Mike Simpson

DESTINATION MARKETING Tougher times bring challenges for Africa’s tourism sector A booming tourism industry is one of the great hopes for increased employment and greater economic development in Africa. But the continent’s destination marketers are facing multiple challenges in their efforts to woo visitors. Strategic Marketing Africa investigates. Africa provides wonderful opportunities to woo visitors – but the marketing challenges are increasing 24 strategicmarketingafrica Issue 1 2016 I NTERNATIONALLY, TOURISM IS doing well, but the good times are largely passing Africa by. Terrorism, disease, sensational media reporting, over-regulation and lack of mid-priced tourism product are all playing a part in hampering what has the potential to be a very lucrative sector. “The continent is not getting its fair share of global tourism,” says Nigel Vere Nicoll, CEO of the African Travel and Tourism Association, a body representing 600 Southern African and global tourism organisations. Driving home the point home, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) reports that, in an international market that grew by 4,4% in 2014 to 1,1-billion travellers, African destinations attracted only 56-million visitors, 2% more than in 2013. Of total spending of US$1,12-trillion by international travellers in 2014, a mere US$36-billion (3%) was in Africa. The region’s fortunes showed no sign of improving in 2015. Africa, reports the UNWTO, saw a 5% fall in international tourist arrivals in the first eight months of 2015, compared with a 4,3% rise in total worldwide arrivals. There are multiple reasons for this unsatisfactory showing. Some are of the tourism industry’s own making. But, arguably, most are not and make for a daunting marketing challenge if the local industry is to claim a more representative share of global visitors. In 2014, significant damage was done to tourism by the Ebola epidemic. Although confined to six West African countries with insignificant tourism sectors, sensational media coverage ensured the virus impacted tourism to varying degrees across the entire sub-Saharan region. “The media is one of our biggest problems,” believes Vere Nicoll. “Big news agencies love painting a picture of darkest Africa.” David Germains, Tourism Director for Africa and The Americas for one of the continent’s tourism success stories, the Seychelles, agrees. “World media portrays a bad image of Africa and treats it as one country,” he observes. OUTLOOK FOR AFRICAN TOURISM NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM While there are many concerns around African tourism’s challenges, there are others who are bullish about the longerterm prospects. Speaking at an international travel forum in Durban in September 2015, the President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council, David Scowsill, said the growth of the African tourism industry could rival that of Asia-Pacific over the next decade. “The world has mostly been focused on Asia-Pacific as the fastest-growing region, but our latest figures demonstrate the potential in Africa’s travel and tourism industry, which is ripe for investment,” he told delegates. “Tremendous opportunities exist … yet growth doesn’t happen by itself and challenges remain. African nations must collectively focus on four key areas: first, expanded investment in tourism infrastructure; second, improved connectivity and air liberalisation – a move towards a fairer open skies policy; third, common visas across multiple countries: and fourth, investment in human capital to build the capacity and skills set of the workforce.” Issue 1 2016 strategicmarketingafrica 25 DESTINATION MARKETING Only three percent of international travel spend went to African destinations in 2014 Headlines about Ebola and terrorism have discouraged many foreign tourists from taking the plunge and visiting Africa Here birdie ... Ugandan destination marketers see great opportunity in attracting birding enthusiasts UGANDA MARKETS ITSELF TO BIRD LOVERS Ugandan destination marketers believe they have spotted a niche in the market and are promoting the country as the ideal African venue for bird watching. Various tour operators already offer birding safaris that can be as long as 14 or 22 days, while what is claimed to be the first African Birding Expo will be held from November 27-29 at the Entebbe Botanical Gardens. The venue was once used for filming Tarzan movies in the 1940s. Germains is also critical of the role played by the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and African Union (AU) in countering misconceptions. “At the time of the Ebola outbreaks, SADC and the AU should have stepped forward to provide clarity,” says Germains. “They could have prevented or reduced massive losses, but did nothing. They failed Africa.” Terrorism threat Many countries now face a threat to tourism far more concerning than Ebola. Doing serious damage are terrorism campaigns being waged in 12 East, North and West African countries by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) and others. 