Tag Archives: Moeketsi Mosola

Confederations Cup ticket sales slow

Ticket sales for the Confederations Cup, due to be hosted in South Africa from 14 June this year, are slow, with less than a third of the 646 000 tickets sold to date.

The Confederations Cup is a “warm-up” for the 2010 World Cup, and will be contested in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Rustenburg.  Countries that will play are the USA, Spain, Brazil, Iraq, New Zealand, Egypt and South Africa.

FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke has criticised South Africa for the poor marketing of the event, especially at public spaces such as airports.

The departure of S A Tourism CEO Moeketsi Mosola could not have come at a worse time, when marketing of the country and the two key events this and next year are urgently needed.

S A Tourism loses its head!

Moeketsi Mosola has resigned as CEO of S A Tourism, and Didi Moyle, the COO, will take over as acting CEO with immediate effect, reports TravelHub.

With just 15 months to go before World Cup 2010, Mosola’s departure appears unusual and is most unfortunate at the most crucial time of South Africa’s international marketing for what will be the biggest sport event it has ever hosted.

Mosola had served at the helm of S A Tourism for eight years, and was impressive for speaking his mind.    He was critical of the industry when necessary.

The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has accepted the resignation.  The S A Tourism Board has thanked Mosola for his dedication and wished him well for his new journey ahead, which does not yet appear to have a destination.

Brand new South Africa logo

S A Tourism is to launch a new logo for “Brand South Africa” on 1 April, reports TravelHub.

The new logo is designed to replace the 70 or so logos that have been used internationally to represent South Africa.   The logo design reflects the South African flag pointing south, with “South Africa” contained in it.

Speaking against individual municipalities that market themselves overseas, SA Tourism CEO Moeketsi Mosola said:””It doesn’t make sense when a municipality advertises itself on a billboard at Heathrow Airport.  People don’t buy a locality. They first choose a continent, then a country and then a locality.     In order for us to compete internationally this has to be done.   Alignment is a key critical component in order for us to be competitive.   We need a single icon based on our flag, which is the third most recognised flag in the world after the USA and the UK. All provinces and localities must market (themselves) under one national icon and country brand.”
 
The new logo is the result of an 18-month South Africa Alignment project led by South African Tourism and the International Marketing Council, to align ‘Brand SA’ and ensure that national, provincial and local government co-operate to ensure that the “look and feel” of South Africa is the same overseas.   SA Tourism will not be able to force local authorities to adopt the new logo. “There will be no stick, but people who do not implement it will be left behind and their communities will suffer as a result.” 

In 2008 S A Tourism spent R 250 million marketing South Africa, and a further R 375 million on improving its star grading system for accommodation.    Mosola said that the challenge will be to maintain the momentum for South Africa after the World Cup, and that the country was bidding for the Rugby World Cup in 2015, the ICC Cricket Championship Trophy and the Presidents’ Cup for golf.

Don’t worry, say tourism bosses

The Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs as well as the CEO of S A Tourism are sending out messages of hope to the tourism industry, given the global credit crunch.

Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk is quoted in TravelHub as follows:   “Our industry is by no means immune to the effects of the international economic crisis, but we are still confident that we will reach our target of 10 million visitors in 2010.    Our country continues to be a value-for-money destination and with international events like the Confederations Cup and World Cup lined up, there will be opportunities in abundance and tourism will retain the important role it plays in our economic growth.”

Tourist arrivals in the first eight months of 2008 showed a 5 % increase, compared to 8 % in the same period a year before.

SA Tourism CEO Moeketsi Mosola urged the tourism industry to not “panic”, even though 2009 will be a challenging year.   He projected tourism growth to reduce to 2 % this year, with hotel bookings already down by 25 – 30 %, reports TravelHub.   “This is a time of opportunity for South Africa to catch up with other destinations. When everybody in the world withdraws (from markets), we must move in,” he said, speaking at a conference in Somerset West.

The first six months of 2009 will be busy, he said, with an Australian cricket tour in February/March; the SAA Open golf championships in February; a British Lions tour in June/July; the Confederations Cup in June; and the elections in April.     Mosola is confident that the 2010 World Cup will the biggest success story ever for South Africa.