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CapeInfo approached me for a regular column on tourism and great destinations, and this is the result. (The masthead is their doing and I'm not terribly enthusiastic about that!) We all know that tourism is critically important to our society, but we sometimes forget just why that is. Working with friends, we aim to present thought-provoking content that inspires and is a call to action. The greatest threat to tourism, like cities and destinations, is complacency. I will invite guest contributors from time to time and we hope to cover a lot of ground. I do appreciate your responses and suggestions. We kick off with a speech I gave this morning. Speech to Proudly South Africa's CEO's Forum Firstly, I'd like to change the title of my speech from "Using tourism to grow your business" to "Using tourism to grow our business." Tourism is a collective industry and the sooner we realize that it is about alliances and relationships, the better. It's not about benefiting me or you, it's about benefiting us all. A successful guest house in a small town will benefit local restaurants, pubs, petrol stations, general dealers, craft producers… and many more. Having a great time at the pub, restaurant or Saturday market will certainly bring the same guests back to the guest house again and again. Eventually they may invest in the town by buying property or opening a business. Secondly, I want to emphasize the point that the very reason you joined PSA are those issues that will make tourism great. They are:
Tourism's prerequisites for success are the same as those that will help your business flourish:
But we also need something else – we need to engage people and have confidence in ourselves. Look at Australia as a success story. They're outgoing, sometimes brash and often irreverent, but their wine industry has made waves, they hosted one of the most successful Olympics ever, they have defined their own national character and moved forward… forcefully! I am reminded of a comparison that David Jack (former Waterfront MD) used to make when the Waterfront started. He compared Raymond Ackerman's manner to that of another MD, who will remain nameless. If you walk around PnP's head office or stores with Ackerman, he stops to greet people by name, enquiring about families as well as job issues. The other MD bows his head down, avoids any eye contact and heads straight for his destination. What cue do these two men give their staff about dealing with customers or tourists…? What will make tourists go back home saying, "Wow, what a great place, great people and great products!" Cape Town Routes Unlimited In many ways, being the head of our tourism authority must seem like the ultimate dream job. After all, with a product like Cape Town and the Western Cape, just how difficult can that be? In many respects, of course, you'd be right. But there's an awful lot of work ahead of us, and that's not just limited to logistical preparations for the Soccer World Cup either. What I'm talking about is taking every advantage of what tourism as a whole offers us as economic generators; it's about making sure that the legacy of the World Cup – and any other world event we manage to secure – is worth the return on investment many times over. It's easy to think – mistakenly – that a successful tourism industry is a desirable end in itself. But that would be enormously superficial. Success in tourism is not just an aspiration which makes us feel good about ourselves and proud about the place we call home. In a country such as ours, where widespread poverty and joblessness threatens our very survival as a nation, the economic benefits of tourism offer a rare and challenging opportunity to bring hope to our people. It should be self-explanatory then, that Capetonians have to embrace tourism as something that is deeply personal to them. And that is a point that will be all too well understood by organisations such as Proudly South African, which seeks to promote South African companies, products and services so as to create jobs and economic growth in our country. So what?, you might say. If you're not directly situated within the industry, why should you take any notice of it? I'd like to put this into some perspective. Tourism, unlike most other sectors of the economy, contributes substantially to the international image and reputation of a country, shapes perceptions of its stability and influences investment decisions. Tourism is the eye through which the outside world sees us, and that's why partnerships and collaboration among all sectors of our economy are so important. The Figures say it All |
February 7, 2007
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Cape Town is lucky enough to have the lion's share of international visitors to South Africa – over 65% – and tourism in the Western Cape currently accounts for 9.8% of Gross Regional Product, somewhat higher than the 8% that the sector contributes to GDP. In terms of Government's Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative (ASGISA), tourism is projected to grow to 12% of GDP by 2014. Consequently, we would expect tourism in the Western Cape to represent at least 14.8% of the regional economy by then.
Achieving this will depend largely on foreign tourism as international tourism spend in the province is some 7.5 times that of domestic visitor spend. But let me put some real numbers to this. The tourism industry is worth more to our province than agriculture, which has been our largest contributor to Gross Regional Product for over three centuries. It earns us around R14-billion, but much more importantly, it will earn R59-billion by 2020. It employs around 150 000 people but by 2020, this should be over half a million people. |
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And THAT'S why we all need to take tourism seriously. Tourism is not someone else's business, it's yours. Importantly, a tourism-friendly city and province will spawn non-tourism industries, because people are more likely to have a favorable impression when they first visit the region, and will then become either return visitors or decide to purchase property here.