26 strategicmarketingafrica Issue 1 2016 This event is the brainchild of Herbert Byaruhanga, President of the Uganda Tourist Association and Chairman of the Uganda Safari Guides Association. He is also a pioneer in Ugandan birding tourism. According to a report published on the website Travel Marketing Worldwide, Byaruhanga says that, in the last 14 years, the birding industry has grown substantially and trained over 100 specialised bird guides. He adds that birders are among those whose visits to the country last the longest. “Any sniff of terrorism and tourists abandon their trip,” notes Andrew Widegger, Financial Director of hotel group City Lodge, operator of two hotels in hard-hit Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. It is not only the holiday market that has suffered. “Conference business has been impacted in a big way,” says Charles Campbell Clause, CEO of Nairobi-based conference firm Event and Conference Organisers Ltd. Reflecting the impact of terrorism, Reuters news agency reports that, in the first five months of 2015, Kenya suffered a 25,4% year-on-year fall in foreign arrivals. It followed a 4,3% fall in arrivals in 2014 and an 11,4% fall in 2013. A sniff of terrorism and tourists will rush to cancel their trip The country has acted to ensure security, but it is not a perfect solution. “There are armed soldiers on the streets, massive screening machines at hotels and malls, and armed guards on every floor,” says Germains. “It is not conducive to promoting tourism.” Tanzania wins Kenya’s plight has played into the hands of its so far terrorism-free neighbour, Tanzania. According to an estimate by the World Travel and Tourism Council, there were 1,15-million foreign tourist arrivals in Tanzania in 2015, up 5% on 2014. The Tanzania Tourism Board (TBB) is pulling out the stops. Among its marketing initiatives to keep the visitors arrivals ball rolling are TV advertisements on CNN and the BBC, plus a mobile trip-planning app that provides information on tourism destinations and accommodation. Ambitiously, the TBB targets 10-million foreign arrivals by 2025. However, Tanzania is not immune to terrorism and the UK issued a travel advice in December 2015 to its citizens, warning of an ‘underlying threat of terrorism’. “We are seeing some impact on business [as a result],” says Julian Edmunds, a Director of Coastal Aviation, Tanzania’s largest air safari specialist. North Africa’s challenges Facing an even bigger terrorism threat than East Africa is North Africa, which houses four of the continent’s five biggest tourism markets: Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. The region is already feeling the pain, with UNWTO reporting a 10% fall in foreign tourist arrivals in the first eight months of 2015. During that period, the biggest damage was done in Tunisia, where Isis killed 56 foreign tourists in two attacks. “Many hotels in Tunisia have closed their doors and cannot meet debt obligations because of a slump in bookings,” says Francois Conradie of NKC African Economics, part of the Oxford Economics independent global advisory firm. Tunisia played host to 6,2-million foreign tourists in 2014. “Egypt’s tourist industry will follow Tunisia’s,” predicts Conradie. Isis is increasingly making its presence felt in Egypt and in October 2015 it blew up a Russian airliner leaving the popular coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. This is not the first serious setback the country’s tourism industry has faced. Once Africa’s top tourist destination, foreign arrivals slumped from an all-time high of 14,5-million in 2010 to a low of 9,2-million in 2013 in the wake of the popular uprising and revolution of 2011. A promising recovery to 9,6-million arrivals in 2014 is clearly over. Summing up the situation, research firm BMI notes that the outlook for Egyptian tourism is ‘extremely poor’. Morocco, which in 2014 attracted 10,2-million foreign arrivals to make it Africa’s top destination, has so far escaped a direct terror attack. But it is not immune. “Terrorism is impacting all of North Africa,” says Khalid Baddou, head of the Moroccan Association of Marketing and Communication. Concerningly, he adds: “Isis has said explicitly that Morocco is a target.” Government involvement These are not the only challenges faced by organisations marketing African tourism. Top: Tourists in Egypt are escorted by armed guards. Above: The country is marketing its archaeological heritage