If I never hear another vuvuzela in my life, it’ll be too soon!

Unfortunately the truth of the matter is that everyone will be practising their trumpeting skills in advance of both the Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup – so I’d better get over myself. Loud vuvuzela blasts provided the noisy backdrop to Travel Indaba in Durban. Even foreign delegates wandered around with the bright plastic ‘instruments’ protruding from their bags. I find the Hermanus whale crier’s kelp horn more melodious and friendlier – and we heard him a few times every hour on the Western Cape pavilion.

It was very obvious that soccer and 2010 are front of mind in tourism marketing with not just vuvuzelas but mini footballs and deconstructed arty safety helmets popular trophies at Indaba. I poured tasters of Cape wine to delegates from Chicago and Arkansas, Germany and the Netherlands. They were well aware of the quality that South Africa can deliver. But it was the operators from Botswana, Tanzania, Malawi, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Madagascar and Mauritius who wanted to know the most. And these African delegates are keen to translate their tasting experience into action. Almost without fail they wanted to buy South African wine – and if they’d been able to do so there and then they would have!

I know that a few large local producers are doing brisk business into Africa. There are great opportunities to be had and with South African banking, telecommunications, retail and construction companies showing the way shouldn’t local wine producers follow suit?

It takes a helluva lot to beat waking up in a Durban beachfront hotel room on a sunny winter’s morning.

The view of the gently undulating ocean dotted with a few surfers, kayakers and ships is spectacular – and it’s the first time in three days that the sun has shone on South Africa’s travel and tourism showcase to the world, Travel Indaba 2009.

There have been a few minor logistical disasters for organizers – such as the poles on a Bedouin tent snapping under the weight of water gathered in one of its artfully draped folds during a late afternoon deluge on Saturday.right next to the Western Cape tourism pavilion! The weird thing was that this appeared to be a catalyst for delegates and exhibitors alike to kick back and relax – and the Western Cape was ideally positioned to provide wine for the occasion. Hats off to Durban convention centre staff because the problem was dealt with smartly and day two saw the tent restored (and reinforced) perfectly.

While handing out bouquets for a job well done, the various wine routes on the Western Cape stand have impressed me. As we stand pouring wine for passing traffic, staffers remain upbeat, positive and charming. If they don’t have a particular type of wine, they’ll point the punter in the direction of someone else who does. There’s a sharing of information – about South Africa’s 350 years of winemaking, of the various wine routes and their distances from Cape Town. A few short years ago this would have been inconceivable, with everyone jealously protecting their own patch.

One thing that is obvious, is the literal and figurative thirst. People want to experience South African wine and learn more. Hospitality operators from Limpopo want the winelands bodies to visit them, tour operators from the Northwest want to bring groups to the Cape, training institutions want to know how to lay their hands on wine information to train tour guides in other provinces. but mostly people want to taste and drink wine.

And that’s a really easy sell.

Two factors count in the Cape Winelands and Western Cape’s favour at the annual Tourism and Travel Indaba currently being held in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal: firstly, ample wine is on offer for tasting, and secondly, direct access to the Œbraai¹ restaurant behind the Cape pavilion!

Since there’s more khaki being worn here than there was during the second Anglo Boer war, meat grilled over an open fire is de rigeur. (You’d think all the hairy-legged safari operators and game lodge types would have had enough of braaied meat, but patently not!)

The Cape Winelands and Western Cape has a large presence ­ an entire pavilion devoted to tourism and travel in the province ­ and while things were relatively quiet initially, as word spread about the wine tastings, so the foot traffic and noise level rose. The whole point of the event is networking and marketing ­and that’s being done in abundance. Foreign journalists, tour operators and travel agents are unanimous in appreciating the benefits of the southern tip of Africa.
People are moving and shaking. Talk among the media and delegates are about whether the beach party is going to be as much fun as in previous years, although there are others who have cracked the nod for a trip to Stanger/KwaDukuza aboard Rovos Rail’s ultra-luxe choo-chooŠ And in the midst of all this frenetic activity, the wine folks are doing what they do best ­ pouring wine and extolling the merits of the Cape Winelands.