Klaas Voogds Experience Uplifted

Despite the impact of the economic recession on the tourism industry there are certain destinations in the world which see a growing influx of tourists. The Klaas Voogds area, 2 hours East of Cape Town in South Africa, is one of these destinations. A co-operative mindset of tourism businesses in Klaas Voogds and targetting the ‘Quality of Life’ market is bearing fruit with a 50 percent growth in the number of package bookings.

A few years ago Guesthouse Fraai Uitzicht (http://fraaiuitzicht.com) took the initiative in the launch of the Klaas Voogds Experience which includes a 2 or 3 night stay, all meals and vouchers for a game drive and a visit to a private maze & botanical garden all within a radius of 5 kilometres. Where guesthouses and other accommodation owners in the region are complaining about ‘one night stands’ this guesthouse sees the number of more day bookings grow. Since recently other guesthouses in the area are trying to set up simular programs and all are benefiting.
Yvonne de Wit of ‘Soekershof; Private Mazes & Botanical Gardens in South Africa’ (http://soekershof.com) also in Klaas Voogds and part of different packages: “The tourism industry focusses itself too much on mainstream and that is for us the ‘low end’ market. They have neglected the different niches. That’s the reason that we started to approach individual broadminded entrepreneural guesthouse owners and target directly and via small tour operators travellers who choose of quality of location instead of being pulled and pushed from one tourist trap to the other. Here we offer real life in a slow pace. People are coming to South Africa to enjoy a great holiday. That’s something different as a tour along 5 or 6 wine cellars per day, two toilet breaks and one lunch and craftshop stop at Kirstenbosch without seeing their garden in full”.

Soekershof and the other attractions/activities in the Klaas Voogds area don’t target mass tourism. “We are not designated for that kind of tourism. We choose conciously for a very personal hospitality. We also expect from our visitors that they take their time to undergo it all and at ease”, says De Wit.
A holiday in the Klaas Voogds area is not only for the elite: “There is accommodation in all price classes from 0 to 5 stars but with a few things in common: high standard of hygiene and hospitality. Besides that all activities are extreme affordable; surely if you compare it with tourist regions as Cape town, Stellenbosch and Garden Route”.
Klaas Voogds is, from a tourism point of view, the only self-sufficient hub between Cape Town and Garden Route with a wide variety of activities. Besides the two mentioned there is amongst others olive tasting, angling, bycicle hire, wine tasting (the best handcrafted wines from the Robertson Wine Valley originate from Klaas Voogds), canoeing and hiking. “There is probably not a destination in South Africa with relatively that many overseas regulars”.

More info (UK Magazine) about Soekershof:
http://www.recklessgardener.co.uk/templates/soekershof-garden-south-africa.html