WHEN TNW released
the findings from its
tourism authorities
survey last year, it was clear
that agents felt there was
room for improvement in
terms of the service delivery
that authorities provided. In
response to this, tourism
authorities have implemented
a number of proactive
initiatives over the past year.
Since its inception in March
2015, the TCA Abu Dhabi in
South Africa has arranged
eight educational trips to Abu
Dhabi, hosting over 100 travel
trade and MICE delegates,
says Jean Martins, country
manager of the Tourism and
Culture Authority (TCA) of Abu
Dhabi. TCA Abu Dhabi’s key
focus this year was ensuring
it positioned the Abu Dhabi
product in such a way that it
remained attractive for South
African travellers. The tourism
authority has a dedicated
trade executive who trains the
retail and wholesale trade and
incentive travel staff about
Abu Dhabi. “We arrange, on
average, six training sessions
per week and urge travel
trade agencies to contact
us should they require any
training,” says Jean.
The depreciating rand has
significantly reduced South
Africans’ spending power
and had a negative effect on
travel to most international
destinations, says Jean.
Instead of admitting defeat,
TCA Abu Dhabi saw it
as a way to improve its
service delivery. “We saw
the opportunity for us to
increase awareness about
the destination and its status
as an affordable and easyto-access
destination for
South Africans with varied
interests.”
In the last quarter of 2015
going into 2016, the weak
rand was also cause for
concern for the Seychelles
Tourism Board (STB), says
David Germain, director of
Africa and the Americas. “We
were concerned it would have
a negative impact on potential
travellers to Seychelles from
South Africa.”
Air Seychelles also recently
increased the number of
flights on the South African
route – from three to five
weekly flights – creating
pressure on the tourism
authority to maintain
flights on the sector. To
counteract its concerns,
the authority, aggressively
started marketing the
Seychelles in South Africa
and Africa earlier than usual
in 2016. The STB’s main
focus was showing the trade
that Seychelles, despite
perceptions, is accessible
to people with all types of
budgets.
“We took part in new
tourism activities in South
Africa and Africa and we
extended our marketing
efforts in the regional African
countries that have good air
access to South Africa and
same-day connections with
Air Seychelles to Seychelles,”
says David.
Growing traveller
numbers
Although Thailand is well
known as an affordable
destination for South Africans,
the Tourism Authority of
Thailand has also found that
it has had to put greater
emphasis on its cost-effective
reputation at both consumer
and trade shows. “We have
focused more strongly on
creating an awareness
regarding the travel
experience that Thailand
provides to holiday-goers as a
whole. We have also ensured
that travel agents and tourists
are increasingly aware of
lower-priced off-season
travel packages, says Lesley
Simpson spokesperson of the
Tourism Authority of Thailand
in South Africa.
Highlighting Thailand’s
affordability has proved
successful for the authority
and it has seen an increase
in the number of South
Africans travelling to the
destination: “In fact year to
date, we can proudly report
that statistically we are up
12% on last year’s figures,”
says Lesley.
The Mauritius Tourism
Promotion Authority (MTPA) on
the other hand has targeted
the high-end of the market.
“They are less likely to be
affected by the financial
challenges caused by a
volatile rand,” says Devendra
Babooa, research and
development manager of the
Mauritius Tourism Promotion
Authority. The MTPA and its
local agency in South Africa
are working closely together
to effectively address current
challenges and increase
growth in numbers of those
travelling to Mauritius, in a
fun, exciting and informative
way. The 2016 winter season
strategy includes a focus
on trek, trail and marathons
in July to discover the
inland treasures; Mauritian
gastronomy in August,
including a Rum festival
and international culinary
event around game cooking;
followed by focus on cycling in
Mauritius in September.
Tourism Ireland has placed
focus on advising travel
agents and their clients that
the Republic of Ireland and
Northern Ireland offer real
value for money, says Helen
Fraser, pr spokesperson
of Tourism Ireland. “South
Africans don’t require a
visa to visit the Republic of
Ireland, the VAT on tourism
and hospitality has also been
reduced from 13,5% to 9%
and air travel tax for travellers
departing the Republic has
been abolished,” she says.
South Africans can also save
money by doing a self-drive
holiday or by making use of
the public transport and the
many affordable bed-andbreakfast
establishments,
Helen adds.
The authority hosts a fully
funded annual ‘mega fam trip’
for two travel agents who are
chosen through a lucky draw.
Agents who complete Tourism
Ireland’s comprehensive
online training via the
authority’s Ireland Specialists
programme are entered into
the draw. The fam trip is
expected to take place in
August this year.
How to combat misperceptions
ANOTHER challenge in growing
international travel is counteracting
the existing perceptions South African
travellers have of each destination.
“A big challenge is bringing the
message across that Abu Dhabi is
more than a stopover destination,”
says TCA Abu Dhabi’s Jean Martins.
She adds that a large part of changing
this perception comes in addressing
the belief that Abu Dhabi offers the
same as Dubai. “Although both are
part of the UAE, Abu Dhabi offers
completely different experiences,”
she says.
TCA Abu Dhabi addressed this issue
by running marketing campaigns,
including a radio campaign in Cape
Town, Johannesburg and Durban to
showcase Abu Dhabi as more than
a stopover destination, as well as a
specific niche marketing campaign
around golf packages to Abu Dhabi.
“We’ve taken part in MICE and trade
events like the World Leisure Holidays
Roadshow, WTM Africa 2016 and the
Travel Counsellors annual conference.
Our first roadshow held in September
2015, reached over 600 agents
countrywide,” says Jean.
The authority has also been placing
significant emphasis on forming joint
marketing projects with tour operators
in order to promote Abu Dhabi as both
a holiday and MICE destination.
