South African Tourism kick-started 2015 with the launch of its biggest travel trade engagement initiative, the annual roadshow in Mumbai. The roadshow triggered an incredible start to the multi-city tour with over 350 Indian travel agents attending the event in the city.
The roadshow witnessed participation from first time entrants such as Franschhoek Wine Valley, Turnberry Boutique Hotel, Gary Kirsten Travel and Tours, Paarl & Wellington Tourism, Cango Wildlife Ranch, Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism, Double Tree By Hilton Cape Town among others. Several popular South African suppliers such as Extraordinary, Tsogo Sun, &Beyond, and Sun International returned to participate at the Roadshow this year. Citing the importance of Indian market, few South African suppliers have even established permanent offices and representation to upsurge their business from India. South African Tourism will also lead the 63-member South African delegation to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and New Delhi.
Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager, South African Tourism said, “We are absolutely overwhelmed to see such a tremendous response from Mumbai. Every year, we put in our best efforts to make the roadshow more promising than the last one. India is a fast emerging strategic growth market for outbound travel and with the evolving outlook and preferences of Indian travellers, the South African tourism industry is focusing on the Indian market with substantial marketing budgets and bespoke campaigns to reach out to the consumer segments.
The roadshow provides an opportunity for South African supplier delegation to interact and establish commercial ties with Indian trade. The Indian travellers’ palate has become experimental and therefore, through our numerous trade initiatives, we envisage the influencers of the Indian travel market to sell the destination more effectively to the end consumers.”
Last year, the annual roadshow travelled to Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and New Delhi with 64 South African suppliers and witnessed attendance from over 1200 Indian travel agents.
