Tourism travels town

The Traveling Tribe, known for their explorations throughout the Eastern Cape which they share through their blog, photos and reports with the locals and foreigners every week, will turn their attention to Nelson Mandela Bay this tourism month.

They are setting out to explore all the attractions and sights Nelson Mandela Bay has to offer – joining locals in becoming tourists in their own city again. All the while giving listeners and readers the chance to win Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT) passes.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Pass, provides you with free or discounted admission to a variety of attractions and activities, letting visitors enjoy more of the city for less, with great discounts and offers.

Apart from re-discovering the 101 reasons they love the city, they will also share the fun every week by giving away two sets of five-day passes (valued at R1000) during the Friday breakfast show on Kingfisher FM with the complements of Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism.  The day pass gives you access to a whole range of activities and discounts making it a fun & affordable way to travel Nelson Mandela Bay.

“The bulk of tourists that visit our city are visiting friends and relatives, and what better way to promote the city than promoting and re-establishing the locals’ love and appreciation for it? We need to make our residents ambassadors of Nelson Mandela Bay in order for them to take pride in the city and to enable them to share their knowledge when their friends and relatives are in the city,” said NMBT CEO Mandlakazi Skefile.

The Traveling Tribe’s ‘chief’-adventurer, Theunis Pienaar, said they want to make people hungry again for travel, and it starts at home.

“The competition-component of our Traveling Tribe-promotion is vital,” said Pienaar.  “It enables us to give sponsors extended exposure.  It increases interest in our travels.  Listeners and blog-subscribers are always keen to see what we’re up to, aware that they might just be fortunate enough to enjoy exactly the same experience.”

"Both Kingfisher FM and the Traveling Tribe (as multi-platform and social media partner) see a wonderful opportunity to promote NMBT and tourism month - it’s exciting work. It aims at creating a sort of localized awareness for our beautiful city," Pienaar added.

In the short 7 months they have been traveling, the blog has already well over 3000 followers, “this makes the group a perfect platform and ambassador to be the focal point of the initiative – along with the running competition on Kingfisher FM, we have much more reach to locals,” said Skefile.

The promotion kicked off this past weekend when the Tribe set off on Saturday to explore the Cape Recife, Maitlands area that is part of the Sunshine Saunter. Meeting up at Pine Lodge they took a donkey cart ride to Samrec for a guided tour of the facility before returning to Seagulls Coffee Shoppe at Pine Lodge for a light lunch. Lunch was followed by a tour of the Grysbok Game Reserve en route to Schoenmakerskop where they ended the day with a short hike along the Sacramento trail.

Sunday saw the Tribe making their way to the Maitland Dunes, followed by a visit to Holmeleigh Farm,  Seaview Predator Park (ex Seaview game park) and ending off with lunch at The Boma and a visit to Reptile World (visit their blog http://travelingtribe.wordpress.com to read firsthand about their experiences).

"We see this as not only a way of exploring but we are also giving back to our participating members by ensuring they get exposure through the Traveling Tribe blog, on air interviews on Kingfisher FM and coverage on NMBT’s social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.  This is a win-win partnership benefiting our city, members and media partners – collaboration at its best” said NMBT Marketing manager, Titus Chuene.

“Let’s all tune in to Kingfisher FM and together rediscover why we love NMB. Tourism month is a time for making memories, sharing experiences! Come and travel the city with us,” said Skefile.