As the Destinations Expo 2010 in Cape Town has closed its doors on Sunday, 22nd August 2010, and as a response to various requests and comments from interested players in the Tourism Industry all across South Africa, we did an Interview with Dumi Sakuinje who attended this relatively new Travel & Holiday Expo in his capacity as the General Manager of Monkey Valley Resort, Noordhoek, South Africa – and who kindly and spontaneously agreed to give us some valuable feedback.
Destinations Expo 2010 Cape Town Interview with Dumi Sakuinje
In our brief yet informative Interview on the value, the results and merits of the “Destinations Expo 2010 Cape Town” , Dumi Sakuinje – who has a wealth of knowledge and experience in African Tourism all across the African continent -, comes to some conclusions that are of interest to anyone who wants to expand their South African Travel and Tourism Business, especially in view of the third Destinations Expo 2011 planned for next year.
Dumi Sakuinje on the Internet
Dumi Sakuinje is very positive and enthusiastic about the massive potential for Travel & Tourism in South Africa – and Africa a s a whole – however, given the fact that most bookings are being made online today, this can only happen with a strong presence and a good reputation on the Internet… meaning high visibility on search engines, like Google, as well as Social Networks, genre Facebook. Accordingly, this is where a major marketing effort and the relating investment has to be concentrated until the goal is reached. It’s the exact route Monkey Valley Resort follows – of course, on Semiomantics Evolution.
Entry forms for Miss Garden Route and Klein Karoo on the Miss Garden Route Blog.
If you are keen to participate in the Miss Garden Route and Klein Karoo Beauty Pageant, you will find the entry forms in English and Afrikaans on the Miss. Garden Route Blog.
The rules of the competition will be on the entry forms.
By
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Miss Garden Route 2010
MISS GARDEN ROUTE GROWS WINGS!
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class="size-medium wp-image-3455" title="Denise Schoeman Miss Earth SA 2008 " src="http://lalakoipublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/denise-schoeman6401-300x448.jpg" alt="Denise Schoeman Miss Earth SA 2008 " width="300" height="448" />
class="wp-caption-text">Denise Schoeman Miss Earth SA 2008
The Miss Garden Route & Klein Karoo project has grown wings!
New partner could open the world for the winner of the Miss Garden Route 2010 contest.
/> The Miss Garden Route competition, which was originally started as a beauty contest and then moved on to become a “Beauty with A Purpose” project, is getting a new partner, which could open up the world for the 2010 winner.
Winner of Miss Garden Route 2010 to be embraced in the Miss Earth S A Competition
“Beauty with a Mission” is the slogan of the Miss Earth competition and national director of Miss Earth South Africa, me Catherine Constantinides, has reached out to the local competition to embrace the winner of Miss Garden Route 2010 in the Miss Earth SA competition.
Denise Schoeman from Knysna, was a runner-up in the Miss Earth SA 2008 competition
“We are really excited about this dimension of our competition” coordinator and organizer Ms Tryana Potgieter told us. “One of our previous winners, the beautiful Denise Schoeman from Knysna, was also a runner-up in the Miss Earth SA 2008 competition. Our girls are the cream of the crop and they deserve to be given the opportunity to conquer the world” she added.
The Miss Earth competition will take place in Vietnam during November – December 2010
The Miss Earth competition, which has been running for 10 years, is considered one of the three largest beauty contests in the world. The 2010 competition will take place in Vietnam during November and December this year.
The Gala Evening for Miss Garden Route 2010 will take place 25 September
Ms Constantinides plans on attending the gala evening of Miss Garden Route on Saturday 25 September at the prestigious Pinnacle Point Beach and Golf Club and she will most probably be escorted by Chanel Grantham (20), Miss Earth SA 2009. Chanel is also known as the Green Ambassadress of South Africa.
According to Chanel, from Cape Town, she was drawn to the competition not because of the glamour, but because of what it stands for. “We do get our hands dirty. We go into communities and actively make a difference” she said.
Louise Muller Miss Garden Route & Klein Karoo 2009 opens her heart to Safe Houses
“And that is exactly what our girls also do” Potgieter added and said that the 12 finalist visit the safe house for battered women and children, as well as other identified projects in the Southern Cape. Louise Muller, Miss GR & KK 2009 has been back to some of the shelters on numerous occasions. Even when she was only a finalist, she baked heart shaped cookies and wrapped them as gifts for the women in the safe houses. She has also been back to donate clothing and little luxury gifts to the women.
“Our beauty with a purpose combined with Christina’s beauty with a mission can only be a winning recipe for making our country a better place” Potgieter added.
The 2010 winner will be invited to take part as a finalist in the Miss Earth SA competition.
Entry forms are available at the Tourism Bureaux in the Southern Cape.
For more information call Tryana Potgieter on 0444 606 7777 or go to the website at www.gardenroutecasino.co.za.
Entries close on 17 September.
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Destinations Expo sits right on Google Rank 1 and 2!
Let me remind you, that we have registered the domain just 4 days ago …
Best of all, the brand new Semiomantics XO Media script is a customized prototype of the next generation Semiomantics Publishing Frameworks.
