Patrons of the leisure trip said the trip had undoubtedly left indelible marks on their memories.

The trip broadened the knowledge of the participants about the continent by giving them the opportunity to experience the two countries better.

The Big July Get Away began on Sunday July 23 where patrons were flown from the Kotoka International Airport to the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, in transit to Mauritius via South African Airways.

Thrilling moments in Mauritius

While in Mauritius, participants who had taken a break from work toured the island which is surrounded by beautiful river bodies and some highlands.

They spent five days lodging at the plush Ravenala Attitude beach resort located in Balaclava, 10 kilometers from the capital, Port Louis.

The Catamaran Cruise

The Catamaran cruise pushed the holiday experience a notch higher when participants were treated to a sailing trip on the Indian Ocean.

The trip on the breath-taking yacht exposed them to a  crystal clear ocean, Zebra-like coloured beautiful fishes,  dancing moments at the the open bar.

Tour of the ‘South and its charms’

Still in Mauritius, the team embarked on an excursion dubbed “The South and its Charms.” Theytoured about seven different tourist sites.

Some of the places visited were the Trou aux Cerfs (a dormant volcano site) in Curepipe, the Chamarel Water fall, the Seven coloured earth, the crater lake where the Mauritians take their source of potable water from  andthe Rhumerie de Chamarel, a company that extracts alcohol from sugarcane and turns it into wine.

The tour also took patrons to the Grand Bassin, the sacred lake also called Ganga Talao, which hosts the Hindu Temple.

With the beautiful tourist sites in Mauritius, it was not surprising  that the sugarcane producing country which has a population of 1.2 million had the same number of tourists visiting the island in 2016.

Water sporting activity, outing and Night Dance Party

The Big July Get Away patrons also had the opportunity to partake in some water sporting activities which included kayaking, Stand up paddle, Windsurf, Marine Discovery Overview, the Peddalo, and Sea Hover Adventure.

While the sporting activities were taking place, others visited the central business district of Port Louis.

They were later treated to great traditional Mauritian music in the likes of Sega, as well as international genres including Salsa, Reggae, and others.

The dance moves displayed by the Big July Get Away patrons attracted other tourists especially expatriates who also joined the fun on the dance floor.

The live band music was part of activities to round up the first half of the leisure trip in Mauritius.

By this time, the close to 40 patrons had become like one family bonding with each other and sharing the fun and excitement with one another.

Back to Joburg

On the fifth day, the Big July Get Away train moved to Johannesburg, South Africa for the rest of the trip.

The Emperors Palace and artificial sky

While in Johannesburg, patrons were hosted at the 5-star D’oreale Grande Hotel also known as the Emperor Palace Hotel.

This magnificent family friendly resort is less than four, five minutes’ drive from the OR Tambo International Airport.

Patrons enjoyed some sumptuous delicacies at one of the restaurants at the unique luxurious facility.

 6-hour shopping spree

Of course no one goes to South Africa without shopping , so our Ghanaian tourists hit one of the biggest malls in South Africa, the Mall of Africa for goodies for family and friends back home.

…And the Big July Get Away train returned to Accra

As they say all good things must come to an end, so after a wonderful 7-day trip of leisure in the Island of Mauritius and South Africa, patrons of the Big July Get Away trip returned to Accra on Sunday, 30 July 2017.

The trip enabled patrons to make new friends, bond, make new acquaintances, exchange business contacts and ideas.

They also came back with fresh business ideas, and a passion to transform society with their exceptional experiences and knowledge on the trip.

The 2017 BigJulyGetAway is a Citi FM initiative in partnership with South African Airways.

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By: Godwin A. Akweiteh & Kojo Agyeman/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post What you missed at #BigJulyGetAway trip [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The week-long trip which ended last Sunday, took participants on a five day adventure on the Island of Mauritius and two days in South Africa.

Mauritius which has a population of 1.2 million had the same number of tourist visiting the country in 2016.

According to the patrons, if government is able to develop some major tourist sites in Ghana, the country would become the preferred tourist destination in the Africa.

“We can learn some lessons from what we saw to boost tourism in Ghana. My first impression was the roads leading to these places. They have such good roads. Ghana has much more interesting places but they are not well developed. For instance the Wli waterfalls, our castles, the sites are not well developed. The roads leading to the place are not even good enough to attract people so let’s develop our site and we will make Ghana one of the tourism destinations in the world.”

