Cape Town Tourism CEO assures organization will remain dynamic

In the wake of an announcement at the Cape Town Tourism AGM (Annual General Meeting) on October 18, 2012 that the City of Cape Town will now lead the destination marketing of Cape Town, Cape Town Tour

In the wake of an announcement at the Cape Town Tourism AGM (Annual General Meeting) on October 18, 2012 that the City of Cape Town will now lead the destination marketing of Cape Town, Cape Town Tourism CEO, Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, assured that her organization will remain a dynamic industry organization delivering tourism destination marketing and visitor services in line with its constitution. Considered by many as a world best example partnership between local government (which appoints Cape Town Tourism to deliver specified services on behalf of the City as outlined in a Service Level Agreement) and the private sector tourism industry, represented through Cape Town Tourismโ€™s close to 2,000 members, she was confident that Cape Town Tourism was the best vehicle to deliver tourism destination marketing and visitor services for Cape Town.

Cape Town Tourismโ€™s ability to navigate the significant changes in the global tourism arena, take advantage of trends in digital marketing, and deliver innovative customer-centered marketing despite limited funding and tough competition has been lauded by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General, UNWTO, commended Cape Town Tourism on the role the organization plays in positioning Cape Town as one of the worldโ€™s leading destinations. โ€œKey programs over the past year, including a new, compelling marketing campaign and a concerted push into social media platforms, have positioned Cape Town Tourism at the forefront of some of the most innovative initiatives in destination marketing,โ€ he said.

The City of Cape Town introduced their new Tourism, Events, and Marketing (incorporating Arts & Culture and Strategic Assets) Directorate to the industry at the Cape Town Tourism AGM. The function of the new directorate includes Place Marketing โ€“ a department that will, in the future, take care of destination marketing at large for the City. Cape Town Tourism will focus on tourism marketing, while supporting the directorate with Place Marketing programs.

Cape Town Tourismโ€™s grant funding was reduced from the budgeted R42 million (US$4.8 million) to R36 million (US$4.1 million), which in effect means the operating budget has to be cut from R48million (US$5.5 million) to R39.8 million (US$4.5 million) for 2012/2013.

The Cityโ€™s Service Level Agreement with Cape Town Tourism outlines tourism marketing services required as:

โ€ข domestic and international tourism marketing, which is defined as promoting Cape Town at agreed and approved marketing exhibitions and markets;

โ€ข domestic and international trade and media hosting;

โ€ข online, digital, and e-marketing services; and

โ€ข additional tourism marketing activities as requested from time to time (at additional costs to the City).

Mayor Patricia de Lille said: โ€œI am pleased that Cape Town Tourism initiated a series of international campaigns emphasizing the broadening of our offering, however, it is clear that a great deal more work needs to be done to further entrench our position in this regard. The City is ready to take the lead in making sure that we leverage our assets to broaden our offering.โ€

Said Du Toit-Helmbold: โ€œUp to now, Cape Town Tourismโ€™s destination mandate and the services delivered for the City as outlined in past agreements did not include business, investment, and study promotion, even though the tourism marketing strategy and campaign were developed to complement and enhance a broader economic brand and strategy for Cape Town. We have had to make difficult decisions in the past, and we will do so again to ensure that Cape Town Tourism is a well-run organization that contributes in a real way to position Cape Town as one of the worldโ€™s leading tourism destinations.

โ€œWe are encouraged by the Cityโ€™s commitment to conclude a three-year visitor services and tourism marketing agreement with Cape Town Tourism before June 2013. We are committed to work with the City of Cape Town to co-design our future partnership with the City and agree on Cape Town Tourismโ€™s role and responsibility within the broader Place Marketing agenda of the City. Tourism, the third largest contributor to the global economy, after the automobile and banking sectors, is a sector that really matters.

โ€œAs the world prepares to witness one billion arrivals by the end of 2012, we will never lose sight of the fact that tourism makes a significant contribution to shaping Cape Townโ€™s future and a better life for its citizens. The partnership between tourism and local government must realize growth and opportunities for the tourism industry and those that work in and provide services to the sector.โ€

The financial statements of Cape Town Tourism, as approved by the Board, were presented at the AGM. Outgoing Chair of the Board, Ian Bartes, commented that the 2011/2012 financial yearโ€™s highlights included a total recoupment of the deficit incurred in 2010 for additional deliverables in hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup and a significant improvement in the companyโ€™s liquidity.

Said Bartes: โ€œIn addition to the R40m grant funding from the City of Cape Town received for the previous year, the organization self-generated R5.4m to post a total income of R45.4m. Cape Town Tourism is proud to have increased its member revenue by 8% compared to 2010/2011. On the expense side, the organization managed through future fit programs initiated in 2010/2011 to reduce salaries and wages by 3% and increase all other expenses by only 4% compared to the previous year. The total expenses for the current year were R43.2m which is only 1% higher than the previous year.โ€

Cape Town Tourism reflected on a busy year in which the organization served more than a million visitors through its Visitor Center network, launched a multi-tiered campaign with National Geographic, and had great successes with their digital marketing through initiatives like the hosting of top international travel influencers, or iAmbassadors, and the launch of an innovative campaign which encourages people to โ€œroad testโ€ Cape Town by sending their Facebook profile to the destination. All of these programs were funded by Cape Town Tourismโ€™s self-generated income in lieu of the Cityโ€™s funding only confirmed mid-September 2012.

Mirroring the status of Cape Town Tourismโ€™s digital presence; their official website ( www.capetown.travel ) enjoyed one million visitors in the past year and their Facebook fan page I โ™ฅ Cape Town now boasts more than 250,000 members. The yearโ€™s media ROI was R 45 million and a deficit of R 2 million, garnered from special World Cup programs and much-needed infrastructural improvements, was recuperated.

The proposed resolutions, as communicated with members on October 2, 2012, were approved and 3 new board members were elected by the Cape Town Tourism membership at the AGM. Enver Mally, Jonathan Jacobs, and Craig Kensley join the rest of the board as they negotiate solutions to short-term funding challenges and a longer-term partnership with the City.

Said Mariรซtte du Toit-Helmbold: โ€œCape Town Tourism is ready to work with the City on a new destination marketing model for Cape Town. We remain single-minded in our belief that we can help to turn the tide on shrinking demand and seasonality and will continue rolling out cutting-edge visitor and tourism destination marketing programs. Some elements will have to be delayed or re-imagined in lieu of our reduced funding and ever-changing trends. We will cut our cloth according to our available resources, but we will stay future-minded, never compromising innovation, creativity, and excellence. We will improve the balance between โ€œbricks and mortarโ€ and digital visitor service delivery, and focus a lot more on marketing in partnership with the tourism industry and business at large.โ€

If you missed the AGM, download the video or read the reports at http://www.capetown.travel/content/landing/agm-live .

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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