But what is it that shapes perceptions of Cape Town and the Western Cape? Again, it's easy to think that these are shaped by tourism attractions and hotel standards. Actually, they're not. They are shaped by the totality of the visitor experience. They are shaped by the quality of service in banking halls, the readiness of newsagents to stock foreign language newspapers and the willingness of locals to connect directly with those who visit and to demonstrate to them just how unique our culture, scenery and experiences are. This is what real, long-lasting memories are founded on and ultimately, it means that their perceptions are dependent on you. Developing world-class destinations involves integrating a number of different components and collaborative working by businesses to build the necessary critical mass – in effect, a destination and its environs striving to become greater than the sum of its parts. New ways of working – and thinking – are therefore required. How best to grow business |
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But to the topic for today: how to best grow business through tourism. The problem with the industry is that too often, it is seen myopically. In other words, it's seen like agriculture or mining. But what is very seldom understood is that tourism touches almost every other industry with a knock on effect which directly influences an entire value chain – what we call tourism satellite accounting. And if you'd like a quick illustration of what I mean, just consider for a second how much toilet paper tourists use every year!
Tourism is not a standalone industry. It operates with industrial satellites that we're only beginning to understand. And it's this full understanding that's required in order for many more industries – whether major business chains or micro-enterprises – to take full advantages of what is really a gift. If we are to maintain and grow this momentum, it is absolutely essential that we understand that tourism is not just the business of tour operators, hoteliers and souvenir sellers. In a city such as Cape Town and a province such as the Western Cape, where tourism is the very lifeblood of our economy, it is in the interest of all of us that tourism should create an environment in which business can flourish, through the creation of jobs, the generation of prosperity and the stimulation of social development. |
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That means we have to approach tourism – and particularly those companies or industries traditionally not involved in tourism, from a much more holistic point of view. Put simply, we mustn't just take the time to understand the industry, we have to take even more time to understand the customer.
What are tourism customers really looking for? Frankly, the world has moved on in tourism. People are no longer seeking destinations, they are seeking experiences. In our case, people come to our city, our province and our country to experience things they can't get at home – they want to immerse themselves in our lives, our culture, our food, our music and our beauty. Otherwise, why travel at all? And taken one step further, they want services that work smoothly, that are geared to them, cater to them and their unique position as a temporary citizens. It also means that potential suppliers of goods and services need to understand that tourists are not a homogenous group; they don't all come from the same place but much more importantly, they are here for different reasons, motivated by different aspirations. Some are here as delegates to conferences; some are here purely for leisure; some are visiting friends and family and yet others are here for a particular activity, like golf, fishing or game watching. And while they all require a certain common set of deliverables and have a generally high expectation of us, they do have different demands for goods and services. |
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The truth of it is that the opportunities for businesses and companies that have not traditionally targeted tourists are limitless. There is no product, no service, that cannot find a niche in our region's growing tourism market.
From the family bakery supplying authentic fresh croissants to a guesthouse catering for French visitors to niche guides who offer dedicated services to show tourists only the shopping meccas, it requires only a leap of imagination and faith to grow a business on the back of tourism. And this of course excludes the major companies, like restaurant chains, retail giants and brewers, who reap the benefits of increased volumes while exposing visitors to new and uniquely South African experiences. Tourism and exports, for example, need to work hand-in-hand. Visitors need to be encouraged to buy Cape goods when they return home. And every case of wine, carton of fruit and pack of rooibos tea, for example, which is exported, should contain information about where they come from to encourage visitors to visit too! |
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Our brand needs to be so good, so strong, so shared and so pervasive that Cape Town is the first destination of choice for doing business. Ships should come here for repairs, not only because of the quality of our shipping services, but because it is renown as a great place to be.
