SAA’s colourful Durban July 2022 on-course exhibition proved to be a major hit with punters this past weekend at South Africa’s premier horse racing event. Situated in the middle of the busy attendee’s village, the stand showcased the carrier’s successful return to operations explaining to visitors a variety of commercial offerings.
SAA was the official airline partner to this year’s Hollywood Bets Durban July and passengers on the busy Johannesburg-Durban route were given a special ticket discount on the day.
In addition, SAA flew two larger Airbus (A-320’s) on the route on Saturday to accommodate increased demand. Both return flights were fully booked. SAA says its successful return to full domestic and regional operations means a greater need for accelerated tactical marketing efforts and it will participate in more engagement events going forward.
Says Interim Chairperson and CEO Professor John Lamola, “We have achieved success in the initial phases of our return to business and going forward it is now critical we engage meaningfully with our customer bases and those in the trade who are our valued partners in future success. Our Durban July activation is one such example, giving people a first-hand understanding of how far we have come and how we plan to grow in the future.”
SAA says its pursuing active participation in the so-called MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions/events) space as landmark events need reliable travel partners and solutions.
Apart from the Durban July, SAA has been close to the recent Africa Travel Tourism Inaba, Decorex Cape Town; the Manufacturing Indaba, and the Africa Aerospace and Defence Exhibition with several others in the pipeline.
