Western Cape incentive tourists want a good deal and world-class service
Value for money, service excellence and the quality, variety and flexibility of an incentive programme are the most important factors coming into play when a company decides whether to reward top-performing employees with a world class breakaway in the Western Cape or not.
These are the results of a survey on the incentive tourism sector in the Western Cape, recently commissioned by Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the official tourism destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape. Incentives are first class, highly innovative and truly magical holidays or breakaways used by corporate companies to reward employees for outstanding performances. The international incentive sector is an important growth market for the Western Cape, and an essential part of its business events sector, that delivers a significant economic contribution to the province.
Cape Town Routes Unlimited appointed the University of Stellenbosch to conduct the study to investigate the size, scope and nature of operation of the international incentive sector in the Western Cape. Inbound tour operators, destination management companies and accommodation providers were assessed for the 2005/2006 financial year.
The survey showed that incentive providers in the Western Cape mainly get their business from Western Europe (specifically Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, Austria, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands); North America (specifically the USA and Canada); and Latin America (specifically Chile). Among the respondents no incentive business was recorded for Asia, the Middle East or the Oceania region. Incentive business came predominantly from the pharmaceutical, banking or finance and telecommunications sectors. The budget for an incentive programme ranged from R5 000 to R15 000.
The Western Cape lost business to destinations such as Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Rio de Janeiro, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Turkey, Dubai, Thailand and New Zealand, because of too expensive air tickets and hotels, lack of airline capacity and because other countries had better exchange rates.
“It is critical that we ensure that we have the perfect package for the business tourist. In Cape Town and the Western Cape we know that we have what it takes to offer incentive tourists an exceptional travel experience. But this is a very specific and selective market, and we need to back up our travel experience with brilliant service standards, excellent organisation, great value for money and think out of the box when it comes to compiling our incentive programmes,” says Sheryl Ozinsky, Chief Executive of Cape Town Routes Unlimited.
According to the Western Cape incentive service providers that participated in the survey, other important factors playing a role when corporate companies make up their minds on where to send their employees, include the safety of the destination, airline seating capacity, availability of competitive airfares, meeting facilities, variety of accommodation options, and the climate of the destination.
Cape Town and the Western Cape attracts nearly 1.6 million international tourists per year (SA Tourism, 2005). One out of ten international tourists is a business tourist.
Meetings Africa
Business events like conferences, meetings, exhibitions and incentives have become an integral part of tourism development the world over, and the Western Cape is no exception. To keep up with the latest developments and market the destination Cape Town Routes Unlimited is sending a team to Johannesburg next week to attend Meetings Africa, the continent’s top business tourism exhibition.
Meetings Africa, will be held from 28 February to 1 March 2007 and Cape Town Routes Unlimited will host a special ‘five senses’ breakfast on 28 February 2007 for approximately a hundred international and domestic hosted buyers and media, inspiring them to see, taste, smell, hear and feel some of Cape Town and the Western Cape’s most exquisite tourism offerings. A few hosted buyers and media from countries such as Germany and China will be able to experience these first hand when they undertake familiarisation trips to the province immediately after Meetings Africa.
In their effort to create market access for tourism SMMEs and to mainstream emerging entrepreneurs, Cape Town Routes Unlimited and the Tourism Enterprise Programme will assist four business tourism entrepreneurs from the Western Cape to attend Meetings Africa for the second consecutive year. Together with eight other exhibitors and the Cape Craft & Design Institute they will take part in a Western Cape exhibition at Meetings Africa. The entrepreneurs will also attend a Business Tourism Conference a day before Meetings Africa starts.
Cape Town will further play host to a component of the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives’ (SITE) Executive Summit running concurrently with Meetings Africa.
Article from http://www.traveldailynews.com/
Quality online car hire www.southafrica-carhire.com
These are the results of a survey on the incentive tourism sector in the Western Cape, recently commissioned by Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the official tourism destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape. Incentives are first class, highly innovative and truly magical holidays or breakaways used by corporate companies to reward employees for outstanding performances. The international incentive sector is an important growth market for the Western Cape, and an essential part of its business events sector, that delivers a significant economic contribution to the province.
Cape Town Routes Unlimited appointed the University of Stellenbosch to conduct the study to investigate the size, scope and nature of operation of the international incentive sector in the Western Cape. Inbound tour operators, destination management companies and accommodation providers were assessed for the 2005/2006 financial year.
The survey showed that incentive providers in the Western Cape mainly get their business from Western Europe (specifically Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, Austria, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands); North America (specifically the USA and Canada); and Latin America (specifically Chile). Among the respondents no incentive business was recorded for Asia, the Middle East or the Oceania region. Incentive business came predominantly from the pharmaceutical, banking or finance and telecommunications sectors. The budget for an incentive programme ranged from R5 000 to R15 000.
The Western Cape lost business to destinations such as Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Rio de Janeiro, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Turkey, Dubai, Thailand and New Zealand, because of too expensive air tickets and hotels, lack of airline capacity and because other countries had better exchange rates.
“It is critical that we ensure that we have the perfect package for the business tourist. In Cape Town and the Western Cape we know that we have what it takes to offer incentive tourists an exceptional travel experience. But this is a very specific and selective market, and we need to back up our travel experience with brilliant service standards, excellent organisation, great value for money and think out of the box when it comes to compiling our incentive programmes,” says Sheryl Ozinsky, Chief Executive of Cape Town Routes Unlimited.
According to the Western Cape incentive service providers that participated in the survey, other important factors playing a role when corporate companies make up their minds on where to send their employees, include the safety of the destination, airline seating capacity, availability of competitive airfares, meeting facilities, variety of accommodation options, and the climate of the destination.
Cape Town and the Western Cape attracts nearly 1.6 million international tourists per year (SA Tourism, 2005). One out of ten international tourists is a business tourist.
Meetings Africa
Business events like conferences, meetings, exhibitions and incentives have become an integral part of tourism development the world over, and the Western Cape is no exception. To keep up with the latest developments and market the destination Cape Town Routes Unlimited is sending a team to Johannesburg next week to attend Meetings Africa, the continent’s top business tourism exhibition.
Meetings Africa, will be held from 28 February to 1 March 2007 and Cape Town Routes Unlimited will host a special ‘five senses’ breakfast on 28 February 2007 for approximately a hundred international and domestic hosted buyers and media, inspiring them to see, taste, smell, hear and feel some of Cape Town and the Western Cape’s most exquisite tourism offerings. A few hosted buyers and media from countries such as Germany and China will be able to experience these first hand when they undertake familiarisation trips to the province immediately after Meetings Africa.
In their effort to create market access for tourism SMMEs and to mainstream emerging entrepreneurs, Cape Town Routes Unlimited and the Tourism Enterprise Programme will assist four business tourism entrepreneurs from the Western Cape to attend Meetings Africa for the second consecutive year. Together with eight other exhibitors and the Cape Craft & Design Institute they will take part in a Western Cape exhibition at Meetings Africa. The entrepreneurs will also attend a Business Tourism Conference a day before Meetings Africa starts.
Cape Town will further play host to a component of the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives’ (SITE) Executive Summit running concurrently with Meetings Africa.
Article from http://www.traveldailynews.com/
Quality online car hire www.southafrica-carhire.com
Labels: South Africa - Tourism
