Tourism Update Online has covered this topic twice. Have a read:

http://www.tourismupdate.co.za/NewsDetails.aspx?newsId=21111

http://www.tourismupdate.co.za/NewsDetails.aspx?newsId=20803

Regards,

Kate Els
Deputy Editor, Tourism Update Online

ZA should be the gateway to continental Africa and not discourage people form continue exploring the continent. There are enough bad things going on anyway.

You seem to have some of the better insights into travel to South Africa of any person I have come across in your fair country. I started my business using South Africa as my primary destination, and while I have since expanded into other parts of southern Africa and East Africa, South Africa remains my favorite destinations for clients, especially first time entrants into Africa.

Your points about price escalation are poignant. South Africa should also try to be a provider of product that comes in at a cost as priced in Rand versus $US. As you mention, deciding to jump on the price structure of other Africa countries costing in $US, I believe, too, is a mistake. I can see where the temptations lies but I believe the downside risk is substantial.

In my opinion, for the US market, South Africa is the best sell of any country on the continent. With a floating currency and purchasing power of the dollar, the initial interest is obvious, but this fact is only the beginning. The first world standard of living, infrastructure, natural variety, weather and people of South Africa offer a unique experience to the American coming for the first time. Americans, as you well know, are not well versed in geography or history, and embarrassingly most cannot differentiate between Nigeria and South Africa until they arrive. This is a poor fact of our countrymen but one that needs to be understood by the South Africa tourism leaders. South Africa could really take advantage of this truism. Why? Because South Africa could really mop up the travel business by marketing the difference between it and the rest of southern and East Africa. How? They should be running advertisements touting the high standard of living, pictures of Cape Town, the Garden Route, Winelands, infrastructure, flower season, battlefields, etc. Yes, most every American comes to Africa to see the animals first and foremost but they are awestruck by the variety of South Africa and the ease with which to travel. For instance, South Africa should not be marketing itself by showing pictures of tribal dances and the like. Americans see those type pictures/photos all the time and recognize them as African. It is obvious and does not differentiate South Africa. South Africa needs to advertise everything else that the rest of Africa does not have. That disparity is a big gap.

If I can get my clients on the plane to South Africa, my job is done because their expectations are low and they are then blown away by, yes, the animals, but to a larger extent everything else I have listed. Americans may talk about being able to “rough it” on a vacation but their definition of roughing it and yours are miles apart. Americans also have short attention spans and getting them down to the Garden Route or through Hermanus or into the Winelands and Cape Town or the North Coast during flower season is when they come back completely teeming with chatter. These type experiences they do not expect. The self drive option should be highly touted for South Africa. The tourist really cannot (and I am more reluctant to suggest) a self drive through other parts of Africa.

I’d like to see South Africa tourism start advertising itself as a first world location with all the wilds Africa can offer. No other country in Africa can market themselves this way and it sells in the US. It sells in a big way when I can get in front of my first time visitors and lay out this story. South Africa should be targeting the American audience (or for that matter, elsewhere) as the destination of choice for first time African travelers. The upside potential for South Africa is large here in the US. I believe the US only sends about 200,000 Americans to South Africa a year, the same number as Holland, yet we have 20x the population (about 300 million to 15 million). Americans think East Africa as a knee jerk reaction when considering travel to see the animals of Africa. Their thought is due to a lack of understanding. Running TV and advert time here in the US could change that if done the right way. It also need not be expensive. The current advertising efforts are the same old message.

My apologies for the length here but I do believe that South Africa tourism is missing the mark. I realize you are just a private industry insider, like me, but your newsletters have good information and a good perspective.

Best Regards,

Richard Pace
Southern Sky Adventures
1893 Wycliff Road NW
Atlanta, GA 30309 USA
rpace@southernskyadventures.com
http://www.southernskyadventures.com
770.324.0068 phone
501.633.3009 fax
Blog: http://www.safarijourneys.com
Specializing in guided and self-drive trips through southern and East Africa