Cape Town tourism goes East
Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU), the tourism destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape, is participating in South African Tourism's trade workshops in China (including Hong Kong), Korea and Japan from 22-30 July 2010. Also in support are the regional and local tourism offices of the Cape Winelands and Cape Garden Route & Klein Karoo.
The workshops are scheduled for Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo and Osaka and are expected to attract 1150 tourism trade and media members. In China, the workshop takes on the style of a fun South African village and in Hong Kong, that of a mini exhibition.
Both Japan and South Korea are bidding to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup and it is reported that China recently expressed an interest to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This provides Itumeleng Pooe, CTRU's executive manager of international marketing, with a solid base for sharing 2010 FIFA World Cup experiences and lessons learnt with these markets, especially CTRU's 2010 marketing campaign, "Beyond the 90 Minutes".
"These workshops are being conducted at the opportune time. The Western Cape is top-of-mind in the Asian markets because of Japan's stay in the Garden Route. Through our participation in the workshops, we will ensure that the publicity we received during the World Cup is converted into increased arrivals to our beautiful province," confirmed Western Cape MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Alan Winde.
China's interest grows
Says Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO of CTRU, "Cape Town and the Western Cape experienced a 40% growth in tourism arrivals from China last year, compared to 2008. We must build on this increase and make even sharper inroads into a market that is regarded as one of the fastest growing outbound tourism markets in the world."
Bradley Bouwer, GM of Asia Pacific SA Tourism, says, "We've experienced a definite and real interest in South Africa since the World Cup, and a better response from travel trade and media here. This is indeed our moment. What the South African tourism industry needs to do now, is ensure that the country remains the value-for-money destination that it really is. We appreciate CTRU's participation in the workshops, as the appetite for Cape Town and the Western Cape has grown exponentially."
