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Tourism Council Renews Interest In South Africa With New Promo

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By Ikechi Uko
A well attended Indaba 2016 offered many stakeholders an opportunity to present their case. In a release issued at the Fair, the Tourism Council unveiled its plans to launch a promo.
Travel and tourism operators who attended the recent Tourism Indaba in Durban were treated to a special pre-launch activation of a new Tourism Levy South Africa (TOMSA) promotional campaign. The campaign will officially be launched next month, and will be implemented in partnership with South African Tourism (SA Tourism) and Times Media Group’s Sunday Times newspaper.

The above-the-line promotional campaign, will see TOMSA leveraging on the heritage of the Sunday Times Finders Keepers competition. The concept will also be used as a launch-pad to promote domestic tourism, showcase the products of existing tourism levy contributors and to raise industry-wide awareness about the important role of TOMSA.
The TOMSA initiative is a Public-Private-Partnership established in 1998 between the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) and the National Department of Tourism (previously the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism). The initiative enables businesses in the sector to play an active role in the funding of the country’s destination marketing programs undertaken by SA Tourism. This is done through the collection and contribution of a tourism levy charged on travel and tourism products and services rendered.
Businesses in the accommodation sector, car rental companies, tour operators, travel agents and tourism attractions currently contribute the tourism levy. The funds collected are administered by the TBCSA and form a significant part of SA Tourism’s overall destination marketing budget, which is approximately 10%.

Speaking during the campaign pre-launch activation which was hosted at the SA Tourism stand on Sunday, 8 May, TBCSA Chief Executive Officer, Mmatšatši Ramawela said the campaign is part of a broader objective to raise a level of awareness about TOMSA, whilst at the same time generating added value for businesses that are supporting the initiative. She explained that for the first time in the history of TOMSA, the organisation was reaching out to the travel trade, all industry role-players and the travel consumer in a ‘big way’.
“Our objective in hosting the pre-launch activation of the campaign at Indaba was to generate excitement amongst tourism operators and to make them aware of the opportunities that are available for them to participate in the promotional campaign. So far, the industry’s reception of the campaign and level of response in terms of pledges to support the campaign have been overwhelming”, Ramawela said.

Operators who wish to get involved can sponsor special prizes for the weekly prize draws, pledge special travel packages that can be promoted as part of the campaign or host the team of journalists who will be covering the competition for the Sunday Times travel section. “The marketing and media profiling opportunities this campaign will generate are substantial and we are elated to see the number of operators have come already come forward to pledge their support”.

The Finders Keepers competition will be in the form of a treasure-hunt and will run for 12 weeks from the launch date in June, ending in September to coincide with the sector’s Tourism Month celebrations. It is envisioned that the competition will encourage domestic travel by unravelling tourism gems across the country.

“The concept for the competition is fairly simple” explains Times Media Group’s Marketing Manager, Gail Nel. “Using clues found in the Sunday Times, competition entrants will hunt for treasure hidden in different travel and tourism products across the country. Entrants will have to identify where the treasure is being hidden and answer a number of travel and tourism related questions correctly in order to proceed to the next level of the competition. Those who make it to the end will take part in the final draw for a prize worth R1 million”.

Nel says the treasure-hunt will follow a specific route, across the different Provinces, which is designed to showcase various domestic travel and tourism offerings and attractions, particularly the ‘hidden gems’. “In addition, we are dispatching a team of journalists to cover the route and produce weekly travel features for the travel section of the Sunday Times”.

The paper’s travel editor, Paul Ash, reiterated: “The main aim for me is to share travel and tourism experiences, both from the mouth of the product owner and the travel consumer. Also, the value for the TOMSA levy contributor from their involvement in the campaign is incalculable. As we stop over at each establishment or tourism product along the Finders Keepers route, we will publish and showcase that product and the experience that goes with it.”

Chief Marketing Officer at South African Tourism, Margie Whitehouse, says SA Tourism is fully behind this exciting promotional campaign. “As recipients of the TOMSA tourism levy, SA Tourism fully supports the Finders Keepers competition. The competition will further encourage South Africans to travel their own country and also make South Africans proud to call this country their home. We believe it is important to build a culture of travel as there are plenty of hidden gems across all nine beautiful provinces to be uncovered. The campaign also provides the participating levy contributor with massive exposure when their tourism product is placed in the Sunday Times publication.

In closing, Ramawela said she looked forward to the campaign creating a ‘buzz’ about the significance of travel and tourism beyond Tourism Indaba; as well as the important role the private sector and consumers can play in stimulating growth – especially in terms of domestic travel. “We also hope that through this campaign, many travel and tourism product owners and service providers will see the value of TOMSA and sign up for levy contribution – thus helping us grow the funding for SA Tourism’s work of promoting our country”.

“We all know that the foundation of any successful tourism destination is its domestic market. Through this campaign we hope to demonstrate the value of TOMSA, to persuade all industry role-players to rally behind this important industry initiative and to ultimately inspire South Africans to travel and explore their own backyard”.

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