This Tourism Week 4 February 2010

No single edition of This Tourism Week has received the amount of attention that last week’s did (‘More 2010 Pricing Woes’).  I spent five hours on Sunday alone, just catching up with the e-mails that swarmed into my inbox, and I lost track of the number of phone calls I received in the days following its publication. And other newsletters - like Cape Town Tourism’s February Media Newsletter, Cape Info’s February Newsletter, and Project 2010’s newsletter of today’s date, have spoken about pricing and the Word Cup. Also, I believe that at least one of SATSA’s provincial committees (and I’m sure it’s not the only one), has discussed the question, and it seems that it’s the subject of almost every dinner party conversation and bar room chirp.

So tell me - why the hell is it still going on?

Read this: World Cup accommodation tracking survey - 01/10. It’s the results of Cape Info’s monthly survey, and it shows that 471 properties responded during January (this is a monthly survey, and you can take part in the February survey here).

The results make for interesting reading, but I fear that some of them point to an amazing lack of depth in the management of our tourism industry.

Bear with me as I examine some of the responses, because I think that you might agree with me by the time I’ve finished.

Of the 417 establishment owners who responded, 5.94% ran hotels, 60.51% ran guesthouses, B&Bs or lodges; 30.36% offered self-catering accommodation; 2.55% had houses or apartments to rent; 0.42% ran backpackers accommodation; and 0.21% listed themselves as running ‘other’ accommodation (and I’d love to know what that is…).

76.43% of respondents had properties in the Western Cape (not surprising, since this is a Cape-focussed site); 9.34% were in Gauteng;  5.52% were in KwaZulu-Natal; 3.4% were in the Eastern Cape; and the balance were almost equally spread between the other provinces.

But this is where it gets frightening. Asked “What sales channel are you using?”, 14.86% said they were using FIFA/MATCH or other tour wholesalers; 64.12% said they were using an accommodation portal or their local tourism office website; 82.59% said they were using their own websites; and - get this - 4.88% said they were doing no advertising, but were just hoping for referrals.

Then, to the question, “What rates are you charging for the 2010 World Cup period?”, 5.73% said they were charging their usual winter off-peak rates; 25.9% said they were charging the same or less than their current peak season rates; 22.93% said they were charging up to 20% above their current peak season rates; 23.35% said they were charging up to 50% above their current peak season rates; 9.77% were charging up to 100% above their current peak season rates; 4.67% were charging up to 200% above their current peak season rates; and 2.97% were charging more than 200% above their current peak season rates.

Huh?

And I ask this in light of the next question: “What is the status of your World Cup bookings?”

23.78% said their bookings had not started yet; 36.09% had received some enquiries but no bookings yet (remember this survey closed at the end of January [note to Stats SA: that’s January 2010. As in last month. As in - the tourism industry didn’t have to wait months or even years for this intelligence. We got it straight away. If you get my point]). 23.99% said they had received ‘several bookings;’ and 10.62% said they had received ‘many bookings.” 5.31% of respondents chose not to answer this question.

So - why do I say there’s a problem?

Well - almost 5% of respondents said they were doing no advertising, but were just hoping for referrals.

Double Huh? Just hoping?

And 64% said they were using an accommodation portal or their local tourism office website (and yes, I understand that they were probably using other channels, too, but…)

Triple Huh? Who’s doing their own, you know, marketing?

And then - during the World Cup, by their own admission, most accommodation providers said they would be charging between 20 and more than 200 percent ABOVE their 2010 peak season rates.

Sorry, kids - but that’s price gouging. Peak season is peak season, whether it happens every year in December, or once in a lifetime in June and July.

Oh - and there’s one other thing.

Have you seen any intelligence on the demographics of the World Cup supporter? I haven’t, and I’ve looked (OK, yes, just on the Internet, but that’s a start).

So - given that we don’t know WHO’S coming, HOW MANY OF THEM are coming and (to a certain extent) even WHY they are coming (IF they’re coming) - under what circumstances did those apparently intelligent product owners make their (crazy) pricing decisions?

Now, for me - even leaving aside the damage that price gouging will do to us as a destination in the long term - all of this points to a serious lack of depth in management - wouldn’t you agree?

Mossel Bay Open For South Africans During World Cup

With all the hype about the hundreds of thousands of foreign soccer fans who are expected to stream into South Africa for the FIFA World Cup in June and July - what are South African holidaymakers going to do this winter? Especially since many of the country’s hotels and lodges are expecting to be fully booked, prices are skyrocketing in many destinations, and local schools will be enjoying a six-week-long mid-year break?

“They should come and visit us,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm. “Mossel Bay will definitely be open for South Africans during the World Cup.

“The host cities around South Africa are going to be crowded, busy and bustling, and while the Garden Route and Klein Karoo regions certainly are expecting more visitors than usual, Mossel Bay is without a doubt going to be the place to be this winter - especially as most of our accommodation establishments are currently quoting very affordable winter season prices,” she said.

Ms. Holm said that the town’s tourism industry had always benefited from the area’s good weather. “We have 300 days of sunshine a year, and our weather in winter is particularly mild and pleasant, and is characterised by sunny, wind-free days - so it’s a fantastic time to take a holiday.”

She pointed out that wintertime was when the fynbos was flowering at its best, when the waves were at their finest, and when the beaches, the shops, and the roads were relatively quiet and uncrowded.

She said, too, that Mossel Bay was a good base from which to explore the region.

“The town has become known for our beaches - and we definitely have fantastic beaches - but Mossel Bay is also at the foothills of the Outeniqua Mountains, which offer endless opportunities for exploration, and adventure, and which host some of our most sought-after accommodation establishments and camp sites.

“Over the past few years, a number of game farms and private nature reserves have opened up in our area, and winter is a very pleasant time of the year for game and bird watching. But it’s also the best time of the year for whale- and dolphin watching, because that’s when the migratory species (and especially the southern right whales) are most likely to come to the Bay to mate and calve,” she said.

“Also, within an hour or two’s drive of Mossel Bay, you have all the attractions of the Klein Karoo (the ostrich farms, the mountain passes, the Cango Caves, and so on) and all the attractions of the Garden Route - with its golf courses, it’s forests and its National Park.

“And if you really have to watch the games,” said Ms. Holm, “well, we have television too, you know!”

Mossel Bay Tourism chairman Neels Zietsman said that the town was looking forward to a very enjoyable winter period.

“By basing yourself in Mossel Bay during this year’s World Cup, you’ll be able to experience the kind of traditional, affordable South African holiday for which Mossel Bay has become famous,” he said.

MORE INFORMATION: Marcia Holm, Mossel Bay Tourism | marketing@visitmosselbay.co.za

Telephone: +27(0)44 691 2202

www.visitmosselbay.co.za

Now - go away on holiday (to Mossel Bay, of course!) - it’s in the economy’s best interest…