MARIËTTE DU TOIT-HELMBOLD
CEO, CAPE TOWN TOURISM

INTRODUCTION
• Tourism has changed significantly – for good
• Competition is tougher than ever before
• New trends like responsible living, technology, the
web and climate, balanced with global economic
crises determine visitors’ choice
• Extra-ordinary solutions and strategies required
• Window of opportunity

THE WEB & TECHNOLOGY
• CTT eBusiness and eMarketing Strategy links all touch
points : Visitor > Team > Industry > Local Public
• New website (www.capetown.travel) - the consumer
as an extension of our marketing message
• Technology – a new era for Visitor Services
– Visitor-Membership Management System (VMMs)
– Open platform booking system
– Contact Centre as Virtual Visitor Centre
– Electronic & Mobile Visitor Centres
– New Devices & Digital Media

VMMS

VMMS
• Best practice business process + good skills + change
management
• Technology is the enabler
• Operational toolkit – linking marketing, visitor/industry
services and operations
• Core data set for the destination
• Designed to share data in any channel with any partner
in any frequency
• 360-degree view of the visitor – all channels, all touch
points, any time in the visitor journey
• Modular and complementary to other systems; doesn’t
compete with private sector/other DMS
• Supports and integrates with any DMS
• Open standards for data and interfaces

TEN KEYS TO SUCCESS
1. Reach as many potential customers as possible
2. Maximise the lifetime value of customers, by maintaining
the relationship
3. Engage in social networking and user generated content
4. Create a compelling website experience
5. Maintain high quality content
6. Generate sales, directly or indirectly
7. Offer do-it-yourself packaging
8. Engage tourism businesses to get their inventory online
9. Demonstrate return on investment – performance
evaluation and benchmarking
10. Ensure effective electronic distribution of information to
travellers and visitors

1. REACH AS MANY CUSTOMERS AS
POSSIBLE

www.capetown.travel

Traffic over life of site (per week)
From 1500 visitors per week in Dec 08, to over
6000 visitors per week in May 09

Site usage and visitor location: May 2009. Source: Google Analytics

2. MAXIMISING THE LIFETIME VALUE OF
CUSTOMERS BY MAINTAINING
RELATIONSHIPS

Building Relationships
– eVisitor Newsletters

3. ENGAGE IN SOCIAL NETWORKING
AND USER-GENERATED CONTENT
- Front page integration with social networking sites

Social Networking (FLICKr)

User-Generated Content (FLICKr)

Social Networking (Twitter)

Social Networking (Facebook)

Blogging

Blogging

4. CREATE A COMPELLING WEBSITE
• Speed
• Navigation
• Relevancy
• Images
• Colour
• Interesting content
• Special features
• Integration

Accommodation database

What’s On

Competitions

Promotions and Special Deals

Mini-Websites: 2010 FIFA World Cup

5. MAINTAIN HIGH QUALITY
CONTENT

6. GENERATE SALES: DIRECTLY &
INDIRECTLY

7. OFFER DO-IT-YOURSELF
PACKAGING

8. ENGAGE TOURISM BUSINESSES
TO GET INVENTORY ON-LINE

9. DEMONSTRATE RETURN ON
INVESTMENT
Currently 34% of total traffic this month

Currently 34% of total traffic this month

IPL SEO
• Blue: overall site traffic
• Orange: IPL-related traffic

10. ENSURE EFFECTIVE DISTRIBUTION
OF INFORMATION
- Mobi Site
- VMMs
- VIC Network
- Decentralised Info

Upcoming
visual geo-
location of
Twitter feeds
and Google
map
integration for
2010 presence