Another incorrect perception that the
South African travel trade has, is that a
visit to Thailand can be summed up by
travelling to Phuket, says TAT’s Lesley
Simpson. However, Thailand comprises
76 provinces that travellers can choose
to visit. “It has been our objective this
year to promote as many other regions
as possible, including Chiang Mai and
Chiang Rai in the north and national
parks such as Kho Sok and Hua Hin,
an optional beach destination. We’ve
also been putting greater focus on
promoting lesser known islands such
as the Similan Islands on the west
coast (easy access from Phuket and
Kho Lak); Kho Lanta on the south west
and Kho Chang on the east coast close
to Cambodia.”
The authority has also focused on
using the workshop platforms available
on Travelinfo and by contributing
towards agent educationals, having
sponsored nine group trips to Thailand
in the last year.
TAT has also made use of various
platforms to promote itself this year.
These included WTM Africa where TAT
hosted six Thai suppliers, including
Destination Asia, Centara Hotels,
Amari in Phuket and Zeavola Resort
on Phi Phi Island. This platform
proved successful in combating the
perceptions about Thailand and has
encouraged the tourism authority
to explore other ways of servicing
the trade and promoting itself. “A
good example of this would be our
collaboration with STA Travel this
year, where we contributed towards
the branding of local tuk-tuks in
Johannesbrg. Ultimately our plan with
this project is for TAT South Africa to
have its own original tuk-tuk imported
into South Africa for promotional
use, which effectively brands the
organisation in a uniquely innovative
way,” says Lesly.
Top tips for trade
THOZI Zwane, travel expert at
Flight Centre Bedford Square,
shares his top tips for dealing with
tourism authorities:
Always be nice to whoever
you’re speaking to. People are
more willing to help you with
information when the person they
are speaking to is friendly.
Tourism authorities are a great
contact for info you can’t get
from a tour operator – I suggest
using them for unconventional
requests from clients.
Specialist packages give agents the edge
TOURISM boards are increasingly
asked to offer direct assistance to the
public. Tourism Malaysia says although
this shift is small, it is, however, a
recurring issue the authority has tried
to address by working with the trade. To
overcome a drop in sales, some travel
agents have opted to work exclusively
with Tourism Malaysia to assist them to
redevelop their packages, rethink their
ideas and strategies on promotions
and add new in-demand products to
their itineraries that they have not
promoted in the past, says Khairul
Nizam Bin Zakaria, director of Tourism
Malaysia Johannesburg. Specialist
packages are the only way travel
agents seem to gain a foothold and
demand in the market as the traditional
simple packages can now be booked
online by the clients themselves at
prices that are cheaper than those
the agents have to offer. “The more
you have to offer, the more value for
money you create for your clients and
positive word of mouth will play a role
in marketing your products thereafter,”
says Khairul.
Adapting to the digital age
IN AN age where the growing
influence of mobile phone usage
and social media offers alternative
information channels to the
travel agent and client, tourism
authorities have had to adapt their
communication methods to stay
relevant.
TCA Abu Dhabi South Africa
keeps itself current with online
platforms such as its website www.
visitabudhabi.ae and its interactive
tourist app, Visit Abu Dhabi, which
was upgraded in April this year.
“We also use the Development
Promotions Facebook page to
promote Abu Dhabi destination
news and we are very active in
the PR domain.
“We distribute content not only in
the mainstream and trade press,
but also through the blogs of retail
and wholesale travel partners,”
says the authority’s Jean Martin.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand
has recently launched an online
bi-monthly TAT newsletter, which has
received a very positive response
so far. The authority also has a
Facebook page and makes its
literature and brochures available
for order through this channel or
through Travelinfo.
The Mauritius Tourism Promotion
Authority has implemented a
social media and digital strategy
to respond to demands of the
trade and consumers and recently
launched Facebook and Twitter
accounts for the SA market.
“Our Ireland.com website is very
user-friendly and features all local
tour operators’ packages.
“We are very active with updates
on social media and regular ezines,”
says Tourism Ireland’s Helen Fraser.
Going the extra mile
with the procedure for transferring
meat into the country. “The
satisfied client was on the plane
to Seychelles the following week,”
he says.
In October 2015 TCA Abu
Dhabi received a call from an
anxious Flight Centre agent who
was querying a visa that had not
arrived for a client travelling the
next day.
“Although we are not responsible
for issuing visas, we made a call
to our contact at TTS visa services
in Abu Dhabi and managed to
get the visa issued in time,”
says Jean Martins. The tourism
authority, with the help of a
designated DMC, also assisted
Carlson Wagonlit Travel MICE in
drawing up an incentive itinerary,
within budget, for one of its major
banking clients, he adds.
In another instance, a family
already in Kuala Lumpur called
their agent for advice: they wanted
to know the most affordable way
of travelling to Sunway Lagoon
theme park from Seri Pacific
Hotel. The agent called Tourism
Malaysia and the authority advised
the travellers to take the light rail
transit (LRT) outside the hotel
from Putra World Trade Centre
station to Masjid Jamek station,
then to take the Rapid KL LRT
(Kelana Jaya Line) all the way to
the end of the rail line (Kelana
Jaya Station). The family was
then advised to use the bus,
which only cost RM1 (R3,66), to
Sunway Pyramid where the theme
park is based.
The same family requested
assistance to get to Genting
Highlands resort. Tourism
Malaysia established their location
and discovered they were within
walking distance of Pekeliling bus
station where buses travelling to
the resort operate one way every
30 minutes for RM15 (R55). The
authority advised the family to get
maps from the hotel they were
staying at, which then directed
them to the bus station.
