SUN CITY BLOSSOMS WITH NEW MARKETING PHILOSOPHY, UPGRADED ACCESS

Greg Coates, Canadian Travel Press

July 12, 1999
A new marketing philosophy and an upgraded airport has Sun City set to take full advantage of South Africa's blossoming tourism industry.

Once a haven for high rollers, South Africa's Sun City has repositioning itself in the last four to five years as a full-service leisure resort catering to both vacation and business travellers.

Located about 150 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg in the hills of Pilanesberg, Sun City is a huge entertainment and resort complex. It features four hotels, two Gary Player-designed golf courses, a 6,500-square-metre wave pool and beach and an entertainment centre with 6,000-seat concert facility.

While often compared to Las Vegas, Sun City, which similarly offers gambling, concerts, boxing bouts and golf tournaments, has turned a corner, making comparisons unfair.

"We are definitely trying to move away from the philosophy of being the Las Vegas of South Africa," said Lorenzo Giani, North American sales and marketing manager for Sun International. "We're a full-service, leisure destination."

Furthermore, Sun City is a resort, not a city. The complex consists of two sections - the original Sun City which was built in the mid-70s and the newer Lost City, anchored by the magnificent Palace Hotel.

Built around the myths and legends of Africa, The Lost City and its Valley of Waves are fabled to be the ruins of an ancient civilization.

According to the legend of the lost city, long before the dawn of western civilization a tribe from northern Africa wandered south until they came across a secluded valley within an ancient volcanic crater.

The Ancients built a village and began to store diamonds and platinum they mined in the valley in a cavern known as The Hall of Treasures. Soon the people of the valley possessed sufficient riches to build a regal city, crowned by a magnificent palace for the royal family.

Sun City's Palace is said to recapture the unique architecture, which combined towers, domes and arches. For many years, the legend says, the Ancients lived a peaceful and happy life. But one day, the sky grew black and an earthquake struck the valley forcing the common people to flee the city, never to return.

Only the king and his family stayed behind in the remains of their regal dwelling until the last member died. The palace was soon overgrown and concealed by the jungle and forgotten by the world - until December 1992, with the completion of Sun City's Lost Palace.

The 338-room Palace Hotel is one of the most spectacular in the world. It's worth a trip to Sun City just to see it. The hotel cost approximately $200-million to build and no attention to detail was spared - from the sculpted leaping kudu and cheetah which greet you at the entrance to the elephants which guard its stairways and bridges.

"It is one of the most unprecedented projects, one which I don't think could be replicated again," said Don Harrington, general manager of The Palace. "It would be far too expensive. The Palace is definitely a world-stage property - one of the most unique physically in the world."

Some interesting facts about The Palace:

· The tallest of the hotel's 10 towers is almost 70 metres and all are topped by domes of various combinations of palm fronds, elephant tusks and animal/bird carvings;

· Hand-carved furniture has been used throughout the public areas and in guestrooms and suites. As well, all 338 bedroom timber doors were hand-carved;

· All guest rooms have an entrance foyer, furnished with a console with carved monkey legs and ornamented with lamps and mirrors;

· The hotel's royal entrance or rotunda has a dome ceiling 25 metres above floor level. The painting of the rotunda ceiling, featuring an African landscape with animals and birds, took nearly 5,000 hours to complete;

· The chandelier in the Crystal Court is more than five metres in diameter and hangs over an elephant fountain featuring four three-metre high elephants. From the elephants' trunks curled over their backs, water sprays into a hammered bronze bowl;

· The six elephant tusks, arching in pairs over The Tusk Lounge and Bar, are 5.6 metres high, weigh two tons each and were made in four pieces out of Indonesian Squara wood.

According to Harrington, about 70 per cent of the business at The Palace is international. And while the majority of guests come from Europe, he said business from North America is on the rise. Despite a downturn of about 20 per cent from the Asian market, Harrington said the hotel is picking the business up elsewhere and occupancy rates are up from a year ago.

While The Palace and Sun City are showing good growth in both FIT and incentive business, plans are to try to increase the meetings and incentive business, especially from North America. The current mix between business and leisure customers is about 50-50.

"We're a great incentive location. It's a new destination for North Americans," said Harrington. "(But) we have to keep on top of it. We're competing on a world stage both in product and in customers. We must continue to open new markets and refine our product to give customers what they really want."

Adjoining Lost City's Palace Hotel is Sun City's recently refurbished and expanded Entertainment Centre, which houses two slots casinos, the Hall of Treasures and the Jungle Casino. Under the same roof is the 6,000-seat Superbowl, a review theatre, a bingo lounge, cinemas, bars, shops, restaurants, convention facilities and a sports and race betting facility.

A short distance from the Entertainment Centre is the 242-room Cascades Hotel, which houses the Sun City Casino and the Sun City theatre. Other accommodation options include the Sun City Cabanas, a family-oriented hotel, and the recently refurbished Sun City Hotel.

Conference facilities at Sun City are designed to handle from 20 to 2,000 delegates with a variety of venues available. The Superbowl can seat 6,000 people for a show or accommodate up to 1,500 people for dinner.

"The one thing that stands out most for me is that we have everything under one umbrella," said Bradley Glenn of the Sun City Corporation. "We have the options of game drives, access to one of the country's top water parks, tennis, squash, health spa, hot air ballooning, horseback riding and two highly-ranked golf courses. Once you arrive at Sun City, you need go no further for a South African vacation."

Harrington agrees, noting that Sun City is safe, clean and offers some of the best weather in the world.

"Everyone wants to see Cape Town, do a game experience and come here to relax," said Harrington. "It's very safe and I don't just say that casually. I've never seen a violent crime here."

For garden enthusiasts, The Lost City is home to one of Africa's most comprehensive collections of native and exotic plants, including more than 400 species of palms. Five 90-minute walking tours through the hundreds of acres of landscaped grounds are available.

The Botanical Gardens of the Lost City contain more than 3,000 different plant species and 6,000 mature trees in 22 different forests, of which 80 per cent are indigenous and the rest exotic. As well, visitors are able to observe hundreds of species of birds and other fauna.

Visitors looking to spot the "Big Five" can take part in game drives at the nearby 500-square-kilometre Pilanesberg National Park.

And getting to Sun City is getting easier. The Pilansberg Airport is currently being upgraded and is expected to get international status by Nov. 1. Upon completion, the airport will be able to accommodate DC9 and 737 aircraft. The airport's runways are being upgraded and extended and custom and immigration services added.

Daily flights will soon be available connecting the Pilansberg Airport with Skukuza Airport, located near some of South Africa's most popular game reserves like Sabi Sabi, Mala Mala, Singita and Londonlozi.