About last week’s article – Is South Africa’s Tourism Industry Missing its Biggest USP? – there were those who wrote back to me saying “it’s time the visitors woke up and started exploring a little more.” And there were those who said (more sensitively, I think) “the consumer will buy what’s available on the market.”

The truth is that the fact that things like the back roads of South Africa aren’t sold the way they should be isn’t a demand-side problem. Rather – and as usual – we need to look inwards. And so ask (as I did last week): “is South Africa’s tourism industry doing what it should to sell South Africa’s real USPs? Or are the wholesalers just too lazy to create packages that go beyond the tried-and-trusted (and pretty-much-rusted) hundred-year-old City-of-Gold-Big-Five-Table-Mountain itineraries we’ve all seen so often before?”

One reader – Sathiparsad Nalin – wrote: “Salü Martin.

“I have been trying to say that (that South Africa should be packaging outside of our traditional USPs) at three Indabas, but some how no one listens.

“SA has lots to offer, but unfortunately there appears to be a lack of innovation in tourism product development. Some are trying hard, but generally the industry still needs to be tapped and opportunities are vast.

“The Big 5 run is over! The local market potential is truly neglected in exchange for overseas tourist and greed with high prices, simply because they receive a good exchange rate, and I hope that this changes soon.

“When I compare Europe and the US with South Africa, with a bit of smart thinking South African operators can learn and tailor ideas.”

I love that – “the Big 5 run is over” – because it’s true and because the market is becoming more discerning. This has to do with the Internet and the fact that it allows one to ‘sell the long tail’ – that is, to target tiny niches that exist at the tail end of the market. Niches which traditional marketing could never reach because of the cost.

And there are all sorts of new ways of getting to that long tail, too – like the Madiba Layer that Virtual Africa’s Tinus le Roux’s built on Google Earth to celebrate the man’s 90th birthday.

“I created a quick layer displaying some of the places where Mandela spent most of his previous birthdays. It includes his birthplace, home town, first home and prison cell on Robben Island and it also includes a few interactive panoramas” (download the file from the Virtual Africa blog).

And now dedicated Mandela watchers have the building blocks they need for creating an itinerary around the places he’s known.

See? Simple…

So what are YOU going to do to sell to the long tail in YOUR niche of the market?

Wild Dogs and Cheetahs

Although I might have sounded disparaging about the Kruger Park in last week’s article, the truth is that I’m anything but – I love the Park, of course (I said “Cape Town’s gonna crucify me for this and the Kruger Park’s gonna lynch me, but you know what? Cape Town’s not the world’s only beautiful coastal city and Kruger’s not the only great national park” – but I was only trying to make a point).

And the other things I love are wild dogs and Land Rovers and dried fruits and melk tert and … (I’ll stop there, the list gets a little long) – so I was excited to find that Land Rover is one of the sponsors of the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s 5th Wild Dog Photographic Census (and its 3rd Cheetah Photographic Census).

The project began in August and runs through to April next year

From their media release:

“The Kruger National Park is home to one of the only viable Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) and Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) populations in South Africa. As such, an understanding of population dynamics in the park is essential for developing national strategies to improve the conservation status of these species. They are the rarest of the park’s large carnivores and their low densities and wide-ranging behaviour make them particularly difficult to count. Fortunately, researchers are able to recognise individuals of both species by their unique coat patterns, thus enabling an estimation of minimum population size.

“Members of the public are encouraged to submit photographs of Wild Dogs and Cheetahs seen during their visit to the region, and report all sightings to a Census Hotline, manned by EWT’s field researcher Mariana Venter, on 076 725 5242 or census@ewt.org.za. Submissions should also include details of the location, time and number of Wild Dogs or Cheetahs seen. All photographs will be entered into a competition, with great prizes up for grabs. The project spans the length and breadth of the Kruger National Park, as well as the private nature reserves on the park’s western border, and Limpopo National Park to the east.

“This project is funded by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation’s African Cheetah Initiative, with vehicle support from Land Rover South Africa. Tinga Lodge has provided competition prizes, and Esor has covered the printing of posters and brochures.

“Participants stand a chance to win two nights at Tinga Private Game Lodge, and will also be contributing to the long-term conservation of these beautiful creatures. Entry forms are available at all gates and rest camps in the park, and sightings can also be reported to the Census Hotline Number (076 725 5242) or census@ewt.org.za. Please visit www.ewt.org.za for more information.”

Talking About Land Rovers…

Remember that tomorrow night, 7th October, you can watch the second installment in the 14-part series on the Land Rover G4 Challenge on SuperSport One at 8:30. This time the programme will focus on Prince Albert and the Swartberg – where we held the Regionals (and which I wrote about two weeks ago).

Just click here to download a full schedule of broadcasts – or get an abridged list of dates from This Tourism Week’s Media Room.

And Finally…

Have you visited This Tourism Week’s free Jobs in Tourism page?

Go there now…

And have a GREAT tourism week!