South Africa unveiled its business tourism offering called BusinessUnusual at this year's China International Travel Mart.

Building on the positive sentiment generated by the China-Africa Summit which was held in early November in Beijing, South African Tourism aims to further increase awareness of its leisure and business tourism assets among both the travel trade and consumers with this new service.

"As one of the world's fastest-growing tourism destinations, South Africa's leisure tourism products need no introduction. However, what is less well known is the compelling case that exists for business tourism. It's not just the combination of excellent facilities, accommodation, service, fabulous food, and incomparable leisure activities that makes South Africa such an attractive meetings destination. It is also the lessons that we have gathered as a young democracy that sets us apart.  This is what we bring to the market through BusinessUnusual," comments Manqoba Nyembezi, Tourism Attaché, (PRC and Hong Kong) South African Embassy, Beijing.

The uniqueness of BusinessUnusual is that it has much to teach in a business sense. First, it is closely connected to something that is largely lost in the developed world–natural intelligence derived from close contact with, and appreciation of the natural and animal world–with which South Africa is richly and famously endowed. A business breakaway into the bush can do much to de-stress the business person and allow room for contemplation and innovative thinking. It also fosters team development around a shared vision of the company's future.

Second, South Africa is the repository of a rich heritage of African traditions, which can be directly related to business methodologies worldwide. In terms of international business strategy and cutting-edge management methodologies, South Africa provides an insightful case study for entrepreneurial leaders.

As the biggest economy in Africa, South Africa has the added advantage of providing the key platform for Chinese investment into Africa and strategic access to the Indian Ocean markets and South America. Since Africa is the world's last relatively unexploited market, foreign business can find much of interest there, with South Africa as the starting point.

At present, South Africa is China's largest trade partner in Africa with bilateral trade volume of US$7 billion, which is nearly 20% of Sino-Africa trade volume. Up to the end of last year, China has an agreed investment of US$253 million in South Africa. The closer trade relations make South Africa a key business tourism destination for Chinese.