GEORGE NEWS - In an ever-changing tourism environment in which everything from technological advances and recession to terrorism and global warming play a role, the need for a broad approach to tourism marketing is essential to ensure that George remain top of mind in all potential markets.
Travel is a much-needed respite from daily life, which the local tourism trade should make the most of by offering genuine, meaningful and memorable travel escapes and holiday experiences.
It is crucial for destinations and marketers to understand the human psyche and to present moments of inspiration to travellers through effective marketing, good storytelling and visually creative travel propositions for leisure and business.
Seeking South Africans
Even in tough times, the Garden Route continues to attract a good proportion of domestic travellers and George tourism, hospitality and related businesses should capitalise on this.
Financial consultants Grant Thornton has reported that insufficient domestic leisure demand was one of the significant factors that affected business performance in the past few years. The current economic climate, inflation, and the increasing cost of living means the average South African will think twice about taking a leisure trip, or if they do, choose an 'exotic' budget overseas destination instead of a perceived more expensive local destination.
Value-for-money packages and a compelling proposition, targeted at people who may benefit from George's convenient location as a tourism base in a safe and beautiful environment, are required.
The domestic market - in particular the regional domestic market from other parts of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape - is of great importance to the George area and must remain a focus area for sustained tourism growth.
Something old, something new
Like the rest of the Western Cape, George has relied heavily on arrivals from the United Kingdom and Western Europe in the past. The tourists have appreciated the area's unique mix of European history and culture, African contemporary lifestyles and natural beauty, with the proximity of Cape Town and the sea being contributing factors. However, the shift in global power from the West to the East and persistent economic pressure on our traditional markets have affected tourism arrivals and will continue to influence tourism growth.
While the traditional tourism market will continue to constitute most arrivals, and should always be targeted in terms of marketing, the local industry must look towards new international markets and the expansion of the domestic market for sustained growth. This means we must investigate suitable marketing partnerships and start building demand for George in association with Wesgro, South African Tourism and other partners.
Some of the focus should shift to emerging Asian and Latin American as well as African markets, for which George must consider specific approaches to position itself.
The fact that consumers are now directly involved in their own travel decisions, and the increased role of the internet, social media and related word-of-mouth recommendations, give smaller and niche destinations a much better opportunity to compete with established destinations - for a fraction of the budget. It does, however, require a whole new approach. therefore George Tourism will break away from traditional destination marketing and take the region into a new era with innovative, cost-effective marketing done in partnership with the private sector and specialised agencies.
We will place the local citizen and traveller at the centre of the stories we share with the world to inspire them to visit us. We will transform the way we deal with visitor information, taking information to the visitor with technology and digital communication.
George's proximity to Cape Town via the N2 and George Airport provides us with the opportunity to collaborate with the tourism role players in Cape Town. For visitors, municipal boundaries are meaningless and irrelevant, and many see George and surrounding towns along the Garden Route as one destination. There is a need for better participation between the tourism entities of the different local towns to maximise marketing opportunities.
Effective tourism marketing of a destination such as George will not only result in more visitors, but more investment, more sustainable jobs and ultimately a better place to live for the people of the entire region. George Tourism intends forming stronger bonds with the private sector and entering into a relationship with a representative local tourism organisation to strengthen marketing initiatives and co-fund special projects.
The future lies in communities
George Tourism's long-term strategy foresees the development of new and interesting attractions, coupled with a strong marketing campaign, stronger community tourism products and dispersal of visitors beyond the traditional tourism sites to include lesser-known areas.
George Tourism will work with local communities to unlock the unique selling points and stories of different towns and townships and package these experiences in an attractive way that will encourage visitors to explore George beyond the obvious and well-established tourism routes.
Building a demand for alternative tourism experiences in the region will be a priority and is the forerunner to continued and sustainable tourism development.
Article: George Tourism Manager, Joan Shaw
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