Good News

BULLETIN 5 December

Good afternoon, here is your Good News

# Spotify South Africa says 2024 was not just about global hits, it was the year for local sound to shine. This progress is reflected in a 93-percent growth in local music consumption and the rise of local sounds. This includes the infectious beats of Amapiano, traditional music, and beloved podcasts. Spotify’s, Sithabile Kachisa, says female artists made huge strides in the South African music scene, with Tyla and Lwah Ndlunkulu leading the charts for the most streamed albums:

# The City of Cape Town is gearing up for a record-breaking festive season, with hotels filling up quickly. The metro is preparing for an influx of domestic and international tourists as a result of major events such as the Rugby 7s and multiple conferences. The Events Permit Office is currently processing over 160 permit applications for December alone. The metro says it is working collaboratively with its partners to enhance visitor experiences, prioritising air route expansion, and cruise tourism to attract both domestic and international travellers.

# Air France and KLM, the national flag carriers for France and the Netherlands, respectively, have formed an agreement with the South African regional carrier Airlink. The agreement will now see the two major European airlines have access to 14 domestic Airlink routes across South Africa. Members of Air France and KLM’s Flying Blue Loyalty programme will also be able to earn miles on marketed flights operated by Airlink. Air France-KLM and Airlink plan to expand their codeshare operations to African countries including Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Malawi.

# Paris has been named the most attractive city in the world, for the fourth consecutive time. This is according to the Top 100 City Destinations Index by data analytics company Euromonitor International. The index ranks cities on criteria including tourism, sustainability, economic performance, and health and safety. Madrid is second on the list followed by Tokyo, Rome and Milan. Europe dominates the rankings with six cities in the top ten. 

# And finally: Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour Book, which is only available from Target, has sold 814-thousand copies in its first two days on sale. This is the second-highest amount of books sold in a single reporting week since BookScan began tracking sales in 2001. The 256-page book, which commemorates her record-breaking Eras Tour, includes never-before-seen photos of the tour along with stories and memories from Swift herself. Former US president Barack Obama’s A Promised Land sold 816-thousand copies when it first went on sale in 2020.

Stay tuned for more news………….