to win back visitors EGYPT PROMOTES ITS ANTIQUITIES IN AN EFFORT TO BRING BACK THE TOURISTS In an effort to revive the country’s crucial tourism industry, Egypt’s government and tourism marketing authorities have initiated a range of headline-grabbing projects to attract the attention of potential visitors. “The Minister of Antiquities, Mamdouh Eldamaty, is omnipresent in the media and often appears at projects accompanied by domestic and international Egyptologists,” reports the website The Conversation. One highly publicised event was the 3D radar study of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings, a major attraction for international visitors. The analyses prompted the minister to say that experts were ‘90% sure’ there were still hidden chambers, reviving fantasies around the tomb of the young king that was discovered in 1922. “Other large-scale projects are also underway, designed to allow Egypt to show off its archaeological riches,” says The Conversation. “In Cairo, two ultra-modern museums are scheduled to open their doors in the near future: the long-delayed Grand Egyptian Museum and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation. Together, the two will offer 150 000m2 of space, housing nearly 200 000 objects under optimal storage conditions. They will also feature conference rooms, theatres and more.” Issue 1 2016 strategicmarketingafrica 27 DESTINATION MARKETING The tourism industry in Africa has gone too far upmarket A UNESCO world heritage site in Ethiopia, Awash Lower Valley ETHIOPIA IS A SURPRISE CHOICE AS THE WORLD’S BEST TOURISM DESTINATION IN 2015 Ethiopia beat off a host of more favoured candidates with wellestablished tourism industries to win the 2015 award for World’s Best Tourism Destination. The award is made annually by the European Council on Tourism and Trade and is only made to countries that comply with UN principles on fair tourism, ethical tourism and safety standards, and historic preservation of cultural sites. “The country has been praised for its outstanding natural beauty, dramatic landscapes and ancient culture, leading the European Council on Tourism and Trade to select it out of 31 countries as this year’s top holiday spot,” said international broadcaster CNN at the time the award was made last year. “Visitor numbers in the country have increased by 10% over the last decade, according to the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture Backing by governments also often leaves much to be desired. “It is not uncommon for governments’ to have a disruptive influence,” says Vere Nicoll. There are arguably few more unusual examples than in Africa’s second-largest 28 strategicmarketingafrica Issue 1 2016 and Tourism. Last year, more than 600 000 tourists visited Ethiopia, attracted by its fertile national parks, 3 000-year-old archaeological history and nine UNESCO world heritage sites.” In August 2015, the government announced that it intended to triple foreign visitor numbers to more than 2,5-million by 2020. The ultimate goal was to see the country as one of Africa’s top five tourist destinations. “There are many reasons tourism took a back seat [in the past], but the number one [reason] was getting the basic infrastructure in place,” Solomon Tadesse, CEO of the Ethiopian Tourism Organisation, told news agency IPS. “Now the government can get fully behind [tourism] based on the economic growth of the last 10 years, which has also created a good impression with the outside world.” tourism market, South Africa, which in 2014 recorded 9,55-million foreign visitors, 2,26-million of whom were from outside the continent. What had been a promising rising trend in foreign arrivals – 7,1% up in 2013 and 6,6% in 2014 – was halted in its tracks by measures put in place by the Department of Home Affairs. In the first of the measures, onerous visa requirements were imposed in August 2014 on a number of developing markets, including China and India. “You cannot underestimate the importance of positioning in developing markets, especially [those two countries],” says Otto de Vries, CEO of the Association of Southern African Travel Agents. Indeed, prior to the new visa requirements China and India were by far SA’s fastest-growing markets. Between 2008 and 2013, arrivals from China grew by 274% to 151 847 people and from India by 132% to 112 672 visitors. It was a very different picture in 2015. According to Statistics South Africa, in the first nine months, year-on-year Chinese arrivals fell by 19,7% and Indian arrivals by 12,3%. The loss has translated into a large gain for Mauritius. In 2015, reports Statistics Mauritius, arrivals from China jumped 41,4% to make it the island’s fifth-largest market. Arrivals from India were up 18%, while total arrivals