South Africa has many towns that are hidden gems and off-the-beaten-track attractions that would appeal to international travellers, but there are many challenges.
If a tour does pass through one of these towns, it is usually for a quick lunch stop or an overnight stay en-route to a destination. This means many of the country’s provincial destinations are overlooked.
Operators have written to Tourism Update – in response to our article about the ‘forgotten provinces’ – to help highlight these challenges and appeal for them to be more than one-night stands in an itinerary.
Chris McDulling writes:
Much of my tourism life has been spent trying to offer experiences that are off the beaten track and in underutilised areas.
I can’t boast of being hugely successful and am still in the survivalist category, but I have enjoyed every minute immensely, although with far less financial gain than I would have made had I focused solely on the marketed highlights of the country, with repeated set departure tours.
All my business, after 20 years, is from word-of-mouth referrals. I have been part of several drives to unify guides and small one-man-band operators, and there have been small gains, but most of this has been low-level creation of small networks.
In hindsight, one of the pitfalls for the networks not being more successful is epitomised in this statement. “Tourism businesses in these provinces need to be proactive and active in associations and with their fellow tourism business owners.”
Generally, associations’ first priority is representation for their members where marketing is usually on the back burner because there are so many red-tape issues and other stumbling blocks that face people in tourism. This needs attention first, which is a constant battleground, as there are no resources to spare for meaningful marketing by associations.
It always seems that, instead of being in an enabling environment, tourism is constantly challenged and brought down. Added to this, there are already bodies that attract all the funding for marketing, and associations can’t get a slice of the pie, whether it is at municipal, regional or national level.
As a result, there is very little or no willpower to include the actual service providers who cross the operational borders of the existing marketing bodies to make up their tour routes.
This is especially so for the micro operator who is the pioneer of new and faltering tourism attractions. Taking a handful of people to WTM or something similar just does not crack it, even though you can stand up and show how much money you have thrown down this hole.
Now we are proverbially at the historic battle of Dunkirk and the little boats will still be overlooked and side-lined. For far too long this has been the case and the rural areas, the hidden gems, will still not get the traction they deserve in our post-COVID resurrection.
Include the micro operator, give more support and exposure to the potential that can become a huge web of the little spiders that we as micro operators and one-man bands are. Then you will have the broader and more equitable spread of tourism that everyone is crying for.
Tony Horn writes:
I am a tour operator based in Bloemfontein and firmly believe in bringing tourists both local and foreign to the ‘forgotten’ provinces. My challenge, though, is that unfortunately many of the attractions that are operated by local municipalities are in a terrible state or no longer in operation.
Recently, I was on tour in the North West province and the Northern Cape and was shocked at the condition of the museums in Mahikeng, Kuruman and Kimberley. How can we attract tourists to these destinations if there is nothing good to show them?
Local government must be proactive and place people in posts who are passionate in their work and not only there for a salary.
I also feel that the big South African tour operators consider the Free State only as a route to pass from point A to B. We are SO much more than Clarens (no offence to Clarens) and it is such a shame that we are considered as one-night stands.
In Bloemfontein we have a rich history, diverse attractions and fascinating people, yet, unfortunately, most operators will spend a morning at most then off they go on to the N1, heading north or south.
Indeed we cannot compete against Cape Town, the Panorama Route or the Kruger National Park, but in the forgotten provinces we have our own gems and they deserve to be recognised.
