This comment was chosen specifically for the way that it echoes Tourism Update’s new campaign to grow and develop tourism in South Africa.
Commenting on the article, ‘Catch the flicker before it becomes a flame’ – reputational management key, Lodewyk de Klerk had this to say:
“A very current article to be taken seriously by us all in tourism in South Africa. National and provincial tourism authorities – and especially local towns and cities, need to be very aware of this danger. The solution is twofold. Firstly, know your broader tourism industry and suppliers as well as everybody providing a service in your town! – Sounds difficult but if you detect some bad service smoke in social media about your town or city – follow up! So be a watchdog to make sure excellence is always upheld by everybody – have programmes in your town or city to make locals aware of the negative consequences of self-bashing.
Secondly, let your tourism industry help to curb negative and fake news about them and your area. Collectively, form structures to put measures in place where you can all understand medium- and long-term consequences of happenings, media reporting and other events that can, in the long run, negatively influence potential tourist client decisions. We were all working so hard on Day Zero water plans in Cape Town that we all told the world about our water problem – and thousands of them just decided to stay away.
Media reporting, especially negative media, needs to be followed up immediately with honest and correct information – and let us not be afraid to apologise for mistakes made!”
de Klerk is a Cape Town resident, and has been co-owner of Southern Circle Tours and Safaris since 1996.
Interaction with our readers is an exciting part of what we do at Tourism Update. Reading comments on articles, seeing likes and shares on social media and getting feedback emails are constant reminders of the passionate audience we serve.
Through these interactions, Tourism Update hopes to gain awareness around tourism growth and development in South Africa. Look out for posts and articles with the hashtag #LetsGrowTourism to support this initiative and, most importantly, keep the communications coming.
