SA tourism should use opportunities in US market - expert

Source: Fin24, 29/12/2015

Cape Town - South Africa can benefit from the American travel industry
by looking online to reach this internet-savvy market, according to
Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, owner of Destinate, a destination marketing
agency.


"Americans have little to no annual leave. An annual survey by Expedia
in 2014 showed that 54% of the US population feel 'holiday-deprived'.
The new American Dream is, therefore, to work less and play hard,"
explained Du Toit-Helmbold.



"Forward-thinking US companies have begun recognising the need for
time to refresh, but for now, US holiday-makers of working age are
likely to take last minute and package holidays."


She said experience is everything and travellers are looking for
instant and total immersion. Trips by US tourists are likely to be
spread throughout the year and the current rand exchange rate can have
a positive impact too.


The Stellenbosch Experience, is an example of a campaign that will
focus a large part of its efforts on the American market in 2016,
using online engagement to educate American holiday-planners about the
non-safari side of South Africa through experiential
story-telling.


Globally, travel continues to outperform other sectors despite
uncertain global economic growth, rising geopolitical unrest, volatile
oil prices and rising interest rates, according to Du
Toit-Helmbold.


She was recently at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London to
represent Stellenbosch. WTM is considered the industry`s top showcase
of travel products. Du Toit-Helmbold shared some of the global tourism
trends she picked up at WTM.


Global tourist arrivals exceeded 1.1 billion in 2014, up by 4.3% with
growth for 2015 forecasted at 3.7%.


Trends include mobile bookings that have gone main-stream, accounting
for some $96bn of travel sales globally in 2014, expenditure being on
the rise and emerging markets like China showing significant increases
in disposable incomes.


At the same time the tourism market is becoming increasingly
competitive, according to Du Toit-Helmbold and there are a number of
key drivers at play.


Tourists are opting for active holidays over relaxation focused
holidays.


"In 2014 it was already revealed that cycling is the new golf with the
rise of MAMILs (middle-aged-men-in-lycra)," explained Du
Toit-Helmbold.


"In 2015 we saw a considerable increase in bicycle tourism offered by
destinations and in August 2015, sustainable transport charity
Sustrans estimated that cycling tourism adds over £650m to the UK
economy each year."


She said in Stellenbosch the hunger for cycling tourism is
"insatiable".


"Cyclists and other active travellers wanting to invest in healthy
living and healthy holidays, want a balance of challenging, beautiful
terrain and fine lifestyle, food and wine experiences," she said.