Many of you have interests in information technology or communication. You will know the importance of getting the brand right and I am sure you would all like to be part of promoting that brand. Whether it’s print or new media, there are many opportunities we have not yet tackled! There is no doubt… we have a big message to convey and we will do it together with you. It is all about collaboration. In considering specific types of tourists, take a look at those visiting here for golf, fo example, who need to be able to get a game more or less reliably, need to be teamed up with other visitors or locals, may need to hire clubs, will definitely not want to be harassed by Customs on arrival on suspicion of importing expensive goods and very definitely will want information from experienced guides on which courses would be best for them to fit in while here. That's just one example. Let's look at yachting. Perhaps traditional FMCG retailers do not take into account the spending by visiting crews to Cape Town, and one can understand why – it's not an obvious target market. Retailers cater to a domestic market and that's where the volumes come from. But how difficult is it to create, in consultation with the yachting fraternity, a service where provisions are pre-prepared and delivered, through their home delivery service, to yachts moored in Cape Town? And that's not even looking at the self-catering market, a rapidly growing segment in our visitor profile whose grocery retail requirements are filled by our traditional retailers. What about banks? The things tourists generally want is reliable banking, that doesn't levy exorbitant cash withdrawal charges, and wide availability of ATMs. So why don't the banks all collaborate in providing maps of the main tourist areas indicating exactly where these are? And what about a combination or collaboration between retailers of certain goods? Certainly, a list of goods or 'must-buys' for tourists while in Cape Town, from spices to ostrich eggs, would be a workable idea? Or from a network point of view, why not consider sms updates to tourists on conditions at all our major attractions on that particular day? Weather, congestion, wind, traffic en route…the opportunities are endless. A last example; clothing retailers. I would urge them to look at the sheer volume of tourists who visit from Africa simply to go shopping. The only problem is, Johannesburg is geographically closer to the rest of Africa and by some considerable margin, exceeds our performance. But I'm not convinced that we go the extra mile in promoting this niche industry to the tourists we do get here. These are only a few examples of how we need to think a bit more broadly and a bit more scientifically. 2010 For those of you who want to start thinking about how tourism can truly grow your business, the 2010 Soccer World Cup is not a long way off and planning really should start now. Now that the major hurdles for Cape Town's 2010 stadium have been overcome, have you done an appraisal of how 2010 can benefit you? Yes, the whole region will be chock a block for a few weeks, accommodation and dining spaces will be at a premium, tills will be ringing and every service industry will be hard pressed to cope. But those few weeks are not worth the effort that goes into the whole event. How will you leverage the event for longer term benefits? Will visitors take home a message of world-beating friendliness and service, apart from great football? In 2010, we will have the opportunity to use our skills and show the infrastructure, diversity and beauty of Cape Town, of the Western Cape and of Africa. We will have learnt lessons of professionalism, of delivering on time to exacting standards – in short, we will be empowered not only to play world class football, but to participate proudly in a global economy. I was reminded of a candidate in a political election who put a massive banner right across the wall in his campaign office. It said, "There is no second place." |
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Well… there are no second chances at getting 2010 right, especially for the legacies we put in place for after 2010.
The world is keen to come to Africa – for the first time – to watch and cheer their teams. And we're keen to present ourselves as a winning nation, as shining examples of friendly hosts, of competent organisers, of professional builders, of skilled crafters, of creative film makers, of dependable manufacturers, of capable events managers, of innovative designers, of contributors to the global identity, of reliable and worthy investors, of fair developers, and with a bit of luck and hard work, of the world's top football players! The momentum, prestige, profile and opportunity for post-events linked to the global marketing opportunity for the Cape as a tourism, trade and investment destination are yet to be quantified. |
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South Africans are building skyscrapers in Dubai and hotels in the Bahamas. We have the skills, the discipline and the global experience. Now we need the application, the attention to detail, the ability to put other agendas aside and get on with the job. And, to return to my earlier comment, it will require a mindset change. We have to start believing in ourselves; in our ability to compete globally, in our ability to outperform expectations; in our ability to pull off a world event that inspires admiration and envy in equal measure.
In conclusion, among our challenges is to demonstrate to the communities of Cape Town and the Western Cape that tourism is not the preserve of privileged elites, a source of nuisance to local communities or the responsibility of my organisation alone, but an industry that offers opportunities to many other economic sectors, both directly and indirectly related to the industry. The creation of a myriad of small businesses, which ultimately is what will sustain our country and province's growth, is one of the most important issues. It's the taking of corporate responsibility for marketing and exposing your own products or services for growth, combined with an individual and community responsibility for making a tourist's experience worthwhile and worthy of repetition that will count. Tourism is not simply a business like any other and as I've said – it does not work in isolation. It requires community partnerships, co-operation between business sectors and joint planning between the public and private domains. All of these things will come to pass if we win the full-hearted commitment of all this province's population, for tourism is one of those enterprises in which the individual, be he humble or be she mighty, is able to make a measurable difference to the quality of the customer's experience. All of us are ambassadors for our products, regions and towns, but our real challenge starts at home – making sure that we make the most of every opportunity by working together and by engaging our visitors to make their stays memorable. Every single one of us has the responsibility to make Cape Town and the Western Cape a true home for all who care to visit us. Sheryl Ozinsky is CEO of Cape Town Routes Unlimited |
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