Tag Archives: ITB

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

Social Media vital tourism communication and information source, also for Cape Town

Social Media marketing is one of the most important means of communication with potential tourists, in planning their trips, and these media are also used by them to share their holiday information experiences during and after their holidays.   This is one of the trends that Cape Town Tourism reported on its return from the “Future Day” Convention held in Berlin last week, running in conjunction with ITB (Internationale Tourismusbörse), the world’s largest travel trade fair.

The internet in general is the most important source of travel information, with 95 % of travellers searching for information on-line, and more than half booking on-line, up by 10 percentage points from 45 % in just two years.   In the USA just more than half of travellers use social media to research travel destinations and to make online bookings.  Travel tips from friends, interactive bookings and mobile travel guides are some of the social media travel applications that influence travel by travellers.  

Mobile phones play a vital part in this travel communication, because they are easily portable and accessible, unlike laptops, which are dependent on wifi access.   While on holiday or on a business trip, travellers can use their iPhones, Blackberries and other phones to find and share information about the destination.   With large increases in tourists coming from Asian countries, and China in particular (46 million travellers in 2010, and 155 million mobile Internet subscribers), and another 127 million in India, it is vital that tourism destinations such as Cape Town reach tourists via mobile phones, and smart phones in particular.   The World Travel Monitor has found that 40 % of international travellers travel with a smart  phone with internet, e-mail and other functions, with the balance holding a conventional mobile phone.   Of the smart phone users, 40 % use them to obtain destination information, and 26 % of leisure travellers and 34% of business travellers use them to change bookings while travelling.   Just more than a third of international travellers use their smart phones to access mobile social networks.   This leads to tourists posting content to their Facebook pages or Blogs, or photographs on Twitter or Flickr, whilst they are still at the destination.   In future it is likely to see that photographs and information posted will have GPS information, with screens providing travel information.

The travel and tourism trends which Cape Town Tourism brought back from ITB are the following:

*   Globalisation, demographic change and climate change are the three most important trends affecting tourism.  Climate change has created a moral debate amongst travellers about the effect of a long haul flight to a city like Cape Town on the carbon footprint, a potential threat to tourism to our country, if the local tourism industry cannot find ways to communicate to these travellers how they can offset their long-haul travel whilst in the country.  The Convention predicted that “individual carbon budgets could be in the pipeline”.  

*   The largest tourism growth has come from Asia and South America.   This year international travel is expected to grow by 3 – 4 %.  Cape Town Tourism is confident about the benefit of the massive Asian travel market, and our suitable weather in the low season to accommodate these travellers.  

*   Tourism marketing is no longer about the destination, but about the customer.  The traveller can be segmented as follows:

    *   the “too busy to care” traveller, who can not be bothered to give destination or product feedback

    *   Travellers leading complex lives and whose finances are under pressure, working harder and their leisure time reducing.

    *   Travellers looking for simplicity and a return to basics.   Their mantra is : “Slow living, slow food and slow travel”

    *   Wealthy travellers are harder to please, and set higher demands from the destinations they visit. 

*   Sustainability is now vital, and no longer a ‘nice to have’.  All elements in the tourism cycle need to be environmentally sustainable.

*   Despite an improvement in the economic well-being of the world since the recession struck three years ago, tourists are still being careful with their money.  Tourism spend is expected to increase by 7 % this year.  

*   The tourism businesses that can understand what makes their “customers tick” will be the ones that will “lead the way to prosperity”.

*   Neuromarketing is the new ‘science’ of communication, and is a recognition that up to 95 % of all decisions are made subconsciously.   Marketing communication is moving toward imagery and language that can influence the subconscious decision-making of travellers.   Four types of customers are identified:

   *   The Economical Customer relates to data, facts and efficiency

   *   The Relationship Customer relates to harmony, partnership, trust and a personal approach

   *   The Trendsetter Customer relates to opportunities, gut feeling and creativity

   *   The Exclusive Customer relates to aesthetics, quality and vision.

*   Finally, the ability to communicate in an instant is the “most interesting innovation in tourism marketing”, writes Cape Town Tourism CEO Mariette du Toit-Helmbold.   Social Media is the communication tool which allows information to be personalised to travellers, and shared with them instantly.

To market a city brand such a Cape Town effectively, it must be authentic, it must appeal to locals first, it must have emotional pull, and must have real stories to tell, said Mrs Helmbold.   She also said that travellers spend the most time of their holiday experience in the “planning and memory phase of their holidays and sharing their experiences now takes place on Facebook and Twitter”, the holiday album becoming something of the past.

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

South Africa scores at ITB

S A Tourism and Cape Town Tourism worked hard in marketing the country at the ITB travel and tourism expo in Berlin, which was held earlier this month.

According to TravelHub,  S A Tourism launched the new ‘Voices’ advertising campaign, which sees Germans being asked to relate their positive experiences of South Africa.    It is planned to have over a million Germans talking positively about South Africa by June 2010.

FIFA and the Local Organising Committee for the 2010 World Cup used ITB as a platform to encourage and inform the German market about the event, reassuring them about the country’s readiness, infrastructure and sustainability, the report says.

S A Tourism won third prize for its ‘Numbers’ ad in the Golden Gate international film advertising awards competition at ITB.

Cape Town Tourism too was active at ITB, and its CEO Mariette du Toit-Helmbold reported back on the successes her association achieved:    Cape Town Tourism was invited to present its visitor services and marketing innovation to the World Tourism Organisation International Destination Council;   the 2010 World Cup mascot Zakumi was used in a competition, in which ITB attendees could be photographed with Zakumi, post it on the Cape Town Tourism website with a creative comment about Cape Town, to win two tickets for the 2010 World Cup, resulting in 200 images being received;   via a German PR company, Cape Town Tourism’s PR and Communications Manager met 15  journalists individually, presented its marketing toolkit to Dr Michael Kaiser from News Corporation Germany, who will do a presentation on Cape Town to the German Press Club,  Suedafrika magazine will do a free two-page spread on Cape Town, and a free feature on Cape Town will appear in the bi-annual German 1 Golf publication.  

In addition, Cape Town Tourism will be running a winter promotion on Expedia; an educational campaign with FTI, Germany’s third largest tour operator, was concluded;  joint marketing agreements were concluded with Tripadvisor, Google, and BBC News on-line; an agreement was reached with Petit Fute to develop a French guide book for Cape Town;  and assistance will be provided in the production of the official 2010 FIFA World Cup documentary.

However, Cape Town Routes Unlimited Marketing executive David Frandsen, on his return from ITB, has predicted that leisure tourism from Germany will decline by 20 % in the coming season.   He based his forecast on the 30 % drop in bookings received by the top five German tour operators making bookings in South Africa, in January and February this year.    He said however that 200 smaller special tour operators are making up for the decline in bookings received from the big tour operators.   Namibia is attracting bookings from the German market, and has become a trendy destination for Germans.