industry news May 2012

Cape Town Tourism strengthens alliances

CEO of Cape Town Tourism, Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold, Acting CEO of the Johannesburg Tourism Company, Phelisa Mangcu, and CEO of Durban Tourism, Phillip Sithole signing the Three Cities Alliance. Image © Cape Town Tourism

After hitting the ground running with a trip to Indaba 2012, I am pausing to write to you and let you know that I am back from maternity leave. I would like to thank my executive team, in particular Enver Duminy, for steering the ship so well in my absence. I have been allowed to enjoy time with my new daughter and return energised in the way that a change of pace will inspire.

There have been some exciting developments in my absence. Not least of these is the official confirmation that Table Mountain now holds a confirmed place as one of the New7Wonders of Nature and is, as such, forever etched into the history books as an international icon.

Cape Town Tourism is also proud to be a member of the Three Cities Tourism Alliance, which was formally signed into being at Tourism Indaba 2012. We are encouraged by the endorsement and support from South African Tourism and look forward to working with our national partners in attracting a larger share of the world’s urban travellers.

It is through this sort of engagement that coastal cities, Cape Town and Durban, have signed a partnership deal with National Geographic worldwide across several platforms, including online, print and a multi-national television deal, to expose the unexpected urban experience these port cities offer. We recently hosted presenter and blogger Andrew Evans (the Digital Nomad) and the National Geographic crew in the Mother City, as they explored the unexpected Cape Town.

Our winter marketing campaign has kicked off under the theme "Discover Why Cape Town Warms Up in Winter", and showcases the Mother City's incredible winter offering through events and exceptional value-for-money packages aimed specifically at the domestic market to counter seasonality.

Moving into the new financial year, Cape Town Tourism will be launching an integrated digital campaign to further market the destination across this highly targeted and increasingly relevant platform. But more on that later…

I look forward to connecting with you at one of our networking events, but until then you are welcome to share your experiences and ideas with me at any time. I value your insight, professionalism and passion to make Cape Town a remarkable city in which to live, play, visit, study, work and invest. Read more.

Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold
CEO: Cape Town Tourism

Marketing services update

April saw the conclusion of the National Geographic marketing campaign and the start of its rollout.

The National Geographic TV crew filmed a documentary in Cape Town, and the digital campaign, under the direction of National Geographic’s Digital Nomad Andrew Evans, concluded successfully. Andrew's visit to Cape Town generated a significant buzz on social media and on his blog.

We had a good media month, with a return on investment (ROI) of almost R2.4-million. This high return was largely due to the National Geographic campaign. In addition, we can now boast the top brand Facebook page in South Africa, which also contributed positively to the impressive ROI.

Moreover, April saw us hosting a successful l industry feedback session, commencing with the roll-out of the Cape Town Toolkit and finalising our Summer Survey.

We also hosted a group of international journalists during the ABSA Cape Epic mountain bike race and had a strong presence at the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon.

In addition, we launched our Winter campaign across media platforms and maintained a strong presence at Indaba.  

Escape to the Cape wins national award

Escape to the Cape's Shaheed Ebrahim. Photo © Shaheed Ebrahim

Cape Town Tourism member Escape to the Cape won the coveted 2012 Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the 2012 Tourism Indaba. The award is handed out each year by South African Tourism to honour emerging businesses that showcase tourism and innovation.

A tour company "specialising in luxury tours at affordable prices", Escape to the Cape is owned and run by Shaheed Ebrahim. Says Shaheed, "This award not only raises my platform as a business but also paves the way for other opportunities, which will help me to continue to offer a quality and innovative service. The media exposure has been great, which will hopefully translate into sales. Winning this award means not only more exposure to a different markets, but it also means the hard work starts now as there is a very high expectation. I will have to be more innovative."

Shaheed founded Escape to the Cape just over two years ago and his passion for tourism has seen his business grow. Thanks to Cape Town Tourism, he recently hosted National Geographic's Andrew Evans on his Cape Town tour. He is also constantly finding ways to improve his business. "I have launched a service which allows United States clients to make free phone calls back home and plan to roll this out to include more countries," says Shaheed.

For more information, contact Escape to the Cape on +27 (0)21 462 6104, +27 (0)83 555 3777, email shaheed@escapetothecape.co.za, visit www.escapetothecape.co.za or read our blog by Shaheed.

Upcoming events

Vodacom Funny Festival 2012
June 11 – July 8
Baxter Theatre, Rondebosch
+27 (0)21 685 7880
www.baxter.co.za

Cape Town Book Fair 2012
June 15 – 17
Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town
+27 (0)21 426 2571
www.capetownbookfair.com

Ubuntu Festival
July 15 – 18
Cape Town CBD
+27 (0)21 462 5052
www.saubuntu.co.za

Cape Town Fashion Week 2012
July 25 – 28
Cape Town International Convention Centre
+27(0)11 296 6960
info@afi.za.com
www.capetownfashionweek.com

Members’ noticeboard

CTT branding at Cape Town International Airport. Image © Cape Town Tourism

• Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) has been named the Best Airport in Africa and Best Airport in Africa for Staff Service Excellence, at the 2012 Skytrax World Airports Awards in Vienna, Austria. This is in addition to the Airports Council International's Best Airport in Africa award which CTIA also won recently. It is the fourth time the airport has received the award for Best Airport in Africa, having won it in 2006, 2008 and 2010.

