Business Traveler

SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM PROMOTION
South Africa is a beautiful and multi-faceted country. The sun shines almost all year
round. The beaches, mountains, bushveld, large cities and small towns across all nine
provinces offer unforgettable experiences, and of course, South Africans are friendly and
warm people. Travelling around and exploring our country is the perfect antidote to our
everyday workplace and personal stresses, yet nowhere near enough South Africans take
the time to enjoy a sho’t left (a short leisure trip or getaway).
This is exactly what the
‘Local Leisure at its
Best’ project is all about:
helping to entrench a
culture of holiday travel by adding
a rejuvenating leisure component
to business trips.
Spearheaded by South African
Tourism and the Association of
Southern African Travel Agents
(ASATA), the campaign aims
to show corporates the benefits
of extending their employees’
business trips to include a few
days of leisure experiences by
putting the rejuvenation back
into business travel through a
selection of affordable tailored
travel deals.
“The health and wellness
benefits of leisure travel are well
documented,” says Sthembiso
Dlamini, Chief Operating Officer
at South African Tourism.
“People who are encouraged
to take time out to enrich
themselves with holidays – even
short weekend trips – tend to
be more relaxed, motivated and
productive employees. They are
less likely to be stressed and more
likely to stay in the company’s
employ, as they feel valued and
incentivised.”
She says that business travel
offers the ideal opportunity for
corporates to reward employees
in a cost-effective manner, by
combining business travel with
holiday add-ons.
The campaign started with a
process to upskill more than 50
travel consultants to sell domestic
business-to-leisure travel.
“Equipping these agents, who
traditionally deal with business
travel, with the skills to sell leisure
travel add-ons is immensely
beneficial to their business as
well as enhancing their business
offering,” says Dlamini.
The pilot phase of the ‘Local
Leisure at its Best’ project was
rolled out in Gauteng in the
second half of 2016, and was
so successful that it has now
been extended to the rest of
the country, with dozens of
activations taking place at various
companies between February and
December this year.
“We are very pleased with
the success of this campaign
so far,” says Dlamini. “It has
already surpassed its target
of reaching 10,000 potential
business-to-leisure travellers. By
the end of July, we had already
completed 16 on-site activations
at corporates, reaching more than
13,000 prospective travellers and
generating close to 100 enquiries.
Another 16 activations have been
secured for the remaining five
months of the campaign, and
there are over 40 customers in the
pipeline.”
The campaign ties in with
South African Tourism’s new ‘5 in
5’ strategy to attract five million
tourists (four million additional
international and one million
more domestic) in the next five
years.
Dlamini expressed confidence
that through this partnership and
working with top corporates in
various industries, including the
banking, telecommunications and
government sectors, more South
Africans will get the opportunity
to take a sho’t left and enjoy
the country’s abundance of
attractions.
“ We are very pleased with
the success of this campaign so
far. It has already surpassed
its target of reaching 10,000
potential business-to-leisure
travellers. By the end of July,
we had already completed
16 on-site activations at
corporates, reaching more
than 13,000 prospective
travellers and generating close
to 100 enquiries. Another
16 activations have been
secured for the remaining
five months of the campaign,
and there are over 40
customers in the pipeline. ”
September is Tourism Month in South Africa,
making it the perfect time to get out and explore the
country. It overlaps with International Tourism Day
on 27 September, when the whole world highlights
the value of social, cultural, political and economic
tourism.
The timing of World Tourism Day comes at the end
of the northern hemisphere’s high season and the
beginning of the season in the southern hemisphere,
when tourism is on the minds of millions of people
worldwide.
34 | SEPTEMBER2017 Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.za