THE Big 9 Corporation (named after South Africa's nine provinces) announced at a function held at the Westcliff Hotel in Johannesburg yesterday morning that its advanced central reservations system for tourist accommodation in South Africa - Big 9 Reservations - is now operational.
The company - which was founded at the beginning of the year by a group of dedicated promoters, international IT company, World Bookings, an empowerment group and a South African private equity leisure fund - offers a one-stop, real time information, reservation and payment facility to both the supplier and the customer of tourism products, and plans to be a core player in developing the domestic tourism market in South Africa.
Big 9 ceo, Stander Jordaan, said the system would provide customers with consumer confirmation of reservations at a range of accommodation establishments including game parks, resorts, hotels and guesthouses and would be linked to the Big 9 Website and a co-branded domestic retail agency network.
"We plan to become the tourism industry's leading independent facilitator in terms of information, reservation and payment solutions, thus making a real contribution to closing the gap between demand and supply. We will do this through close co-operation with provincial tourism authorities and strategic industry partners." He adds: "While the number of overseas visitors to South Africa has increased significantly in recent years, and comprehensive marketing campaigns are conducted in the international market, the domestic market has remained untapped. SA needs to become more tourism driven which must start in our own backyard. Our aim is to make travel more accessible to all South Africans."
Jordaan added that since opening its doors two weeks ago, the Big 9 Reservations Call Centre has been inundated with enquiries by callers seeking affordable holidays, of which 13% have come from black South Africans.
Big 9 also announced that its call centre which currently operates from 08h00 to 17h00 daily would, from the middle of November, be operational 24 hours a day, while the addition of the Big 9 Internet Reservations facility would also enable customers to make reservations at any time.
Besides its reservations and Website division, the company consists of various other divisions including: destinations, promotions, financial services and a property management solutions division.
(Miguel de Sousa)
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