Johannesburg Tourism joins the broadband boom

"Another special feature on the site is our online help desk. Whenever a Johannesburg Tourism Company staff member is online, visitors to the site will be able to ask them questions in a chat room. This enables us to address questions without delay," says Eddy Khosa, Deputy CEO of the Johannesburg Tourism Company.

Emails sent out by Johannesburg Tourism Company staff members also include the streaming video link and recipients of the mail can instantly click on an icon to view it. This enables the Johannesburg Tourism Company to actively present Johannesburg online to potential tourists and clients interested in booking conferences and events.

"Our vision is for these new marketing tools to encourage tourists to extend the length of their stay in Johannesburg. We also hope to increase the number of tourists visiting the city, to extend the geographical spread of tourism and to level out the seasonal spread of the tourism economy in Johannesburg. These services compliment our existing range of marketing tools to attract major events to Johannesburg and surrounds," concludes Khosa.

Now Media Webcasting, which is behind the innovation, says internet streaming adds life to a website and direct emailing campaigns, through video-on-demand. Worldwide broadband subscriptions reached 100 million in March 2004, reports eMarketer, and that is expected to triple to 300 million by 2005.