This new script is designed to run on WordPress 3.x and so far we have equipped 3 new sites and one old one (www.gardenroutepublishing.com with the new scripts.
The new sites, besides Destinations Expo are yorgo.info and iPhone 4 Photos.
The www.iphone4photos.net is on rank 10 of over 400,000,000 search returns.
The Yorgo info site is on rank 20 with just a few posts.
We are proud to equip all these new sites to the satisfaction of our customers.
Semiomantics Admin
PS: Best of all, all the above is happening while I am sitting at Astir Beach, blogging with the iPhone. Y.
Kalahari Restaurant Theatre will feature latest productions as the come off the main circuit.
A new state of the art theatre, the Kalahari Restaurant and Theatres, will open its doors in George in the heart of the Garden Route in September. Theatre lovers in the Southern Cape are waiting in anticipation for this welcome addition especially as this 400 seater theatre will stage the latest productions as they come off the main circuit. This upmarket theatre will be catering for the more discern theatre goer and music lover.
Question Marks (Photo Denise Lloyd)
New Restaurant and Bar for George, South Africa – The Kalahari
The concept behind the theatre is one of quality entertainment in a pleasant and warm environment. Apart from the theatre the complex will also house a separate bar, with an 11 metre serving surface and a 120 seater family restaurant with an outside deck. A special kiddies section has been added. A focal point of the restaurant will be the grand piano mounted on a circular stage in the restaurant section. This will double up as a cocktail bar and entertainment area.
The theatre will have tables and chairs positioned on different levels for better viewing. Food and beverages will be available from the restaurant and the bar.
George Community invited to attend Trial Show at Kalahari Restaurant and Theatre
The trial run at the restaurant and theatre will be on Saturday 4 September and the community has been invited to come and enjoy a FREE show on that evening. The theatre has already come up with a star studded line-up. Some of the productions will include the new Nataniël show, which is at present playing to full house capacities at the Emperor’s Palace, the Buddy Holly Show, Vulcano with On-Que and the premier of Steve Hofmeyr’s latest show Duisend en Een to name but a few.
Sharleen Surtie-Richards, Sandra Prinsloo and Casper De Vries committed them selves to preform at the Kalahari Theatre Restaurant in the Garden Route
Casper de Vries has also committed himself as well as Sharleen Surtie-Richards with her local Shirley Valentyn and theatre diva Sandra Prinsloo with her sell out performance of Die Naaimasjien. The Kalahari Restaurant Theatre will change the cultural atmosphere in the Garden Route – that is for sure.
Bookings for shows can be done at the Kalahari Theatre in the Old Game Centre in George or at Computicket.
Call the theatre on 044 874 5000 or for the program and interesting info on coming shows and activities.
Kalahari Restaurant Theatre will feature latest productions as the come off the main circut.
A new state of the art theatre, the Kalahari Restaurant and Theatres, will open its doors in George in the heart of the Garden Route in September. Theatre lovers in the Southern Cape are waiting in anticipation for this welcome addition especially as this 400 seater theatre will stage the latest productions as they come off the main circuit. This upmarket theatre will be catering for the more discern theatre goer and music lover.
Question Marks (Photo Denise Lloyd)
New Restaurant and Bar for George, South Africa – The Kalahari
The concept behind the theatre is one of quality entertainment in a pleasant and warm environment. Apart from the theatre the complex will also house a separate bar, with an 11 metre serving surface and a 120 seater family restaurant with an outside deck. A special kiddies section has been added. A focal point of the restaurant will be the grand piano mounted on a circular stage in the restaurant section. This will double up as a cocktail bar and entertainment area.
The theatre will have tables and chairs positioned on different levels for better viewing. Food and beverages will be available from the restaurant and the bar.
George Community invited to attend Trial Show at Kalahari Restaurant and Theatre
The trial run at the restaurant and theatre will be on Saturday 4 September and the community has been invited to come and enjoy a FREE show on that evening. The theatre has already come up with a star studded line-up. Some of the productions will include the new Nataniël show, which is at present playing to full house capacities at the Emperor’s Palace, the Buddy Holly Show, Vulcano with On-Que and the premier of Steve Hofmeyr’s latest show Duisend en Een to name but a few.
Sharleen Surtie-Richards, Sandra Prinsloo and Casper De Vries committed them selves to preform at the Kalahari Theatre Restaurant in the Garden Route
Casper de Vries has also committed himself as well as Sharleen Surtie-Richards with her local Shirley Valentyn and theatre diva Sandra Prinsloo with her sell out performance of Die Naaimasjien. The Kalahari Restaurant Theatre will change the cultural atmosphere in the Garden Route – that is for sure.
Bookings for shows can be done at the Kalahari Theatre in the Old Game Centre in George or at Computicket.
Call the theatre on 044 874 5000 or for the program and interesting info on coming shows and activities.
Behind the huge red question marks on the windows lie a brand new wonder world of theatrical and cultural experiences set to thrill the residents of the Southern Cape within the next few months (PHOTO: Denise Lloyd)
Somethings Cooking in George
Something is cooking in the corner of the old Game building in York Street, George. Huge red questions marks have been displayed on the windows and rumours have it that a brand new theatre and restaurant will soon be opening there.
