South African Tourism Middle East Workshop report 1-7 February 2008
1. Introduction Cape Town Tourism participated in two one day Middle East workshops with South African Tourism (SAT) in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 1-7 February 2008. We also partnered with 5 tourism businesses to represent their products. Although the Middle East countries make up only 1.5% of the current international visitor arrivals to South Africa, the fact that people living in these countries are generally wealthy, look to travel from June to September, often in large groups, have a high average length of stay as well as a high average spend per trip make them an attractive market to tourism businesses in Cape Town and the Western Cape. The recent increase in direct air links to Cape Town and the friendliness of our destination to Muslim visitors makes the market more attractive. South African Tourism selected Saudi Arabia and the UAE as locations for the first Middle Eastern workshops as the two countries make the most significant contribution to the Middle East tourism expenditure. Saudi Arabia and UAE consumers travel more than the rest of the Middle East.
They were also selected because of the flight capacity from these countries. Further capacity will be added when Emirates begins operating direct daily flights to Cape Town International on the 30 th of March 2008. In addition, Emirates Holidays‟ travel packages will start to include South African packages, particularly focussing on Cape Town in its „World of Choice‟ brochure. Emirates‟ flight will take off daily from Cape Town 18h10 and land in Dubai at 05h40 the following day. Inbound flights will depart Dubai at 08h35 hours and arrive in Cape Town at 16h25.
2. General travel trends in the Saudi Arabia and UAE markets The majority of Arab travellers prefer to arrange their travel plans through traditional Arab agencies. Verbal referrals & oral communication is the highest influencing factor There are a large number of non-Arab nationals or expatriates working in these countries who have completely different travel requirements to the Arab travellers Arab travellers spend an average of three to four weeks on holiday Arab travellers are high-end clients. Do not recommend budget services Arab travellers do not like to mix with other Arabs while on holiday Arab families prefer apartments and connecting rooms Arab travellers prefer rooms with sea views Many Arabs do not like oily or spicy food. They like seafood Arab travellers prefer to talk to the boss if they have a demand or complaint Arab love shopping, especially for branded clothes and electrical items Arab travellers prefer private tours Arab travellers prefer top-of-the-range vehicles Arab travellers enjoy waterfalls, beaches, lakes and other water-based attractions Arab females use private or women-only swimming pools
3. Specific Saudi Arabian information In 2006, just over 6000 Saudi Arabians were recorded to have visited South Africa. The market is small and grew at only 2% in that year. However, this market contributes to 25% of the foreign direct spend in SA. Leisure travellers stay an average of 13 nights and spend an average of R755 per night. Surveys show that past travellers are generally satisfied with the destination but concerned about public transport and safety, particularly in Johannesburg. There are 25 million people living in Saudi Arabia which includes 7 million expatriates (22%) of the population. See the two reports provided by the South African Consulate in Jeddah for more information on the market. It seemed that word of mouth and the experiences of friends and relatives was a significant factor in influencing travel. Agents seemed to know only 2 key destinations in South Africa, Sun City and the V&A Waterfront. Most agents had sent visitors to Cape Town and there is keen interest in the destination. Agents were looking for holidays for couples, honeymooners and families. Their clients are interested in shopping, eating out and nightlife. There were a large number of agents that attended the workshop in Jeddah. All were very interested in learning more about Cape Town and South Africa. All the agents were most interested in the top attractions in the City, especially the Waterfront, although there was some interest in hearing about locations like Gordon‟s Bay and the False Bay coast, Camp‟s Bay, the Southern Suburbs and destinations up the coast to the Garden Route, especially where there were family activities available. They were also very interested in education. There was a keen interest in language schools, especially for children from 10-18. There was also interest in sabbaticals for a professor from Saudi Arabia to Cape Town University. There was also interest in train travel on the blue train and other local trains, as well as the Cape Town Southern Line route from the City to Simon‟s Town. There was also some interest in the Table Mountain walking trails. The Saudi Arabians are keen on football and their national team are likely to qualify for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Other characteristics: o o o o o o Leisure* (67%), business* (26%) Male (71%); Female (29%) Aged 25 to 54 (79%) Professionals (52%) Travel alone or with a partner (59%) Prefer independent travel (82%)
