September 9, 2004
By Lucille Davie
SANDTON hotels should "adopt" a guesthouse in Soweto in an effort to enhance marketing opportunities for township stays and thereby promote tourism in Soweto.
This and other recommendations are contained in the Soweto Tourism Development Plan, compiled in May this year by the City's marketing and tourism department, and recently approved by council.
Soweto establishments could receive in-house training, because, the plan outlines, they "have a need for training, empowerment and exposure to markets".
According to the plan, there are 147 tourism products in Soweto, including heritage and cultural attractions, shebeens, tour operations, conference venues and accommodation establishments.
Some 6,5 million tourists visited South Africa in 2003 and half of them preferred Gauteng as their holiday destination. Gauteng attracted 50,7 percent, more than double the Western Cape's 23,5 percent, and KwaZulu-Natal's 18,6 percent.
Soweto, a township some 20km south west of the city, is a sprawling conglomeration of homes and shack settlements stretching for several kilometres, with some 890 000 residents. According to the report, while around 42% of Joburg's population reside in Soweto, only 840 000 visitors visited the township in 2003, according to SA Tourism. Of those, 80 000 stayed overnight, more than 90 percent of those people staying with family and friends.
If Soweto continues on this trend, by 2008, 960 000 visitors are expected, and by 2013, 1,1 million visitors can be expected to swing through Soweto.
The report states that in 2003, the Soweto tourism industry contributed R143-million to the Gauteng gross geographic product, an amount that is less than one percent of the amount generated by the South African tourism economy in 2002. This generated over 1 400 jobs.
In the past five years Soweto has seen an increase in tourism numbers - between the September 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and 2003, domestic visitor numbers grew from around two percent to approximately 12 percent.
Soweto's slow tourism growth can be attributed to the fact that negative perceptions concerning safety and security in Soweto persist and that there is little in the way of signage, self-help infrastructure or user-friendly information regarding the township. In addition, Soweto is not on the main tourist route, nor is it a first choice for visitors, and tourists are not likely to use public transport to Soweto or undertake a trip in a hired car.
To raise its popularity as a tourist destination, the report proposed more exposure to marketing-related print and electronic media, with future branding linked to improved signage, trails and routes along major arterials like the N1 and N12. It also suggested a grading system with three categories: worth a special journey, worth a detour and worth a stop.
Besides visible marketing portals like airports, petrol garages, accommodation establishments, resorts, conference and information offices, easily accessible "breakpoints", with visible security, ablution facilities, and parking space, should be established. From these, tourists would be able to link up with local tour operators, or catch designated tourist buses heading for key tourist attractions within Soweto. Primary breakpoints would be located outside Soweto, secondary breakpoints would be within or near to Soweto.
A detailed marketing plan identifying potential markets should be developed, along with a uniform logo and slogan used by local tourism stakeholders like the Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA), the Johannesburg Tourism Company, the Soweto Tourism Association, the Friends of Soweto and the Soweto Heritage Trust. Brochures should be produced, and listings in international, national, provincial and local tourism guidebooks and websites, with links to relevant websites like the GTA, South African Tourism and the Sandton Tourism Association, should be considered.
The report suggested that feature articles should be targeted at magazines like 'Getaway', 'Rootz' and 'Sunday Times Lifestyle', with possible use of local celebrities. Promotional videos should be screened at tourism information points, focused print advertising used for special interests and events, with radio and TV another powerful option.
Other recommendations include the setting up of a Soweto Marketing Entity (SME) to develop an event strategy to attract more domestic and foreign tourists, while developing smaller events for corporate clients. To this end, the SME should develop a database of targeted individuals, international and local cultural and heritage associations, schools, travel agents and tour operators.
Branded souvenirs for Soweto were also essential, and the report recommended that the SME work with the Department of Arts and Culture and Create SA to develop such a project.
Kevin Naidoo, tourism project manager for the City, says that "as many of the recommendations as we can implement" are being considered at present. One of the first, the road signs, is being commissioned now, he says, with implementation expected next April.
Naidoo says an initiative to introduce tours "of a different flavour" is being considered. A kwaito tour, stopping at kwaito stars' homes, and explaining the origins of kwaito in Soweto, is in the pipeline.
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