Incentive travel tidbits

Travel

Lesotho’s new local airline is coming soon

Mohahlaula Airlines has announced it will launch a local Lesotho airline within the next year. Initially it will service the popular Maseru to Johannesburg route, with plans to expand into more South African destinations.

CEO Phafane Nkotsi says, “We are thrilled to announce our intention to launch Mohahlaula Airlines over the next year or so. It’s a service desperately required by Lesotho as the country grows economically and tourism picks up after the pandemic. We are looking forward to playing an essential role in driving Lesotho’s socio-economic growth.”

During the past two years, the company has been operating private charters and cargo flights in and out of Maseru. Now, as borders reopen post-lockdown, there is a growing demand for affordable and convenient travel.

Lesotho does not currently have a local carrier, after Lesotho Airways and Maluti Sky both ended flying operations in 1996 and 2017 respectively.

Do we still need Covid vaccines and boosters?

Everyone is talking about ‘post-Covid’. But does this mean we don’t need to vaccinate anymore?

Professor Cheryl Cohen is the head: Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). She believes that people should continue to get all the booster vaccines for which they are eligible. Her reasons are as follows: 1. Immunity and protection from vaccines wane over time. 2. We expect to see recurrent ‘waves’ or seasons of Covid – the periodicity and timing of these remain unknown but it is likely we will see an increase in the coming months. 3. While Covid-19 severity is less in people with previous infection or vaccination, there is strong evidence that additional boosters improve protection, although

Covid-19 can still cause severe disease and substantial disruption through milder illness. South Africa’s National Health Department has confirmed that free Covid vaccination services will remain available at designated sites around the country. You can find a listing of these sites on sacoronavirus. co.za or at findmyjab.co.za. If you need to register on the Electronic Vaccination Data System, you can do so at vaccine.enroll.health.gov.za/#/.

Get behind SATSA’s #FreeToBe Destination South Africa campaign

The Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) has launched a destination awareness campaign that aligns the local tourism trade behind one message: South Africa is a place where you’re free to be.

South Africa has one of the world’s most progressive constitutions allowing you to love who you want to, be who you want to. And we have a culture of openness, warmth and acceptance; our destination is a treasure trove of open-air, outdoor and adventure experiences; and we’re fun-loving and welcoming. Here you can truly feel ‘free to be’…

If you’d like to get behind this campaign and help promote Destination South Africa, and access the trade toolkit, go to satsa.com/free-to-be.

SITE Young Leaders’ Program

After the waves of Covid came waves of retrenchments, furloughs and resignations. Rebuilding the incentive travel industry is going to require finding and nurturing new talent. Cue the SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence) Young Leaders’ Program. The programme brings together a global community of industry professionals aged 35 years or younger who have fewer than five years’ experience in the incentive travel industry, and it gives them access to education and networking opportunities that are specifically geared to newcomers. Through this, SITE aims to help create future leaders for the industry as a whole.

To learn more about joining the programme, email site@siteglobal.com