1. PUTTING AFRICA ON THE
MAP
25th
& 26th
October 2010
Cape Town E- Tourism Conference
2. Our Industry is in Distress
Global Economy
Local Currencies are strong
Expensive Destination
Technology Changing the Rules
3. Opportunity for Growth
Africa has only 4% of global travel
– this must grow!!!
Use technology to:-
Educate (public & industry)
Entice and Encourage more travelers
Make it simpler to sell our products
Make it easy to Book
Access new markets
4. Tourism in Transition
Over 80% of Travel begins online
Largest Online Commodity
Content is Critical
Increasing travel spend is online
Increased Transparency
Research is part of the Experience
5. Tourism in Transition
What does this mean….
Middlemen are being removed
• Client – Travel Agent – Tour Operator – Product
• Client – Tour Operator – Product
• Client – Travel Agent – Product
• Client – Product
Tighter Margins
Importance of your Online Presence
e-Marketing is vital
6. Tourism in Transition
The way forward seems clear ………or is it?
While the global travel industry is has been
radically changed this is not the case for
Africa where traditional channels are still
intact (although under threat)
7. Tourism in Transition
Why is the channel still intact
• Lack of Education
• Lack of Information
• Fear of the Unknown
• Challenging Infrastructure
• Security
• Technologically Challenged
8. Tourism in Transition
My Advice
Support the channels that bring Business
• Provide content and tools to help sell the your product
Understand then Invest in e-Marketing
• Content, Social Media, Blogs, Newsletters, Live Availability,
Manage Online Reputations, etc
9. E-Marketing
Creating good quality content
Distribute it via as many channels as
possible
&
Ensure that the enquiry/ booking process
is as simple & quick as possible.
10. SmartGuide
We use technology to distribute content in
an interactive and engaging manner.
Aggregate Content
Edit it
Distribute it
11. Geo-locate
Input
(Create & Aggregate)
SmartGuide Approach
Distribution
Text and Audio
Images
Tourism Organisations
(National, Regional, Local)
Map
Tour Operators
Tourism Products
(Accommodation, Activities, etc)
Hotel Groups
Marketing GroupsVirtual Tours (360 pictures)
Videos
User Generated (You
Tube, Flickr and Reviews)
Travel Agents
Providing a powerful platform that the industry can use to promote Africa
12. Focus on Mapping
• Maps are central to tourism
• Google Maps are amazing
• Geo-located Information more valuable
• Makes Content very accessible
• Interactive and Engaging
• Publishing Platform (instantly updatable)
25. Distribution of Content
Websites
Provides:
• Destination / Location Guide
• Interactive Experience
• Large library of Rich Content
Websites
Provides:
• Destination / Location Guide
• Interactive Experience
• Large library of Rich Content
Sales Agents
Assists with:
• Providing information
• Education
• Empowering them to Sell
• A sales tool
Sales Agents
Assists with:
• Providing information
• Education
• Empowering them to Sell
• A sales tool
Social Media
Used in:
• Blogs
• Twitter
• Facebook
Social Media
Used in:
• Blogs
• Twitter
• Facebook
Email / Documentation
Uses:
• Insert in all correspondence
• Include in Signature
• Attach to Quote / Documentation
Email / Documentation
Uses:
• Insert in all correspondence
• Include in Signature
• Attach to Quote / Documentation
The Map
VIRTUAL
ITINERARY
27. Virtual Itinerary
Interactive Virtual Itineraries
• Represent an itinerary in an appealing manner
• Provide a spatial understanding
• Are interactive & engaging
• Allow potential travellers to do in-depth research
• Provide depth to an itinerary (Rich Media)
• Provide confidence in recommendations
• Provide confidence in the itinerary
34. Distribution of the Virtual Itinerary
Sample / Scheduled Virtual Itineraries
• In websites
• In specials
• In blogs & social media
• In newsletters
Personal Virtual Itineraries
• Rapid response teaser
• Accompany the standard itinerary / quote
36. eBrochure
Paper Brochures
• Expensive to print (each one costs)
• Expensive to distribute
• Out of Date the day it is printed
• At the right time, it is in the wrong place
• Expensive to develop in different languages
What is an e-Brochure
• mini website built for presentations (content & important info)
