Conference identifies cultural tourism as opportunity

DELEGATES at least week’s national tourism conference in Gauteng heard how cultural tourism had been identified as a significant gap in South Africa’s product offering. Private and public sector tourism stakeholders attending the conference split into working groups to address challenges and opportunities that the 2010 Soccer World Cup would present. One issue was that of product development and investment. Delegates spent the morning session discussing how South Africa’s brand appeals to a narrow set of consumers and the product gaps, including cultural tourism, that have been identified in certain markets as part of the recent competitiveness study. The discussions also looked at challenges in accessing the markets, lack of information and poor availability of consumer data. Facilitating the workshop, SA Tourism coo, Moeketsi Mosola, confirmed that it was up to the private sector to lead the process of product development and that government should be held responsible for creating an enabling environment for this to take place. (Natalia Thomson)