Tourism KwaZulu-Natal highlighted plans to intensify its international marketing efforts, during Indaba 2013, to secure a greater slice of the tourism market.
MEC for Economic Development and Tourism for KwaZulu Natal, Michael Mabuyakhulu, outlined the process undertaken to develop the province’s 20-year Tourism Master Plan.
“The KZN Tourism Master Plan sets out ambitious targets to 2030 and aims to steer the regional tourism industry on to a development trajectory that would give effect to global recognition of our province as the African continent’s top beach destination with the added attraction of a unique blend of wildlife, as well as scenic and heritage experiences,” said Mabuyakhulu.
Tourism KwaZulu-Natal Board Chairman, Sadha Naidoo, emphasised the need for tourism players to adapt to the dynamic global tourism landscape. “We are all acutely aware of the fact that the global tourism market is a highly competitive environment in which to operate. No player can afford to rest on his or her laurels, for to do so will result in losing the competitive edge. Less well-known perhaps, but no less critical, is that tourism is a highly dynamic industry. Such dynamism spawns rapidly changing trends, including the profile of the tourists we serve.”
Naidoo spoke about the ‘new tourist’, who is typically young, independent of mind, digitally savvy and demands authenticity. “The new tourist is more quality conscious, harder to please, has the courage to venture into non-traditional environments and tends to seek out destinations following responsible tourism ideals.”
Tourism KZN CEO, Ndabo Khoza, echoed Naidoo’s sentiments and said Tourism KZN was committed to adapt to the ever-changing face of tourism and to understand the expectation of ‘new tourists’ to fully experience the destination. “We have re-engineered our brand communications and brand packaging to focus our marketing of KZN and SA using key and iconic experiences.”
Eight experiences were identified as key brand differentiators for brand Zulu Kingdom: Warmth, Heritage, Adventure, Trade, Gateway, Zulu, Fun, Family-orientated and Beaches. Translating these to traditional packaging, Tourism KZN said these factors could be translated into six packages: Beaches, Adventure, Heritage, Trade Gateway, Zulu and Family-orientated.
Khoza said the intention of provincial tourism stakeholders was to impact the current trends in terms of the packaging of SA internationally. He outlined the evolution of the marketing and packaging of the Zulu Kingdom brand. “To take KZN to the next level, we need to entrench partnerships with the entire tourism value chain. It is, therefore, critical that we understand and reinforce brand Zulu Kingdom in a manner that allows us to present the destination to the world consistently and cohesively.”