• Brings your rich content to the fore
• Easy to distribute (email, social media, specials, newsletter, etc)
• Accessible when needed
• Easily branded by Tour Operators, Travel Agents, Marketing
Organizations, etc
• Easy / Cheap to produce in many languages (new markets)
• Measurable
37. eBrochure
How will it be used
Products
• Will distribute it widely to use it to educate, promote and sell their property
• Use it as a way to transfer Content & Information
• Place to put Specials
Tour Operators
• Place in digital documentation, quotes & itineraries
• Can quickly send a client the link to a few options
• Carries all the information they need (no need to go back to the product)
• Access Specials
Travel Agents
• Replace the traditional brochures
• Provide them with the tools to sell the product
• Present or send to clients
44. Change of Marketing Focus
SmartGuide had been focusing on providing these tools to Online Tour
Operators
New Approach
• The real power of the tool is to educate and provide tools to the
people in the front line – the Travel Agents
The Travel Agents is still a major player yet
• They are hard to market to and hence neglected
• Most have limited knowledge on Africa
•They receive little or no training on selling Africa
And these are our frontline marketers!!!!
45. Change of Marketing Focus
The average Travel Agent is
• Commission based
• Sells what they are confident selling
• Sells what they know
SmartGuide’s Tools can
• Educate Agents
• Increase their confidence
• Providing the Agents the tools to compete in the computer age
• Help them sell Africa
46. SmartGuide Portal
The Industry’s One Stop Shop for Content,
Information & Sales Tools
Interactive Map
Virtual Itineraries
eBrochure
Specials
47. Growing Africa’s Share
For Africa to increase it’s share of the
travel market it needs you to:-
Embrace the Internet
Assist the Industry to sell Africa
Welcome
Hope you have learnt a lot and together improve the profile of Africa
I am sure by now that your minds are racing and panicing about everything that you need to be doing - I know I was last year when I first attended the conference. Anyway I hope to be able to give you something and not tell you to do something
Despite the points displayed I am optimistic
Understand and use the technology
*Growth is often far easier to achieve when coming off a low base
+ Use technology better top claim our piece of the pie – everyone did their bit the accummulated effort is massive
+ we as the industry needs to work harder to educate the all the links in the industry
Over the last 15 years huge changes to the industry
Far greater Transparency
Travelers empowered to choose
Over the last 15 years huge changes to the industry
Far greater Transparency
Travelers empowered to choose
If you had to walk out of this conference the way forward would seem clear…
Nairobi Story
Info – not enough info (when I travel to europe I do it online – while when I travelled to Madagascar I needed a TO)
Knowlegde – don’t know where to start
Tech Challengded
don’t understand how it is being used
E-marketing definition
E-marketing definition
*
Not standalone but a product that can be Integrated into tourism products.
Provide them with
Interactive platform
Quality content
Can customise/ personalise and integrate into website
The tourism business can focus on their core business and rest assured that SG will continue to improve the map – expensive and evolving
*
*
*
Icons highlight main destinations
Recommendations change
Guides
Search
Embed it
Spacial Understanding
Interactive – contains all the rich content that sells!!
Better representation
Publishing Platform
Provide rich content for social media
We have a special with a link
Customisable content - CMS
Multiple Links
Altered look and feel
This applies to all the product
*
Info – not enough info (when I travel to europe I do it online – while when I travelled to Madagascar I needed a TO)
Knowlegde – don’t know where to start
Tech Challengded
don’t understand how it is being used
It is an honor to be invited
- dynamic people and Companies pushing the boundary of technology to promote the continent
- Hopefully this presentation is useful to you, provide you with some insight as to what you can do with maps and assist you in approving your e-Marketing