Media Release. 12 July 2010. Mossel Bay Tourism.

Mossel Bay Takes Western Cape Nomination in South Africa’s Town of the Year Competition

Mossel Bay – which won the Province’s Town of the Year title in 2007 – has been named the Western Cape’s nominee for Rapport’s and Kwêla’s national Town of the Year Competition for 2010.

This was announced yesterday (Sunday) in the nationwide edition of Rapport.

“We’re particularly proud of this nomination because the people of South Africa are the judges in this competition,” said Neels Zietsman, chairman of Mossel Bay Tourism.

“Mossel Bay has always held a special place in the heart of many South Africans, and we sincerely hope that this will carry through when the next round of voting begins on Sunday.”

Mr. Zietsman said that the combination of culture, environment, infrastructure, and a large selection of attractions and activities made Mossel Bay popular with residents, holidaymakers, foreign tourists, and investors alike.

“I’m sure this will come through when Kwêla puts the town in the spotlight on kykNET this coming Wednesday,” he said.

Mr. Zietsman congratulated the other eight nominees in the competition – Heidelberg in Gauteng, St Lucia in KwaZulu-Natal, Thabazimbi in Limpopo, Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga, Potchefstroom in the North West Province, Springbok in the Northern Cape, Graaff Reinet in the Eastern Cape, and Clarens in the Free State Province – and wished them good luck.

“In many ways, these towns are all winners already, because, like Mossel Bay, they are already major contributors to tourism in their respective provinces,” he said.

“And while we’re obviously going to go all out to win the prize, we’re proud to find ourselves on a list with these outstanding destinations.”

Hetta Saunderson, of competition organisers M4 Events and Promotions, said that Kwêla and Rapport had visited all the finalists in the run up to the announcement of each Province’s nominee, and that each nominee has been showcased in Rapport, and on national television.

“We’d like to thank everyone for their incredible reception and hospitality. We realised that South Africa has the most beautiful and hospitable people. Every town that we visited has something of its own that makes it unique. People in South Africa should try to experience the beauty of our country before planning their oversees holidays,” she said.

Kwêla’s programme about its visit to Mossel Bay will be broadcast on kykNET this coming Wednesday, 14 July, at 8:00 p.m. Members of the public will be able to vote for the country’s Town of the Year any time between the 18th of July and 12h00 on the 30th of July, and the winning town will be announced in August.

Amongst other things, the sponsors will stage a concert for the people of the Town of the Year that will feature bands and artists such as Theuns Jordaan, Snotkop, Nadine, Andriette Norman, Coenie de Villiers, Pieter Koen, and Lee Scott.

“I really hope that we’ll be seeing that concert in Mossel Bay again this year,” said Mr. Zietsman

ENDS

Tags: kwela, rapport, town of the year; mossel bay