Tag Archives: Eurozone

TripAdvisor accommodation survey finds big hotels do best!

On quantifiable measures, the TripAdvisor 2012 Industry Index results of a survey conducted amongst 25517 accommodation establishments around the world from 7 – 14 June, and released to TripAdvisor rated properties yesterday, found that hotels with 50 or more rooms are smarter, and therefore more successful in running their businesses than are smaller establishments.

Questioned about their profitability, more than 80% of accommodation establishments in North America, South America, and Asia reported being profitable, while only 69 % of those in the Middle East and Europe did so. Establishments with 50 or more rooms were more likely to report profitability than smaller ones. The highest optimism about the prospects for the next six months came from establishments in Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, the USA, and India, while those expecting the worst conditions are the Eurozone countries of Greece, Italy, Spain and France, which is not surprising. Not surprising either is that 53% of accommodation establishments indicated that they had reduced their rates for the June – August period (could of course be season related, as would be the case in winter in many Southern Hemisphere countries), and plan to drop rates even further in September and October.

Online booking capability and use of Social Media in marketing were also probed.  The survey found that Bed & Breakfast establishments are very far behind hotels and inns in their online booking facilities (or lack of) offered to guests.  Social Media marketing is applied by 66% of all establishments, but once again hotels with more than 50 rooms are twice as likely to use this form of marketing than are their smaller counterparts.  Mobile devices are most likely to be used to interact with guests in accommodation establishments in China, Turkey, Mexico, Spain, and in the USA, while they are least likely to be used in the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, and in France.

Marketing activities of accommodation establishments include offering discounts first and foremost, followed by offering free wi-fi, free parking, rewarding business with points, and offering free newspapers.

The question group that was at the core of the TripAdvisor survey, and led to some irritation, was that relating to the practice of accommodation establishments inviting feedback from their guests, to which 83% of the establishments replied positively.  The proportion of establishments which invite their guests to provide feedback via TripAdvisor is 78%, the survey claims.  The survey probed whether one wanted TripAdvisor to contact one’s guests proactively, to evaluate their feedback, which must have led to an overwhelmingly negative response as the result is not included in the survey report.

The survey concluded with the environmental concern and practices of accommodation establishments, and those in New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, France, Indonesia, Italy, USA, the Caribbean, Australia and India are most eco-friendly in their operations.  Interesting is that one third of the properties admitted that they do not communicate their green practices to their guests. The most common ways in which the establishments contribute to conserving the environment are to use energy-efficient light bulbs, encouraging the re-use of towels and linen, energy-efficient planning, eco-cleaning, and water-efficient toilets.

Interestingly, Africa as a continent, and South Africa as a country, were not mentioned in the results at all.

From feedback received, many guests still prefer to stay in smaller accommodation establishments such as Bed & Breakfasts, for the ‘home from home’ friendliness and more affordable rates.  This is not reflected in the TripAdvisor survey results.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

May Day! May Day! Cape Tourism ship is sinking! Seasonality getting worse!

It’s been a bad May, and appears to be the worst month of the year for the Cape hospitality and tourism industry, and it has sunk to its lowest low in the six years in which we have been tracking occupancy. Sadly, the soccer tournament is not benefiting the industry. Cape Town and the Western Cape may be slipping back into a tourism crisis, as we experienced in 2011!

From occupancy for Whale Cottage Camps Bay at 68% in May 2008, and about 42% in May 2007 and 2009, occupancy dropped sharply from May 2010 onwards, to 19%, rose slightly to 23 % in May last year, and down to a shocking 10% this month, the lowest in the six year period.  The May occupancy at our Whale Cottage in Hermanus is 8%, on a par with May figures for the past three years, crashing down in 2010 from about 24% per each of the May months in 2007 – 2009.  In Franschhoek the same pattern is evident, with occupancy also at 10% over the past three May months, dropping sharply from 27% in 2009 (and even 58% in May 2008). Any tourism ‘politician’ that claims that Seasonality is under control and that the winter period is shrinking is deceiving the tourism industry!

The shocking tourism performance this month is a surprise, in that even business tourists from Johannesburg have not been seen to any great extent in Cape Town, often the mainstay of the industry in winter, perhaps a sign that the South African economy is not yet out of recession.  The winter campaign in a downscaled marketing program, which Cape Town Tourism has launched appears to have had no impact on tourism at all, and neither has the Eight Nations Under 20 soccer tournament.  The Cape Times reported earlier this week that the attendance support of the soccer event is so poor that Cape Town faces losing the event for 2014, no loss if viewed from a tourism perspective.  The tournament was signed up and announced to the industry a week before its start, hardly an event timing that could be taken seriously.  The newspaper also reported that the City of Cape Town is giving away a free ticket for a match for every Semi-Final and Final match ticket bought. Surprisingly, the City’s tourism body, Cape Town Tourism, is not marketing the event at all, proving that it too sees no tourism benefit of the soccer tournament!  No other events have been held in Cape Town this month, and this is making itself felt.  In Franschhoek the Literary Festival earlier this month led to a full house, proving that events do attract visitors to a town or village. Next month its ‘Cook Franschhoek’ is attracting good bookings, and in July the Bastille Festival and an Art of Living retreat are almost sold out already.  Sadly, no events are planned for Cape Town nor Hermanus in the next few months.

