US$747 fare and wildlife make SA popular

ATLANTA, USA - 2 February 2000: Cable and satellite television with its concentrated footage of wildlife is building up unexpected demand for destinations such as South Africa, and South African Airways in the USA is determined to make the most of it, the airline's Tom Loughery told Travel Now this week. Loughery is SAA's sales manager for the south east US and points out that today, with channels such as National Geographic and Discovery, Americans are more likely to see elephants than the Eiffel Tower on TV. "Unfortunately few Americans think Africa is an affordable destination and so to draw attention to our new Atlanta service and popularise the destination we have introduced a fare of $747 aimed at individuals and people who have been there before and are prepared to make their own arrangements", he told Travel Now. The fare is being publicised extensively in local media and to the trade but is only available on a limited number of seats until the end of March when the project will be reviewed. (Dave Marsh)