South African tourism has been suffering in recent months and the country is trying to develop specific new strategies which will help target tourists from other African countries.
Last year, the World Cup brought millions of visitors to South Africa; such a dose of international attention is highly desirable for any African economy and SA was clearly benefiting from the tournament.
However, this year’s statistics bring no positive news and Mr Phumi Dhlomo, who is the SA regional director for Africa and domestic markets, works hard with his team on developing a new strategy, which will specifically target tourists from other African countries. The countries in question are mainly Kenya, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola.
Mr Dhlomo and his team are trying to monitor these regional markets and aim to establish what type of tourists to approach and how to form the new marketing strategy. It appears the emerging middle class is very promising; featuring travelers often in their mid-30s and older, whose interests very often include an appetite for adventure and freedom, interest in networking and quality nightlife.
Mr Dhlomo and his team have been working with several research groups to analyze the needs of tourists from each target region. The goal for SA is to offer a diversity of packages tailor-made for each target group in order to raise the frequency of visit as well as the average length of stay of each tourist.
Many African countries are realizing their immense tourist potential and are trying to focus on establishing their own target groups and regions which will certainly help improve their marketing and promotion efforts.
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