Of even greater concern is that forward bookings from international tourists, which looked promising in April for early 2013, have all but dried up, demonstrating that the uncertainty of the Eurozone membership of Greece may be unsettling German travellers, who were planning their holidays far ahead. Increasingly one hears that travel to Greece is being curtailed, as tourists do not know if the Euro will be discontinued while they are travelling in that country, which could be an opportunity for Cape Town, if any marketing could be considered by Wesgro, Cape Town Tourism, or SA Tourism! Bookings from the UK market remain depressed and rare. At the time of international events, local tourism always suffers, and in the UK the Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee next month, and the Olympic Games take place in London from July to August. Perhaps some Londoners may leave their city during this time, but we are not seeing bookings from this market. On 8 June the three week long UEFA European Football Championship takes place, shared between Poland and the Ukraine as host countries, which will capture the interest of many European travellers, preventing them from coming to South Africa.

Once again, we call on our tourism authorities to help the Cape Tourism industry in attracting events to the region in winter, and to generate any marketing activities that can attract domestic tourists to our area.

POSTSCRIPT 31/5: We would like to add that Wesgro has not issued any media statements nor shown any industry leadership since taking over Cape Town Routes Unlimited two months ago! We have written to Nils Flaaten, to ask him what is planned for the marketing of the Western Cape.

POSTSCRIPT 1/6: Good news is the potential of a soccer match between Ajax Cape Town and Manchester United on 21 July, a real soccer event, to be played in the Cape Town Stadium, as reported by the Cape Argus yesterday!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Germans love travelling to South Africa and drinking its wines!

Whilst our tourism authorities and wine producers are actively chasing the BRICS markets, and thereby neglecting the traditional source markets of the UK, USA and Europe in their marketing, it was a welcome surprise to read in the past week that German tourists are loving South Africa as a tourism destination, as well as enjoying drinking its wines.

Cape Business News reported that the number of German tourists increased by 10% between January and November 2011 to reach 211000, Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk stating that Germany is the third largest tourism source country, ‘contributing 9% of GDP through tourist spend’. The Minister also said that 40 % of the German visitors had been to South Africa before, a high repeat visitor number and ‘testifies to the attractiveness of our destination’.

The Minister was speaking at the 46th ITB (Internationale Tourismusbörse), the world’s largest travel trade show with 170000 leisure visitors and 108000 trade visitors exposed to 10000 exhibitors from around the world over a five day period.  He added that the German tourist market ‘is one of the most valuable in the world’.  German tourists are increasingly price sensitive in their choice of travel destination, and seek meaningful holiday experiences, in not only seeing beautiful scenery, but to also leave a lasting legacy through their visit.  SA Tourism is working hard at marketing our country in Germany, having signed 17 joint marketing agreements with all the top German tour operators, and trained more than 2000 trade operators to encourage sales.

At ITB a number of tourism trends were evident, reports Cape Town Tourism, including:

*   International travellers are taking shorter holiday trips, for nine days on average.

*   ‘Germany is the most economically optimistic country in the Eurozone and German travelers (sic) are positive in their travel prospects’, says the oddly worded media release. Given zero growth in the UK travel market, Germany may overtake the UK as South Africa’s major source market this year.

*   ‘Travel bloggers are gaining recognition as one of the most credible sources of online travel information’, and the organisation writes that it will host the four most influential international travel bloggers later this year.

*   Half of all bookings are made on-line, with travel agents making up less than one-third

The Drink Tank reported last week that South African wine exports to Germany reached the number one slot in January, for the first time overtaking the UK market.  South African wine exports to Germany reached 81 million litres, a 13 % increase, now slightly ahead of the UK’s 80,9 million litres.  UK wine imports dropped by 23 % internationally in the past year.  China showed the largest increase in South African wine sales, by 17% in total, and by 66% in bottle sales, and has reached the 10th position in wine imports.  South African wine sales to Kenya and Nigeria are also showing good growth.  Bulk wine imports (for bottling in the import country, usually to save transport costs) have increased generally, by 19% in Germany, and by 91% to Denmark, 56% to Sweden, and 8% to UK.  South African bottle exports have decreased across the board,  with the UK showing the sharpest decline of 42%, even though it remains in top position.  We wrote about Oldenburg Wines from Stellenbosch, and their popularity in Oldenburg Germany, recently.

Germany is the strongest European country and traditional tourism source market economically, and we would like to encourage SA Tourism to increase its marketing spend in this valuable tourism source market, given its above average tourism growth, and linked South African wine drinking, based on the wine estates and brands they experience on their South African holidays.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio:  www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage