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Global e-marketing
Minister of Tourism, Mr Marthinus van Schalkwyk

​Pretoria - The South African Tourism’s global e-marketing strategy, “Meet South Africa” will be rolled-out this financial year, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk announced on Tuesday.

Delivering his Budget Vote Speech in Parliament, the minister said: “This financial year will also see the roll-out of SAT’s global e-marketing strategy, Meet South Africa.

“This strategy will focus on the uniqueness and warmth of our people and the emotional benefits of a South African holiday, and we are confident that our strategies and marketing campaigns will yield great success for our destination,” he said.
 
To strengthen the country’s destination offering and enhancing the overall visitor experience, Minister Van Schalkwyk said they have embarked on a process to align the branding and service levels at the more than 240 visitor information centres (VICs) across the country.
 
“Not only have we established ourselves as a leisure destination, but we have made great inroads as a business tourism destination as well.
 
“In the first year of the establishment of the National Convention Bureau, it has secured 87 new association meetings for the period 2013 to 2017, which will contribute more than R2.6 billion to the economy,” he said.
 
The minister said in 2013 alone, the 38 secured association meetings will bring more than 57 000 delegates to South Africa, who will inject R680 million into the economy.
 
“We are working hard to ensure that travel and tourism becomes attainable for ordinary South Africans. At any given time, three quarters of all tourists in South Africa are South Africans, with domestic tourists having contributed R101 billion to our economy in 2011.
 
“We are determined to promote and enhance domestic tourism and implement strategies to grow this sector, which is the lifeblood of our tourism industry,” he said.
 
Last year, he said they developed and implemented their first ever Domestic Tourism Growth Strategy together with the “Vaya Mzansi” domestic tourism marketing campaign.
 
“We are thinking innovatively of new ways to ensure that more South African families have access to the places that we have inherited as a nation.
 
“To truly deliver on the promise of tourism, we have to create the conditions that render the tourism experience and the treasures of our country accessible and affordable to a much greater share of our population,” he said. - SAnews.gov.za