E-Tourism Africa Summit judged a success

This year's line-up of speakers included Jason Schlosberg, the American tourist who created "The Battle of Kruger" safari video that went on to become an award-winning Internet sensation, with over 62 million views to date. Schlosberg spoke about his experience via a live Skype call from New York.

Another extremely popular presentation, and a first-time speaker in South Africa, was Sally Broom, the CEO and founder of Tripbod.com, which spans 80 countries, with local experts on local destinations giving potential visitors inside advice on the best things to do and see. The local experts become "Tripbods" and help like-minded travellers plan the perfect trip.

There were also presentations from Trip Advisor, Expedia and Google, with lots of new insights showing how people book and decide their travel preferences online. Trip Advisor's Helena Egan, encouraged the sector to engage actively online and respond to reviews, both good and bad.

New approach

This year's summit contained a new approach in the programme. The second day offered delegates the option of attending a full day's practical online tourism seminar or to interact with e-marketing specialists in panel sessions. The panel sessions covered in-depth discussions about the new online roles for destination managers, travel agents, tour operators, wildlife managers and airlines, all moderated by leading international experts.

Both SA Tourism and Cape Town Tourism sponsored a number of Tourism SMMEs to attend the summit. They also produced an Online Tourism Textbook, which was given to all the delegates. The textbook outlines a step-by-step guide to working more effectively online and also profiles local case studies on South African companies using online media in their tourism business.

Cape Town Tourism CEO, Mariette du Toit Helmbold, said that the summit is one of the platforms that Cape Town Tourism uses to engage the tourism industry actively, about the importance of being future-fit: "In a world where more than 95 percent of travel research, and more than half of travel purchases are done online, it is critical for tourism players to know how to engage actively with - and listen to - potential customers.

Embraced the web

"Cape Town Tourism has embraced the Web, and in particular social media, as a key part of our marketing strategy, communications plan and organisational culture. Social media is not an extension of our marketing programme - it is integrated in everything we do. It is about conversation and relationships with our various stakeholders - from citizens, to prospective and repeat visitors to our city.

"As a destination Cape Town is increasing its marketing profile and presence online. Our Facebook Group, I (heart) Cape Town, is incredibly popular with one of the largest group of destination fans in the world; we have regular blogs, Flickr competitions and web itineraries that all form part of a communications solution. We must ensure that we have a destination that will be popular and connected to the new travellers of the next decade. Certainly this year's E-Tourism Africa Summit gave us lots of fresh new insights, and as an industry, a lot of opportunities and examples of how we can create a stronger and more sustainable future in tourism", she said.