|
The South African tourism industry gathered in the Northern Cape
at the end of September to celebrate
World Tourism Day, concluding a month-long series of events and activities
aimed at encouraging
South Africans to travel domestically.
News from Newtown
Celebrations for South Africa’s Tourism Month 2009 got underway in
August in Newtown,
Johannesburg, where the Minister of Tourism,
Marthinus van Schalkwyk revealed a host
of new marketing
initiatives,
aimed at boosting Domestic travel.
The Minister began by stressing the contribution of domestic tourism to growing the economy,
fuelling industry competitiveness
and creating sustainable jobs, before announcing 3 new
private-public partnerships in support of South African Tourism’s Sho’t
Left campaign.
New JMA’s
The Sho’t Left campaign focuses specifically on encouraging South Africans to travel locally and explore their own country.
New JMA partners, the Peermont Hotel group, Flight Centre and Computicket Travel, have come onboard to offer new,
hassle-free, competitively-priced channels through which more South Africans can travel to more places, more often.
Ten for Gauteng
The Minister also announced the launch of a Sho’t Left billboard campaign. Ten billboards are being rolled-out at strategic, high
visibility locations around Gauteng. The giant advertisements will make a significant visual impact in the province that is the greatest
source market for domestic tourists, by stimulating ‘Gautengers’ to travel Mzansi.
Written on the city
The aim of the billboards is to communicate creatively with Sho’t Left’s young and upcoming target market, and bring another
dimension to South African Tourism’s 360˚ domestic marketing campaigns, which include outdoor marketing.
The billboards are adjunct to the 2 funky graffiti-style Sho’t Left art murals on display in Johannesburg, next to Sophiatown, a restaurant
in Newtown; and in Durban, at The Cube in Innes Road, where they enliven the city’s urban spaces with the call to action of ‘go on
a Sho't Left - it is easy, affordable fun with friends’.
Way forward
The Minister also announced that the Department of Tourism has embarked on a process to formulate a comprehensive tourism
sector strategy for the country, and he launched the Department of Tourism’s new website.
Global celebration
Tourism Month culminated in World Tourism Day celebrations, hosted in Kimberley in the Northern Cape on 29 September. UNWTO’s
Tourism Day celebration theme this year was Tourism Celebrating Diversity.
World Tourism Day celebrates the positive impact of the tourism sector on world economies as well as on improving the lives of people.
In South Africa, although it’s estimated that tourism contributes about 8% to the GDP, and creates about 1-million jobs both
directly and indirectly, it is one of the least transformed sectors of our economy.
Transforming tourism
Initiatives like the Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (ETEYA) seek to address this in a sustainable way, and, to wit,
the 2009/10 Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (ETEYA) 9 provincial finalists were announced at the celebrations.
The Welcome Awards, seek to encourage and reward South Africa’s best performing tourism businesses from a product innovation
and customer care perspective, and in so doing, instil a culture of Service Excellence at all levels, and across all sectors of the local
tourism industry. Entries for the 2009/10 Welcome Awards close on 30 November 2009.
In closing World Tourism Day celebrations, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Ms Tokozile Xasa drove home the message that, by travelling
at home, all South Africans could contribute meaningfully to the tourism industry, its competitiveness, and to local economic growth
and job creation ahead of, and beyond, 2010.
LINKS:
Department of Tourism: www.tourism.gov.za
Shot Left: www.southafrica.net/shotleft
ETEYA: www.southafrica.net/eteya.
Welcome Awards: www.southafrica.net/welcomeawards or contact South African Tourism’s Call Centre on 083 1236789.
|
