Content: Marketing South Africa as a tourism destination
The importance of marketing South Africa internationally
International marketing ensures that South Africa competes in and taps into a highly competitive marketplace
The key objectives of marketing South Africa as a tourist destination are to:
Increase in annual volume of foreign arrivals in SA
Successful marketing will lead to an increase in tourist arrivals – or the volume of tourists visiting the country
Successful marketing can encourage repeat visits - inform previous visitors of new developments, activities and attractions
Successful marketing sets the multiplier effect into motion
Increasing tourist numbers (volume) is essential for the tourism industry to continue to create jobs and contribute to GDP growth
Increase in international awareness of SA as a travel destination
Marketing showcases the attractiveness of South Africa
Marketing creates awareness of a destination with respect to the type of destination it is (destination characteristics) and what it offers
Marketing campaigns can address the lack of information and target key tourist segments with specific information
Marketing creates a positive image of South Africa
Marketing increases the possibility of inbound tourists considering South Africa as an attractive destination of choice
The core business of SATourism
SATourism is the national tourism agency responsible for marketing South Africa as a destination internationally and domestically
The core business of SATourism is:
Marketing South Africa internationally as a tourism destination of choice
SATourism travels to different countries (Road Shows) to promote and market SA internationally
SATourism also undertakes a number of marketing activities by advertising on: buses and taxis in major cities around the world; huge billboards; printed media; on-line; social media; popular global TV stations such as BBC, Aljazeera or CNN and participates in major travel shows both locally and internationally
SATourism opens publicity offices abroad
SATourism markets the South African tourism product as a value-for-money destination
Showcases the various tourism products and services available in South Africa
Creates opportunities for role players in South Africa to network with international role players
Creates investment opportunities for tourism professionals on an international platform
In order to ensure that the marketing budget is used effectively, SA Tourism divides the international market into segments to identify the most important markets on which to focus. SATourism categorises market segments as core markets (South Africa’s main tourist markets and where South African Tourism spends considerable resources), investment markets, tactical markets, watch-list markets, strategic importance and strategic air links/hubs (Definitions of each of these markets are given in your Tourism textbook)
Maintaining and enhancing the standard of facilities and services for tourists
In order for SATourism to market SA, tourism businesses must be able to deliver on the marketing promise e.g. the quality of the offering and the standards of facilities and service
The Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA), which operates as a business unit of SATourism grades tourism businesses e.g. guest houses, according to the experience they offer with a star grading that ranges from one to five stars. This is an indication to tourists of the type of facilities and services they can expect to receive from the graded establishment
SATourism together with the TGCSA, launched the Lilizela Tourism Awards in 2013 to recognise and reward excellence in tourism. The Service Excellence focus area has three categories, namely Accommodation Awards, Tourist Guides Awards and Visitor Experience Awards. In the Entrepreneurship category, the Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Award (ETEYA) is given to black entrepreneurs, who operate small, micro and medium tourism or hospitality-related businesses. The Universal Accessibility Awards and the B-BBEE Awards recognise businesses that have proven to incorporate sustainable development into their businesses
Coordinating the marketing activities of role players in the industry
All role players (e.g. independent businesses, local and provincial tourism agencies, private sector tourism associations) in the tourism industry must align their marketing activities and messages in the international tourism market to the marketing strategy of SATourism. This will ensure that potential tourists get a clear message about South Africa as a destination
SATourism also helps to package special offers by working with the trade (tour operators and travel agents) that caters for the identified target markets and segments
Opportunities for marketing SA internationally
ITB is one of the best-known and most established travel trade shows in the world
Held in March each year, in Berlin, Germany
10 000 exhibitors from 180 countries
The ITB Convention, a major travel conference, is held at the same time as the expo. This is where people in the tourism industry meet to discuss new trends and developments in the industry
This major global travel show is one of the main travel shows that SATourism attends each year. South African tourism businesses and organisations also attend it in their individual capacity
WTM is another major global travel show where many travel deals are made
Like ITB, it is predominantly a B2B (business to-business) show. World Travel Market has a strict admission policy and is open to travel industry professionals only and not the general public
WTM is held over four days in London in November each year
It attracts senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press
The travel show aims to create opportunities for a wide variety of people from the global travel trade to meet, negotiate and conduct business under one roof
A conference is held at the same time as the show South Africa has a number of exhibitors at WTM each year. This includes SATourism, which uses the platform to market to the UK and other outbound tour operators
SATourism markets South Africa at these international travel shows through:
Attractive and eye-catching displays of all 9 provinces at the South African Tourism stands
Brochures, DVDs and proudly South African branded hand outs
Personnel manning the stand answer questions about South Africa
Networking with other international role players and promoting the South African brand image to these role players
Presentations on South African products and services
Funding for SATourism’s international marketing initiatives: the role of Tourism Marketing Levy South Africa
TOMSA stands for Tourism Levy South Africa
TOMSA is a private sector initiative created to raise additional funds for marketing South Africa
TOMSA collects a 1% Tourism Levy, voluntarily paid by customers, from participating tourism businesses e.g. tour operators, car rental companies and accommodation establishments
The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) administers TOMSA and ensures that the collected funds are given to SATourism for marketing
The concept: branding South Africa’s brand logo
Branding: The marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets.
To promote uniformity, the International Marketing Council (IMC) of South Africa also known as Brand South Africa, developed a logo that appears on all marketing undertaken by South African Tourism. The private sector may also use the logo
The South African flag is an internationally recognised representation associated with SA
It is part of the marketing strategy of SATourism to create awareness of the brand
SATourism uses the brand logo to make South Africa more visible as an attractive tourist destination
A recognisable global brand inspires positive thoughts and feelings about the country which will convince people to travel to South Africa
A strong brand positions our country as an attractive destination partner for trade and investment
This brand helps create a positive, unified image of South Africa
Introduction to the Tourism Indaba travel trade show and the Getaway show as opportunities to promote South Africa and the southern African region to the world
Indaba is one of the largest tourism marketing events on the African continent
It is owned and organised by SATourism
The show is held in May each year at the International Convention Centre in Durban
The show attracts more than 13 000 delegates and attracts exhibitors from the private sector (large companies), tourism associations, government departments, provincial, municipal tourism organisations and tourism marketing authorities from the SADC countries
An important part of the show is that SATourism creates networking and trade opportunities by bringing tour operators from the main international markets to the show to view products and conclude deals
The Getaway Show is a consumer show and therefore open to the public
Its focus is on domestic and regional travel and the main segments it targets are nature, outdoor and adventure travel
The show has over 400 exhibitors including destinations, accommodation, outdoor gear, 4x4 products, caravans, camping equipment and adventure operators
It takes place in the Cape (in March) and Gauteng (in August/September) and each show runs for three days
The two shows together attract about 38 000 visitors and around 700 exhibitors
