Joburg Tourism campaign: making visitors feel welcome

©Nicolas De Corte via 123RF

As Africa’s most visited city and the continent’s leading business and lifestyle destination, Joburg attracts visitors from Gauteng, from South Africa’s other provinces, from other African countries and from destinations around the world. The reasons they come to Johannesburg are as diverse as the visitors themselves. They could be students studying at our tertiary institutions, people who come for medical reasons, business people visiting the city for meetings, business events, exhibitions and incentives, sports enthusiasts, concertgoers, those seeking leisure, lifestyle, heritage and cultural experiences, and those who come to visit friends and relatives.

Joburgers encouraged to make a visitor's day

The Welcome to Jozi – Make a Visitor’s Day Today! campaign takes a collaborative approach with Joburgers to go the extra mile and make a visitor’s day. They are encouraged to be helpful, courteous and friendly. This may be a simple gesture such as helping a visitor with directions. They are also encouraged to learn more about visitors to Joburg, for example by providing Indian diners with plenty of serviettes and a finger bowl as they generally eat with their hands. The campaign will also educate locals on how to interact with visitors, for example etiquette and conversing in their languages to make them feel welcome

Joburgers can also make a visitor’s day by showing them the city’s rich culture, heritage, leisure and lifestyle attractions and activities. This means that they have to be familiar with the city’s tourist attractions and how to access them. As in many other destinations around the world, residents often remain unaware of their city’s tourism and leisure offerings and the campaign aims to address this.

Joburg is so much more than a stopover city, with a great deal to experience and explore. Our struggle history, and culture and heritage attractions provide fascinating insights into the city’s past and current developments.

Among the many exciting things to do:

• Visit historical sites such as the Apartheid Museum, Constitutional Hill and Liliesleaf

• Take a walking or cycling tour of Soweto or downtown Joburg

• Hang out in the funky Maboneng District and Braamfontein where you’ll find Joburg’s hip crowd exploring art galleries, theatres, bookstores, food markets, bars, specialty stores and more

• Adventure and adolescent junkies love the bungee jump at Orlando Towers in Soweto, zip lining in Melrose and go-karting at Kyalami Race Track

• The City Sightseeing Red City Tour hop-on-hop-off bus takes visitors to some of Joburg’s most iconic attractions and is a must-do adventure for any visitor to Joburg

• Eating out at our many fine restaurants for a culinary experience

• Shopping at our world class malls

• Explore Joburg’s art scene at fine art galleries and markets

• Enjoying world-class productions at our many theatres

• Taking part in our many outdoor annual sporting events

• Being part of exhilarating music concerts, entertainment and lifestyle events

Showcasing Joburg as a business events destination

When compared with other global cities, Joburg is one of the most affordable to visit for both domestic and international visitors, whether it’s paying for transport and accommodation, entry into the city’s many tourist attractions, shopping, or enjoying its superb restaurants, nightlife and cultural attractions.
The Welcome to Jozi – Make a Visitor’s Day Today! campaign will also showcase Johannesburg’s capabilities and credentials as an international destination of choice and as a year-round destination for business and investment, business events, lifestyle, sports and leisure.

Meeting planners organising meetings, conferences or exhibitions in Joburg are spoilt for choice when it comes to business events venues. They don’t need to venture outside of Joburg to source suitable venues. In addition, by retaining their meetings in Joburg, there is a range of four and five-star stand-alone international convention centres, expo centres, and multi-purpose venues that can cater for smaller meetings and large conferences of up to 20,000 delegates. To date, over 28 000 lifestyle events have been hosted in Joburg alone in 2015.

Nurturing tourism

There is also a wide range of three to five-star hotels that have high-tech meeting rooms, combining the best in accommodation with world-class conferencing facilities. “Visitors to our city make a significant contribution to Johannesburg’s economy, which benefits development, job creation and transformation. By giving our visitors the best experiences while in our vibrant city, we are nurturing and growing tourism’s contribution to our local economy which is advantageous to all of us.” Says counsellor Ruby Mathang, head of economic development at the City of Johannesburg.

He adds that the campaign’s success is dependent on collaboration and cooperation between the City of Johannesburg, its residents and all tourism stakeholders. “By working together, we can ensure visitors to our wonderful city experience the best that Johannesburg has to offer - our warm and welcoming people and the fantastic variety of experiences and attractions on offer.”