tourism hosted Jonty to pen down a unique travel guide on his South African holiday experiences for Lonely Planet. The tremendous success of the initiative made the choice but obvious.

Ms. Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager, South African Tourism, India said, “We are exceptionally excited to have Jonty on board to further promote South Africa in India. Jonty has a huge fan-following, his credibility, stellar cricketing career and love for travel, adventure and South Africa, makes him the ambassador of choice to promote South Africa’s varied and exciting tourism experiences in a growing market of Indian travellers.”

Commenting on the announcement, Jonty Rhodes says, “I am extremely delighted and thrilled to partner with South African Tourism to promote my beautiful country in India. My home country is every traveler’s dream come true as it offers enormous possibilities to have the holiday of their lifetime. I am looking forward to encouraging more Indians to visit South Africa to discover the abundance of unique and awesome experiences offered by the destination to suit varied needs and desires.”

“It has been our constant endeavor to engage with like-minded partners who showcase their passion for South Africa and believe in the huge tourism potential that our country has to offer to core markets like India. Jonty is certainly one such partner and we are together looking forward to some incredibly interesting consumer and trade engagements to promote South Africa in India” Ms. Slabber added.

South Africa has enjoyed double digit growth from the Indian market for the last five years with the numbers increasing substantially each year. South African Tourism hopes to cross the 100,000 mark for arrivals from India this year. Partnerships and engagements such as this reiterate the board’s commitment and focus towards maximizing the opportunities offered by the promising Indian outbound travel market.

According to the latest arrival figures of November 2012, South Africa has received 97,664 Indians visitors between January to November 2012. This is an increase of 18.1% to the corresponding period last year.