Cape tourism partners to strengthen online presence

GUESTHOUSE owners, tour operators, restaurateurs and others involved in the tourist industry will soon be able to gain extensive marketing benefits from a sophisticated tourism information and booking system being implemented in Cape Town and the Western Cape province – and all for free with membership of any tourism bureau. “Potential and existing tourists will soon have a whole new way of discovering Cape Town and the Western Cape via the internet” said Western Cape Tourism and Gambling minister, Joyce Witbooi. “This tool will revolutionise the way the Cape is marketed, and will be an invaluable information resource for tourism structures, visitors, stakeholders in the Cape tourism industry and travel journalists across the world,” said Mike Fabricus, ceo of the Western Cape Tourism Board (WCTB). “It will support the joint marketing strategy and brand for Cape Town and the Western Cape and assist in the transformation of the tourism public sector organisations”. Visitors will be able to navigate the full spectrum of the Western Cape’s attractions, destinations, products and events via a series of related Internet websites. Information will be displayed by province, region, town and also in various targeted market related themes. Tourism bureaus and tourism promotion agencies for major events and conferences across the city and province will use the same information held in a single database to deliver efficient and effective service by phone, fax, e-mail or in person. The initiative is also strongly focused on assisting emerging entrepreneurs and smaller businesses to use the latest technology to gain access to the tourism markets. Instead of spending time and money developing a tool that already exists, the WCTB and its province and city partners have bought a proven system from a top international provider of destination management software. The partnership is with an Austrian company, Tiscover AG and a Black Economic Enterprise, Software Colors Pty (Ltd) as Tiscover’s local service partner. A major thrust of the project is local capacity building and empowerment and Software Colors will fulfil the role of training and assisting with local implementation. (Miguel de Sousa)