It seems as if the upmarket theatre will be catering for the more discern theatre goer and music lover.
Upmarket Theatre opens soon in George
If all goes well the trial run at the restaurant, that will allegedly seat approximately 100 patrons, will be towards the end of August and the theatre will follow suit. A well known figure in the restaurant and entertainment industry in the Southern Cape, Dietlof Henn, who had originally opened the Carousel in George, is also involved.
Nataniël, Buddy Holly Show, Vulcano with On-Que and Steve Hofmeyr soon in George
The 400 seater theatre has already come up with a star studded line-up for October. Some of the productions will include the new Nataniël show, which is at present playing to full house capacities at the Emperor’s Palace, the Buddy Holly Show, Vulcano with On-Que and the premier of Steve Hofmeyr’s latest show Duisend en Een to name but a few.
Willie Venter from Huisgenoot and Bravo Concerts will bring shows to the Kalahari Theatre in George
Apparently Willie Venter, who is involved in the annual Huisgenoot Skouspel. Bravo concerts at the Casino as well as the Miss SA pageants, will in future bring his shows on a regular basis to the theatre.
If this is the standard that the Kalahari Theatre will be setting for George, the Southern Cape can look forward to see the latest city production while they are still on the circuit.
Dumont Kelders, previously known as the Pink Elephant in George is not your average liquor store. They offer exclusive boutique wines and other liquor and also offer wine tasting evenings.
Art Gallery in George
As Art & Wine goes hand in hand, Dumont Kelders in George also houses an art gallery. Here local and other South African artist’s original works can be viewed and purchased.
Wine tasting evenings at Dumont Kelders in George
Dumont Kelders in George are well known for their informal wine tasting evenings on Thursdays from 5 to 7pm – these wine tastings are free of charge and will enrich you knowledge of wines. Wine connoisseurs from all over the Garden Route visit Dumont Kelders on a Thursday.
Upcoming Wine tastings at Dumont kelders George
19 August 2010:
Viljoensdrift Wines from the Robertson Wine Valley on the Route R62
26 August 2010:
Riebeek Kelders from Riebeek-Kasteel in the Swartland
02 September 2010:
Fairview Cheese & La Capra Wines from the Paarl region in the Western Cape
04 September 2010:
Rheebokskloof Wines from the Paarl region combined with an exhibition of Honey Fashion Jewellery & Accessories
09 September 2010:
Middelvlei Wine Estate in the Stellenbosch region.
We have added a Visitors Mapping Script to our site which will allow us and our customers to monitor the traffic and origin thereof on the site. In as much as traveling and tourism oriented business is concerned, I guess the feature is useful as it will inform about the markets we reach.
Also, advertisers can adapt and better target their ads in functions of the stats available.
Click to view details.
Business Mapping
Of course we will also look to it that our advertisers will have their entries on Google Maps. Hanno Coetzee’s Business entry for Lalakoi is just an example:
More interesting are the stats, which show which keywords have produced what number of clicks:
I have crossed out Hanno’s keywords here; also, the site is not really significant since the domain redirects to another of Hanno’s Business sites. But the interest remains in the mapping capabilities Google offers.
Slowly but surely we are getting there: we have just added an image rotator into the header section of the Destination Expo Portal.For the time being you will see just some black and white images, however the rotator can also be put at the disposal of advertisers.
Advertising on Destinations Expo
We are not yet ready, but we have some ideas about our advertising strategy. Our Goal is to satisfy our customers and therefore we will not overload the site with ads. As traffic grows we will introduce more ads spots, function of the result of our visitor mapping and the analysis of the performance per page.
There will be no Google Ads on the site. We aim to reach out for advertisers interested in a global advertising plan, including banners and namely editorials. The advantage is evident: the editorials posted to the Destination Expo portal will enjoy high visibility and we will make it a case of honor to reach Google Top 10 with such editorials.
Bianca Gubalke from Noordhoek near Cape Town in South Africa will be in charge of Advertising and designing the campaigns for our customers.
As you can see, our new site is getting organized. The purpose of the site is to provide it’s content the best possible visibility namely on Search Engines and then to allow visitors to easily navigate and subscribe to topics of their interest.
Destinations Expo Search Engine Optimization
To assure the best possible exposure we use the latest scripts from Semiomantics based on WordPress. The fine tuning will take about 3 weeks however we expect results earlier.
Destinations Expo Navigation
To make the site as user-friendly as possible, we will focus on two main categories:
Destinations: The menu will be based on geographic Locations.
Places: The menu will be based on the name of an establishment, hotel, accommodation or traveling or tourism related service provider.
Destinations Mapping
Destinations will be represented on Google Maps. For example, this post is written in Vouliagmeni, Greece.
The new portal “Destinations Expo” is launched and will start its journey online as from today!
The website is still being worked on and significant changes will occur.
This news Category will keep you updated about what’s happening at Destinations Expo. We will project the news feed into the left column on the website.
Look forward for more soon from Destinations Expo.
Question Marks (Photo Denise Lloyd)