increased 10,8% to a record 1,15 million. South Africa’s self-imposed tourism woes did not stop at visas. Damage has also been done to all its markets by Home Affairs’ imposition in June 2015 of a regulation requiring children under 18 entering or leaving the country to have an unabridged birth certificate. The move is believed to be unique in the world. Its impact has been severe. In the first nine months of 2015, arrivals from outside Africa fell by 8,4% and from Africa by 6,4%. This left total arrivals down by 6,9%. In January, Home Affairs announced that arrivals over the festive season were up by 7,6% on the previous year. However, the tourism industry cast doubt on the figures and added that the numbers should have been far greater, given the country’s weak currency that benefits foreign visitors. DESTINATION MARKETING While wildlife is a key component of the African tourism message, marketers should also stress other attributes such as the diversity of its inhabitants BETTER AIR LINKS SET TO BOOST BUSINESS TRAVEL While holiday-based tourism is a significant money-spinner, travel within Africa for business or shopping purposes is also a huge market. Links between the continent’s two largest economies – South Africa and Nigeria – received a boost in early 2016 with the introduction of flights between Johannesburg and the Nigerian capital of Abuja. South African Airways began offering three weekly flights to Abuja from January, in addition to long-standing services between Johannesburg and Lagos. “Introducing Abuja as a second entry point into Nigeria will add more travel options, especially for the business community, and will enhance our footprint on the continent,” said an SAA spokesperson. “Nigeria is one of the fastest growing air travel markets in sub-Saharan Africa … these [countries] are the two economic powerhouses of Africa, with much more to offer and share.” 30 strategicmarketingafrica Issue 1 2016 “It’s a tragedy. Tourism should be booming,” says Vere Nicol. “South Africa has everything going for it. The rand’s fall has made it cheap and it has diverse attractions including the Western Cape winelands, historic battlefields, wildlife and its apartheid struggle story.” Although the unabridged birth certificate requirement has been abandoned on an instruction from the Cabinet, De Vries remains concerned. “The damage has been done. Travellers are confused and will go elsewhere. It will cost the private sector a fortune to rebuild tourism markets.” Typical of damage done, one of the UK’s largest travel firms, Trafalgar Tours, has switched its South African family holiday destination marketing budget to New Zealand. Simplify visas Visa problems are not unique to SA as a brake on tourism. “It can be a nightmare to get an African visa,” says Germains. “Reduce visa restrictions and Africa will benefit hugely.” The solution, believes Vere Nicol, is regional visas along the lines of the European Union’s Schengen 90-day visa valid in 26 countries. “It is essential to move in this direction to simplify travel,” he says. Simplifying travel is one of the reasons for Seychelles’ success, argues Germains. “We have a no-visa policy for all countries,” he says. A nation of only 92 000 people, Like us on Facebook: Strategic Marketing Africa Magazine Seychelles attracted an estimated 277 000 foreign tourists in 2015. Simplifying visa requirements goes hand-in-hand with the need for broader co-operation between countries, believes Vere Nicol. “We are bad at speaking with one voice, but we must market Africa as a whole and, especially, regionally. This is where the future lies.” Germains believes African tourism is also falling short on communicating effectively with the world. “There is no website where you can find general information on the continent,” he says. “All you need are a few well-trained people getting credible information and putting it online. It would be a very cost-effective way of putting a positive message out to the world.” New marketing messages The message should also be that the continent is not just about wildlife and beach resorts, stresses Germains. “Africa has many other unique attractions, not least its huge diversity of inhabitants,” he says. Despite the many challenges, Vere Nicol remains upbeat on longer-term prospects for tourism. However, he sees a need for a modified approach. “The industry has gone far too upmarket. The big growth in future will be in the midincome foreign and inter-Africa travel markets. The continent needs fewer new luxury hotels and more mid-market threestar hotels.” For daily marketing news updates, go to www.africanmc.org PHOTOS: XXX New flights between Johannesburg and Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, should improve regional business travel