If you’re planning on jetting off into the sunset over the coming school holidays, make sure your passport is in order. That’s the advice of Konrad Laker, CEO of Gold Travel, a Cape Town-based corporate travel service specialist. According to Konrad, many travellers are not aware of passport requirements that could turn a dream overseas holiday into a nightmare.  

In order to avoid complications at international destinations, refusal of entry into a country or, in some cases, deportation, it is essential that: 

• Passports must be valid for six months after your return date
• At least four blank pages must be available for passport control and customs
• Your passport name must correlate with your travel documents – in some cases a married woman’s name change from maiden to married surname can cause complications
• Passports of minors must be updated and recognizable with a recent photograph 

Konrad notes that certain countries such as The USA, United Kingdom and The Middle East are more stringent than others and travellers should make certain that all of their travel documents comply. “With many immigration offices on high alert following terror attacks across Europe, better to be safe than sorry,” advises Konrad.

Gold Travel, a Cape Town-based corporate travel service specialist, has recently achieved a Level Two B-BBEE rating after implementing 52.5% black ownership and 31.5% black woman ownership in partnership with NetValue™ Equity Partners, also based in Cape Town. The certification falls under the Qualifying Small Enterprise classification in the Tourism Sector Code, a category which has recently been under the spotlight for its slow pace of transformation. 

The travel and tourism industry has recently seen the back of two of its biggest South African trade shows - World Travel Market Africa and the stalwart travel exhibition, Tourism Indaba, held in Durban last week.

Seemingly, a common topic under the spotlight is the rate of transformation in the South African travel trade. Speaking at the annual Women in Tourism Event at the Indaba, newly elected Minister of Tourism Tokozile Xasa raised concerns about the slow pace of transformation in the sector.  

Commenting on their positive achievement, Konrad Laker, CEO of Gold Travel, said that as a South African business owner transformation is a priority policy.

“Tourism is an integral part of the South African economy and transformation should be at the forefront of the industry. This marks a significant milestone in our transformation drive; we will continue to find ways of enhancing our B-BBE efforts.” 

GOLD TRAVEL GETS A NEW LOOK Time to shine  

Gold Travel, a corporate travel management company and industry stalwart, revealed a new look and image on 1 March 2017.  The company is one of Cape Town’s longest-standing corporate travel companies with a track record of over 40 years in the industry.  They are currently updating their website and internal processes and procedures to provide a more efficient, professional and personalised experience for their clients.  

Konrad Laker, CEO of Gold Travel, says, “We took an honest look at the way we do things and decided it was time for a change - we want to show our clients that we are adapting but within a given framework – we are the same people, but doing business a little differently and a whole lot better.  As a small business, it is possible for us to do more; to go the extra mile.”   

This rebrand comes in line with the opening of a second Gold Travel branch in Centurion and further expansion plans are under way for a third branch in Midrand, Gauteng. The company is also eager to extend their footprint into Africa as their portfolio covers a lot of travel to the likes of Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, and many of their clients have offices in those countries.  

Laker believes that the travel service industry should be embracing technology rather than resisting it; ‘we want to revolutionise the way we do business and challenge the norm, while keeping our personal focus on our clients and their needs. With adopting new systems and technology the idea is for Gold Travel to duplicate the formula so that it can be rolled out to all new branches, a kind of “plug-and-play” scenario, creating a seamless transition for both client and consultant.

South African Airways announces new mileage earning opportunities for voyager members in North America. This is yet another passenger bonus that comes from the commercial partnership between SAA and JetBlue.  

Johannesburg, South Africa. November 2014 – South African Airways (SAA), Africa’s most awarded airline, has launched a new frequent flyer partnership with JetBlue Airways in North America. This new partnership will provide SAA’s Voyager members with expanded mileage earning opportunities.   

Effective immediately, Voyager members will be able to earn mileage credits on flights across JetBlue’s expansive network of destinations in the U.S.A, Caribbean, and Latin America. In addition to this, JetBlue’s TrueBlue members can earn TrueBlue points on SAA’s entire network of flights where SAA is the operating carrier. The two airlines plan to introduce a redemption programme for award travel for members of their respective frequent flyers during the first quarter of 2015.  

“South African Airways is delighted to build upon the successful commercial partnership that we established with JetBlue over five years ago, by offering enhanced benefits for both our customers through our respective frequent flyer programmes,” said Suretha Cruse, SAA Executive Customer Loyalty.  “We are pleased to offer our valued Voyager members new mileage earning opportunities when they fly SAA to New York or Washington, DC, and onto JetBlue destinations throughout their network and welcome JetBlue’s TrueBlue members on the award-winning services of SAA.”  

SAA operates the most flights between South Africa and the U.S.A , including daily flights to New York from its Johannesburg hub to New York-JFK International Airport and flights to Washington, DC-Dulles International Airport. Convenient onward connections are offered with JetBlue between New York and Washington, DC, and 86 destinations throughout their route network in the Americas. In Africa, SAA flights to New York from Johannesburg and from Johannesburg to Washington, DC connect with 24 cities throughout the African continent.  

“We are pleased to add a world-class airline like South African Airways to our loyalty programme.  Our TrueBlue members can now earn points when they fly on South African Airways’ flights from the U.S. or anywhere on their network.  We look forward to continuing to expand our partnership with SAA,” said Robin Hayes, President, JetBlue.  