4. Specific UAE information There was less interest from the operators in Dubai. This is not to say that there is not significant interest from this market as travellers from the UAE contributed 35% of the foreign direct spend in South Africa in 2006. Travellers from the UAE stay 15 nights on average and spend an average of R984 per night in SA. Surveys show that past travellers are generally satisfied with the destination but are also concerned about public transport and safety. The population of the UAE is much smaller than Saudi Arabia at just over 4 million. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the largest cities. Dubai‟s population is 1.4 million and 80% of this population are expatriates. It is clear that the expatriate have very different travel requirements to the Arab Nationals or Emirates. It was interesting to note that there are a large number of middle and upper management that are of Indian origin, particularly from Pakistan. This is also a market that is looking for travel destinations. The market is still influenced by previous experiences and most people travel to the Western Cape and Gauteng. Agents were very interested in Cape Town and were looking for honeymoon and family holiday destinations. Shopping, eating out and nightlife are also the most popular activities. Other characteristics: Leisure* (64%), business* (34%) Male (55%); Female (45%) Aged 25 to 44 (62%) Professionals or executives (66%) Travel alone or with a partner (71%) Prefer independent travel (78%) 5. Recommendations for operators 5.1 Work with operators already in the market
There are a number of experienced operators in the market such as Tamrich Tours who are based in Johannesburg and very keen to work with Cape Town businesses. 5.2 Work with businesses who would like to host this market
There are a number of operators that are interested in hosting this market. Work with language schools, universities, accommodation, tour operators and family focussed activities. 5.3 Work with the South African embassies and consulates
The Consulates and Embassies are very positive about the tourism potential to South Africa and keep lists of agents and operators in their areas. They are happy to share this information with operators and act as business facilitors where possible. The Saudi Arabian Consulate offered to translate marketing material into Arabic at no cost. 5.4 Incorporate Arab history and stories of interest in tours and experiences
The Arab traveller wants to see how Arab and South African history are interlinked. Look for experiences and stories that share these links.
5.5
Be clear on which segment you target
The needs of the Arab traveller are very different to the various expatriate residents of both countires. Be clear which market you are targeting as they have very different requirements. 5.6 Focus on 2010
The Saudi Arabian soccer team is likely to qualify for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. This will be an excellent opportunity to showcase the country. Travellers will be looking for places to stay, especially near Cape Town. 6. Budget and approach A total of 5 members businesses contributed R3000 (ex VAT) to gain specific exposure via the workshops. The total income was R15 000. The businesses that participated were: The Louis Group (Place on the Bay, Fairways, Erinvale Hotel and Devon Valley Hotel), Celtic Manor and Spa, Nature Discovery Tours, Platinum Escape Tours and Uwe Koetter Jewellers. The information on the workshops was circulated to all Cape Town Tourism members in a “Get more business from events” newsflash. No direct enquiries were received from this electronic communication. A list of potential products was then drawn up based on the perceived needs of the market and need for both operators and accommodation to participate. The Membership Manager then called the various potential businesses, explained the opportunity and emailed a summary of the workshop exposure. On confirmation of attendance, an invoice was sent to the establishment and participation was confirmed on receipt of payment. In order to fairly represent each product, a one hour interview was held with each product representative, preferably at the place of business of the operator. The Membership Manager visited Celtic Manor in Gordon‟s Bay and went on a one day trip with Nature Discovery Tours. Brochures and marketing material were collated from each business, CTRU (DVDs, maps, golf guides) and CTT (Visitor‟s Guides and safety tips). These needed to be weighed and couriered to Johannesburg. SAT had negotiated 30kg of excess luggage on the international flight for brochures. On return from the workshop, the Membership Manager captured all of contacts, wrote a report and held 2 feedback meetings for the participating businesses. Follow up emails were also sent to all those met at the show and participating businesses were copied where applicable. The cost of the workshops was R21 000, including flights, accommodation, travel allowance, brochure courier costs and visa costs. There was a shortfall of R6000.
7. Recommendations for Cape Town Tourism Cape Town Tourism should continue to support South African Tourism (SAT) and Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU) to provide exposure for businesses who are interested in working in the markets targeted by both organizations. There is also a significant need for information and marketing services to support brand Cape Town. These opportunities should be planned in advance where possible in order to allow businesses and Cape Town Tourism to budget and plan for the exposure. The relationship with SAT must be developed and maintained, particularly to determine the next engagements with key markets and the support that can be provided by CTRU and CTT with its members. I think that SAT workshops hold significant potential business for Cape Town Tourism members. A follow up on activities after the workshop needs to be conducted with SAT. They did let us know that they have been in discussions with a Saudi television station and are in the process of arranging for the film crew to be hosted by SAT in South Africa. CTT members would benefit from this exposure. The relationship with CTRU also needs to be developed and maintained to forge greater alignment and better communication to the industry regarding workshop opportunities and to bring back learning‟s and feedback from workshops. A feedback session has been scheduled with members and will include information on the Middle East workshops, Northern Ireland, Netherlands and Belgian consumer shows (attended by Cathy Alberts, CTT) and SAT India workshop (attended by Debbie Damant from CTRU). Further discussions and planning will be conducted with CTRU to put together a year plan and programmes for member‟s to participate in shows and worshops.