Greater intra-Africa Tourism is a win for everyone

OOn 10^th March 2018, leading travel agents from 19 African countries will travel to Johannesburg, South Africa to participate in a travel trade workshop, conduct business and close deals with South Africa’s accommodation, attractions, tour operators, Destination Marketing Companies, the National Conventions Bureau, Africa’s Travel Indaba, and Provincial Tourism Authorities.

Evelyn Mahlaba, Regional General Manager for the Africa region at South African Tourism states that the workshop is a business to business destination marketing platform that will introduce travel buyers from the rest of the continent to South African travel leisure and business events products and services that consumers are demanding.

“This platform provides buyers with access to key products and services and an opportunity to negotiate business partnerships, favourable packages, and discounts. This in turn leads to buyers attracting new clients and providing additional value to existing clients,” says Mahlaba. 

Newly-appointed president of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated, during his State of the Nation Address, government’s commitment to enhance tourism by taking further measures to reduce regulatory barriers. As an industry that currently sustains 700,000 direct jobs and is performing better than most other growth sectors, the president stated that there will be enhanced support for destination marketing in key tourism markets and emerging tourism businesses will be developed.

In implementing transformation and economic inclusivity, enabling new players’ sustainable involvement in the tourism sector becomes key for South Africa. South African Tourism continuously forge partnerships with various organisations that provide local SMMEs in the tourism sector with intensive training, mentoring, and upskilling required to grow their businesses. We also provide market access opportunities for these businesses through strategic exhibitions and trade workshops.

To this end, of the 80 South African Product Owners exhibiting at the workshop, 50% are Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs).

The consumers are ultimately the ones who benefit from exclusive, all-inclusive travel deals that are affordable and easily accessible, facilitating a memorable holiday experience in South Africa.

The 110 travel trade buyers are from Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The group, which is the largest ever from the continent, is made up of leading travel agencies whose arsenal consists of expert travel and market knowledge, quality services, and a noteworthy client base.

“South African Tourism in collaboration with the host province, Gauteng, is eager to welcome these high quality travel buyers from the rest of the continent to Johannesburg. Gauteng, synonymous with the indomitable spirit of those fortune hunters that came to the city in search of gold, is rich in cultural and historical experiences and stories. As a cosmopolitan destination with great infrastructure, Gauteng has a lot to offer both leisure and business event travellers. Whether you visit Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg, Sedibeng, West Rand, or Tshwane, you will leave the province with memorable experiences. Through initiatives such as this trade workshop, we hope to make further inroads into achieving our 5-in-5 goal of attracting five million more tourists by 2021.” says Sthembile Dlamini, the Chief Operating Officer at South African Tourism.  

The buyers will be returning home on the 18^th March after participating in familiarisation trips across South Africa that will see the group explore the following provinces; Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Eastern Cape, and Western Cape. The trips arm buyers with personal experiences that they can expertly package and sell to the discerning African traveller. Furthermore, in this, the year marking the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, the agents will have the opportunity to walk in Madiba’s footsteps, visiting some of the sites around South Africa where this global icon left his indelible mark.

As an increasingly popular holiday and conventions destination, South Africa offers travellers inspiring historical culture, vibrant people, entertaining nightlife, shopping, urban precincts, family fun, beautiful places, wine routes, delicious cuisine, untouched wildlife, beaches, and unique spa treatments.

Mahlaba adds, “The buyers are given access to various destination marketing tools, support, and training that has long-term impact, ensuring that they are correctly positioned to successfully service their clients.”

The diverse service offerings include account management; SA Specialist training; regular product updates; trade workshops and trade roadshows; trade and marketing services; Joint Marketing Agreements that have a very strong call to action; and trade familiarization/educational trips to South Africa for a first-hand experience of what to sell to consumers.

For more information on this project and/or any other South African Tourism travel trade activities specific to the Africa market, email africatrade@southafrica.net. To keep up to date with the familiarisation experiences, check out the hashtag, #MeetSouthAfrica.

ENDS