Question NW237 to the Minister of Tourism

Reply:

a)  Countries of origin being focussed on

There are 44 countries that SA Tourism focusses on as identified through its Marketing Investment Framework.

Americas	Europe	Asia, Australasia and Middle East	Africa
Argentina Brazil Canada USA	Austria Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Ireland Italy Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland UK	Australia China India Japan Malaysia New Zealand Singapore Turkey UAE	Angola Botswana DRC Ethiopia Ghana Kenya Lesotho Malawi Mozambique Namibia Nigeria Eswatini Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe

b) i) Why were these countries selected

These countries ranked highly in the South African Tourism’s Marketing Investment Framework. The Marketing Investment Framework brings together the elements of the target (i.e., the what?), markets (i.e., the where?) and investment (i.e., the how?), and has prioritised 44 countries where South African Tourism should invest.

ii) How were these countries selected

The selected countries were selected based on the attractiveness and South Africa’s ability to win. Market attractiveness is assessed on socio-economic indicators as well as the outbound tourism potential. South Africa’s ability to win is determined based on how easy it is for South Africa to operate and perform in each market. Here we consider our visa regime for each country, South Africa’s diplomatic centres in each country and air connectivity between the country and South Africa.

c) What is been done to market the country (SA) jn these markets?

SA Tourism’s major marketing activities covers brand building initiatives as well as strategic partnerships to drive sales. SA Tourism has developed and launched brand campaigns in the various markets, worked with trade partners to develop deal-driven campaigns and joint marketing campaigns, educated the trade to better sell South Africa, hosted trade and media on familiarisation trips. This work is supported by stakeholder engagements, PR campaigns to drive brand positivity, events and activations that raise the profile of South Africa as a tourism destination. Furthermore, South African Tourism conducts active training through targeted programmes across the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) network (embassies and consulates) to enable them to actively promote tourism to South Africa.