Brazil, Russia, India and China, South Africa’s partners in the Brics group of countries, offered significant potential for future tourism growth, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Friday. He pointed to progress being made by South African Tourism (SAT) in promoting the country in these regions through deal-driven campaigns that comprise trade, trade road shows and workshops, trade shows, trade support and training, as well as through media campaigns on television, in cinema, and via outdoor and online advertising. “These efforts resulted in tourist arrivals growth of 20% for China, 33% for India and a decline of 13% for Brazil,” he said. The decline in Brazilian tourists was attributed to a sharp increase in tourists during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which resulted in the sharp decline when comparing this year’s figure with that of last year. The Minister said Russia remained a relatively new market for South African tourism, bringing only a small number of tourists yearly. By August, there were 21% fewer Russian tourists visiting South Africa. Airlift and visa issues were the most significant barriers to growing the tourism potential from the Brics grouping, but the Minister said these issues were receiving attention. “The South African Airways had increased its frequencies to 11 weekly flights to Brazil and would start flying to Beijing in January 2012. The Department of Home Affairs had also improved the visa application process in China and India, but the capacity to process groups quickly is still constrained,” he said. Trade work in Brazil, a new market for SAT, has delivered results, as the trade partnerships have extended to large volume sellers who had not sold in South Africa before. “The Brics market will continue to be a significant focus in the next fiscal year, as the economies of traditional markets in Europe will make it difficult to attract new tourists,” he pointed out. Meanwhile, continental Africa was responsible for about 70% of foreign tourists to South Africa, with Kenya, Nigeria, Angola and Botswana being part of SAT’s core African market strategy. Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were also identified as key markets. The Minister said extensive marketing and sales campaigns have resulted in increasing arrivals, up by 8.3%, or 308 000 more tourists than the same period last year. By August the most growth was observed from Nigeria, where growth had reached 32% and 16% more tourists where received from the DRC. Van Schalkwyk added that SAT facilitated workshops and trade support work for about 50 South African tourism products and accounted for more than 300 trades from the continent. In Nigeria, 69 tourism consultants underwent the SAT’s Fundi training programme, meaning they are able to sell South Africa through their travel agencies. There were also 57 Fundi graduates in Kenya. “Several joint marketing agreements were also put in place with tour operators, but the highlight was a deal with both the Kenyan Association of Travel Agents and the Nigerian Association of Travel Agents,” he said. Further, social media sites and mobi sites were proving to be successful tools for travel information and deals, with more than five-million people engaged with SAT on the sites. The sites operate in English, French and Portuguese, with an international website also catering for Mandarin-speaking tourists. Van Schalkwyk said public relations work had been stepped up in the six months by using in-market public relations resources and hosting media. Total media coverage generated was R65-million. Source:www.engineeringnews.co.za