As code share partners, SAA’s “SA” code is on JetBlue operated flights between New York and Washington, DC and 18 other cities in the U.S. This includes popular destinations such as, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Denver. Customers purchasing a code share itinerary will benefit from having a single ticket combining SAA and JetBlue operated flights, as well as the convenience of competitive pricing, one-stop check-in and through baggage transfer; with allowance of up to two free pieces of checked baggage.  

For more information on the South African Airways’ Voyager programme, visit www.flysaa.com.  

About South African Airways South African Airways is a Star Alliance member that offers flights to 38 destinations worldwide. Domestically, SAA operates 544 flights a week between Johannesburg – Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth. Regionally SAA offers 24 destinations across the African continent and its international network creates links to all major continents from South Africa through 10 direct routes. In the regional category, SAA has received the Skytrax ‘Best Airline in Africa’ Award for 11 consecutive years.      

About JetBlue Airways JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline™, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 30 million customers a year to 86 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of 800 daily flights. Flights to Curaçao will launch on December 2, 2014; subject to receipt of government approval. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all fares are one-way, an overnight stay is never required and the first checked bag is free (subject to weight and size limits and exceptions for itineraries including flights marketed or operated by other airlines). For more information please visit JetBlue.com.

South African Airways warns the public of fraudulent sites that give misleading information about SAA’s Cadet Pilot Development Programme and cabin crew recruitment process. We provide information on what people should be aware of.  

Johannesburg, South Africa – South African Airways (SAA) would like to advise the South African public that it has taken note of unofficial websites that purport to be SAA official websites. Those websites contain false and/or misleading information about SAA’s Cadet Pilot Development Programme and cabin crew recruitment process. 

SAA would like to clarify that it does not have any relationship whatsoever with those false channels (websites), nor the individuals behind them. Members of the public are advised to take caution and are encouraged to contact SAA telephonically in case they need to verify the official SAA electronic platforms that they should use.

A quick way of identifying these bogus sites is by looking out for a fee that is required to be paid to “secure an application, or to ensure that an applicant gets shortlisted’’. SAA never charges any fee during recruitment drives.  

Cadet Pilot applications

On 14 September 2014, SAA invited young South Africans who aspire to become pilots to send their applications for the 2014/2015 intake of SAA’s Cadet Pilot Programme. The advert was placed in some of the national weekend newspapers. In addition, the following official SAA electronic communication channels carried the advert: SAA website (flysaa.com), SAA’s Facebook page (FlySAA) and SAA’s Twitter account (@flysaa). The closing date for the submission of applications was 27 September 2014.

Due to the high demand, SAA decided to extend the closing date to 3 October 2014. That date has since passed and no further extensions have been granted.   

Unofficial websites

SAA views the fraudulent use of its corporate identity in a serious light. It is not only potentially harmful to the brand but poses a risk of exposing unsuspecting members of the public to the risk of having their personal information getting into the wrong hands.   Should the airline obtain reliable information about any persons behind this scam, SAA will not hesitate to take legal action.  

About SAA

South African Airways is a Star Alliance member that offers flights to 38 destinations worldwide. Domestically, SAA operates 544 flights a week between Johannesburg – Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth. Regionally SAA offers 24 destinations across the African continent and its international network creates links to all major continents from South Africa through 10 direct routes. In the regional category, SAA has received the Skytrax ‘Best Airline in Africa’ Award for 11 consecutive years.

Voyagers throughout the world who want to fulfill their African safari dreams can now plan personalized journeys by banking on Selftours, a registered company that is bonded with SATSA (South Africa Tourism Services Association). The national members of SATSA look after your financial security totally and meet complete holiday requirements. Selftours is one of the most eminent South African Tour Operators which provides customized and affordable South African holiday tours that can be tough to forget throughout life.  

Selftours gladly announces its recent 6 days self-drive tour packages of the Southern Cape Coast of South Africa. The package contains economical B&B accommodation, car rental assistance, road maps, 2 nominated drivers, motoring tips, brochures and lists of things to view in travelling area that can help tourists to be completely worry-free and make a trip to remember. The offer is valid till August 2014.The 6 days and 5 nights self-drive tour package gives the tourists an opportunity to spend 3 nights in Cape Town and 2 nights in stunningly beautiful Knysna with special add-ons of Kruger Park Safari, Gorilla trekking etc.By availing the Economical Cape Town & Knysna Garden Route package, tourists can experience the grand Victoria Falls, Madagascar and Zanzibar just at R4702 till October, 2014.  

Those who are looking forward to have complete assistance in self-drive tours, guided coach tours, adventure package tours and hotel packages in and around South Africa, Selftours is the ultimate solution for them. The well-experienced and reliable team assists the travellers in arranging their holiday and creates a holiday schedule based on the tourists’ requirements and budget. For tourists looking for beaches or countryside- Selftours proposes the best alternatives. From South African Garden Route tour to Cape Point-Winelands tour, Kruger National Park safari along with other self-drive tour packages, Selftours offers the voyagers to explore the unparalleled beauty of the nation.  

For further information on planning safari tours in South African countries visit http://www.selftours.co.za/. 

About Selftours:

Selftours, founded in 2000, is a leading South Africa based tour operator and travel agency that specializes in tailor-made safari tours and holiday packages for travellers across the world. Interested clients can visit the main office in Cape Town on Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 16:30 to get sincere assistance.  

Contact:

Tel: 021 591 0261
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

107 Hamilton St
Goodwood.
7460
Cape Town
Western Cape
South Africa

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