As part of the build up to the FIFA World Cup, South African tourism has launched a social media initiative targeting the Australian and New Zealand traveller.

The initiative stems from South African tourisms Australasia office and takes the form of a blog, a Twitter page, as well as two Facebook pages dedicated to the Australian and New Zealand traveller.

The websites aim to make travel to South Africa easier by offering as travel tips, tour deals and suggested accommodation. There will also be a dedicated question and answer section, to enable direct contact with the tourism office. The Twitter page will provide football followers with match updates and the success of the Socceroos.

“Globally, South African Tourism has had a presence in the social media space for some time, however we are very excited to be able to provide relevant news and updates on South Africa specific to the Australian traveller using this platform,” said Bangu Masisi, general manager of South African Tourism, Australasia.

“We understand that the world’s focus will be on South Africa in just 8 days time, with the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and believe this is the perfect opportunity to embark on a journey in this space locally and engage with travellers who find the World Cup as inspiration to travel to South Africa in 2010 and beyond.”