• TripAdvisor’s Top 25 World Destinations list for 2012 has been released, with Olympic-ready London taking the top spot and last year’s winner, Cape Town, coming in 23rd, while also being voted second favourite destination in Africa. The TripAdvisor surveys are completed by its users and the results are tallied in an annual round-up. 

• Cape Town has been shortlisted in the categories of Africa’s Leading Beach Destination, Africa’s Leading Destination and Africa’s Leading Port at the World Travel Awards 2012. 

• Tour guides wishing to improve their knowledge of Cape Town and South Africa are invited to attend a lecture by Advocate Paul Hoffman of the Institute for Accountability in South Africa on Wednesday, May 30 2012 at the Cape Quarter Lifestyle Village in Green Point. The talk forms part of the Footsteps to Freedom Winter Lecture Series. Please download the file for more information.

Tourism insights: inclusive pricing

Customers do not like surprises when it is time to pay the bill. They do not like to be told to pay extra for consumption of additional services, while a guest in your establishment.

On a recent trip to Cape Town to spend a week exploring the Unexpected Cape Town, as a guest of Cape Town Tourism (CTT), Mary Tebje spent time with a number of suppliers, experiencing their products and services before delivering a presentation to CTT members on the importance of value and exceptional service for business growth.

Says Mary, "Adding value to your existing offer is a great opportunity, where the customer gains some additional advantage without having to pay for it – thus the benefit received far outweighs the outlay."

Read more insights here.

Mary Tebje is the UK representative for CTT, is an expat and has travelled to South Africa more times than she cares to mention. She has more than 20 years' experience in customer service delivery for visitor attractions and destinations. She tweets @SeeTheSights and can be contacted at mary@tourismleisure.com  

Kirstenbosch takes gold again

David Davidson, Mandisa Kondlo from Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, Kuphumla Zenze from Kirstenbosch with Alison Pekeur (Kirstenbosch) and Ray Hudson. Photo © HIPPO Communications.

It was announced this morning that the South African National Biodiversity Institute’s (SANBI’s) 2012 Kirstenbosch showcase at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, in London, has been awarded a gold medal for the 32nd time. Themed “Gateways – a botanical journey” the exhibit takes the visitor on a journey through changing botanical and cultural landscapes that display South Africa’s unique flora against the backdrop of picturesque locations.

Congratulations to SANBI’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show team and all the best over the next few days of the show.

Awards such as these are a significant boost to any destination’s reputation and play a role in providing Cape Town with much needed international exposure, however, it also means that our messaging is having an impact on our key source markets. What is essential is that these awards are followed up with tangible marketing campaigns that reinforce the message and capture the interest that the moment brings.

Each year, Cape Town is nominated or awarded accolades in varying categories, which helps to showcase the city’s diverse offerings, from her natural assets to business facilities, backpacker hostels and boutique hotels. This is exactly the type of messaging we are now circulating about the city – that Cape Town offers everything you would expect to find and more, and that there are modes of travel to suit every budget. How we, as industry role players, leverage these awards can make all the difference. Read more. 

New members

We would like to extend a warm welcome to the following new Cape Town Tourism members. 

As a member, you can take advantage of a wealth of opportunities and link your business to a dynamic tourism network.

The New Tulbagh Hotel

The Diplomatic Bar & Restaurant

The Happy Snappy Photo Company

Dining City South African

Cape Travel Online

First Car Rental

Cape Private Tours

Cape Town Palms

Pembroke 403

One & Only Cape Town - Reubens Restaurant

One & Only Cape Town - Nobu Restaurant

One & Only Cape Town Spa

One & Only Cape Town Conferencing

Islamic Propagation Centre International

Ubulumko Technology Solutions (PTY) Ltd

Simplified IT

Globeflight Worldwide Express (SA) (PTY) Ltd

We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming network events. 

Tourism Services update

Please contact us should you require any assistance. Image © Cape Town Tourism

The Tourism services team recorded a total of 203 member care communications for April including emails, walk-in visits and telephonic interactions. Should you requires any assistance, contact us.

This month, we take a look at three member products that can enhance your service to visitors and improve the level of hospitality you offer:

Alive PTL is well known in the industry for training tourist and community guides throughout the province. Improve the language, telephone etiquette and customer care skills of your frontline and housekeeping staff with training provided by Alive PTL.

Special: Cape Town Tourism members can enjoy a discount of between 5 and 7% depending on the number of trainees. Visit www.alivetours.net or contact aliveptl@gmail.com.

Andrérouz Foods CC are specialises in handcrafted Armenian confectionery and Belgian chocolate. Gift boxes and pillow drops are just a few of the delicious products on offer.

Special: Depending on the order, Cape Town Tourism members can enjoy discounts of between 5 and 10%. Visit www.wix.com/370240/ANDREROUZ or contact lcoxson@iafrica.com for more information.

Take advantage of a discount of up to 15% from Squaremobile and offer your visitor a mobile phone package that connects people, places, friends and memories. The handsets are delivered directly to the client’s accommodation and visitors can enjoy competitive rental and call rates. The packages include SIM card, talk time and insurance. For more information visit www.squaremobile.co.za  or email info@squaremobile.co.za.

Be sure to check out the deals that members are offering visitors this winter – refer your guests to some super value adds for accommodation, attractions and activities at www.capetown.travel/deals.