South Africa’s Tourism Radio, a location-based radio station that uses audio to guide tourists has partnered with Diners Club S.A, a charge card firm to produce mobile app travel guides into South Africa’s most visited cities with a focus on Diners Club Wine List Award restaurants.
The guides dubbed the Diners Club SA Travel Guide, cover Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth and run on Tourism Radio’s White Label audio and text travel guide content. Diners Club supplied content on the award-winning restaurants.
The free apps for iPhone and Android enable Diners Club customers to find places they want to visit and list of restaurants to dine from. They can also be used by Diners Club suppliers or clients for branding, to reach Diners Club customers on their smartphones.
According to Ebrahim Matthews, Diners Club MD in a statement: “Always on the lookout for ways to enhance our members’ experience, we welcome the opportunity to use new applications and social media. By using new technologies and mediums to facilitate conversations among members we can help them to share and enjoy new experiences.”
“Our investment in smart phone applications, like the Diners Club Travel Guide, offers new ways to enhance our members’ passion for exploring and experiencing the finer things in life,” Mathews added.
Diners Club South Africa began 1949 when businessman Frank McNamara arranged a dinner with guests at Major’s Cabin Grill, a New York City restaurant. Once dinner was over, Frank realized he had left his wallet in his other suit. Luckily, the restaurant owner knew him and let him leave his business card as an IOU. He resolved never to face this embarrassment again.
In February 1950, Frank McNamara and his partner Ralph Schneider returned to Major’s Cabin Grill. When the bill came, Frank presented a small cardboard card (a Diners Club Card) and signed for the meal. In the card industry, this event is known as the First Supper and in 1955 the Diners Club Card became the first charge card accepted by airlines.
Since then Diners Club International is now global brand with the world’s first charge card and has been issued 200 countries and accepted by 14 million establishments globally.