One of the patrons said: “One of the things that really caught my attention was the tourism attraction. The people of Mauritius do not really have many resources that we do [in Ghana] so mainly they have sugarcane and they have the sea. And they are able to package this so well that people across the world come to have a boat cruise on the sea to generate some good revenue for the country. I think this is one of the things we can emulate and we can inculcate in our system back at home.”

“From what we’ve seen so far from the trip, we want to humbly submit to government to take the following actions: one there must be a deliberate action to invest in the tourism sector and infrastructure,” another patron added.

“I think Mauritius is a wonderful place, to me they have the sought of discipline that we lack in Ghana. Some of the things I think we can incorporate in our lifestyles is the orderliness on our roads. I think another major thing is respecting our tourist site. We always are inviting people to come and visit us in Ghana but what is there to see? So we need to respect our tourist places and make it look nice enough for people to want to come and visit. And lastly you can’t visit a place when the road is bad. So fix the roads too,” another patron said.

The South and its charms

While in Mauritius participants had an experience of their lifetime cruising on the Indian Ocean, a visit to the Hindu Temple, Chameral waterfall, Trau aux Cerf Crater [dormant volcano site], Seven coloured Earths among others.

They also took part in some water sporting activities and were also treated to good live band music.

They later were flown to Johannesburg for the final part of the leisure trip.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Kojo Agyeman/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post #BigJulyGetAway patrons want Ghana’s tourism sector developed appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The trip began last Sunday, July 23, 2017 with the participants spending five days on the Island of Mauritius touring and exploring the beautiful water bodies and other tourist sites in that country.

While in Mauritius participants had an experience of their lifetime cruising on the Indian Ocean. They also visited the Hindu Temple, Chameral waterfall, Trau aux Cerf Crater [dormant volcano site], Seven coloured Earths among others.

They also on Thursday took part in some water sporting activities and were also treated to good live band music later in the evening.

They were on Friday flown to Johannesburg for the final part of the trip.

Participants on Saturday were chauffeured to the Mall of Africa where they spent six hours shopping.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post #BigJulyGetAway Day 7: Patrons head to Accra today appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

They have been in Mauritius since Monday touring and exploring the beautiful tourist sites and beautiful water bodies in that country.

The patrons will spend two nights at Johannesburg before returning to Accra on Sunday, July 30.

They have since Monday been to some interesting places in Mauritius, including a cruise on the Indian Ocean, the Hindu Temple, Chameral waterfall, Trau aux Cerf Crater [dormant volcano site], Seven colored Earths among others.

They also, on Thursday, took part in some water sporting activities and were also treated to a live band music later in the evening.

The trip which began on July 23, 2017, will end on Sunday, July 30.

Videos from the trip so far can be viewed here

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post #BigJulyGetAway participants leave Mauritius for Joburg appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The dance moves displayed by the BigJulyGetAway patrons attracted other tourists who also joined the fun on the dance floor.

The live band music was part of activities to round up the first half of the #BigJulyGetAway in Mauritius.

Patrons will later on Friday fly to South Africa to continue with the second part of the 7-day trip.

They have since Monday been engaging in a variety of interesting activities in Mauritius, including a cruise on the Indian Ocean and tours to the Hindu Temple, Chameral waterfall, Trau aux Cerf Crater, Seven Colored Earths among others all in Mauritius.

The trip which began on July 23, 2017 will end on Sunday, July 30.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post #BigJulyGetAway Day 4: Patrons ‘boogie’ to live band music in Mauritius [Video] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

As the maiden edition of the BigJulyGetAway enters day three today [Wednesday], the team will be embarking on a full day excursion of some interesting scenic places on the Mauritius Island.

The 38 patrons will be driven through some principal streets of the capital of Mauritius, Port Loius, where some 150,000 people out of the 1.3 million Mauritian population reside.

The excursion dubbed “The South and its Charms” will also take participants to volcano site and a further tour of some high lands where soothing weather patterns provide a nice view of the southern and northern parts of the Mauritius Island.

Patrons will also have the opportunity to visit some Mauritian industries and temples as well as the villages.

The BigJulyGetAway which is a 7-day leisure trip to South Africa and Mauritius began last Sunday, July 23, 2017 and is expected to end on July 30.

Patrons are currently lodged at the posh Revenala Attitude hotel and will move to South Africa on Friday.
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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post #BigJulyGetAway Day three: It’s excursion day today appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.