NMBT paves way for Chinese tourists

DURING its recent trip to China, Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT) has made its mark, paving the way for more Chinese tourists to South Africa through the combined efforts of a well-planned marketing strategy and exposure at the South African Tourism (SAT) workshop.

“We knew it was crucial to be prepared for this trip if we were to expand the Chinese markets, so we had started in January this year with our marketing efforts in China. Being part of the SAT workshops was not enough; we had to take the bull by the horns. We coordinated our time in such a way to maximise our experience and marketing abilities,” said NMBT CEO, Mandlakazi Skefile.

“We started laying the ground work by employing two sales people who were armed with Mandarin brochures. They started by creating awareness through communicating with tour operators and wholesalers  by doing door to door sales pitches,” she added.

NMBT’s independent launch of its Mandarin website (http://www.nmbtcn.com), the day before the SAT workshops along with building relationships with tour operators and other relevant stake-holders formed part of its strategy to market the city during their ten day visit to the country, from June 3rd to 12th.

“Overall, our trip was a huge success. We had the chance to meet with dignitaries, tour operators, tourism bodies and various media, creating a great platform for us in which to market the city. As information on our product offering in Nelson Mandela Bay is very minimal in this market, this opportunity was crucial to strengthen our ties,” said NMBT CEO, Mandlakazi Skefile.

Local Chinese media welcomed NMBT, resulting in the outcome of a feature on Nelson Mandela Bay in Clan Economic and Nation Weekly, an esteemed Chinese magazine. The launch of the Mandarin website also enjoyed extensive media coverage and helped create relations with various media institutions. More than 46 trade representatives attended the launch, which included media such as CCTV, China's largest television station and state-owned internet website, Xin Hua.

According to Skefile, they spent time cultivating an awareness and educated tour operators on Nelson Mandela Bay as a destination, “Chinese consumers still largely uses tour operators; as much as they read about your city, it needs to be supported by a tour operator.”

The Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism delegation arranged independent sales calls apart from the workshops with various tour operators based in Shanghai with the view of getting their commitment to include Nelson Mandela Bay as an option in future travel packages and itineraries.

Shanghai China International Travel Service Ltd agreed to include Nelson Mandela Bay in their next media promotion plan and has committed to increase their knowledge on Nelson Mandela Bay and surrounds.
 
The CITS Group Shanghai are creating a city package for the regular market by July and will start with promotions from September aiming for the Chinese New Year market.  They also undertook to create a middle-class focused themed itinerary for CITS Shanghai’s special needs groups and will facilitate meetings with two of their ground operators based in Jo-burg and Cape Town to create a base for future co-operation.
 
The Jinjiang Travel Group agreed to include NMB in their TV show programme “Travel with the Flight Attendant” in co-operation with China Satellite Channel of Travel. They will also include information on Nelson Mandela Bay and NMBT in the 2013 information booklet and will consult with NMBT for information, copy and content for their annual brochure for 2013.

These agreements have already proved beneficial to the city’s tourism as 15 FIT’s (Foreign International Travelers) will be visiting Nelson Mandela Bay in the month to come.

Another highlight was signing letter of intent with the General Secretary of Asia Art Expo (also known as Asia Arts Top Show) with the aim to develop an exchange programme between artists and creating international awareness of Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB).

SA Tourism’s Regional Manager for Asia Pacific, Bradley Brouwer, said that NMBT’s proactive approach has grabbed the attention of both the Asians operators and media.  He said that NMBT’s presence on the SAT stand has made an indelible impact and has pledged SAT’s full support to any marketing activities undertaken in the asian markets.  “Their professionalism and dedication is refreshing when compared to the often lack-lustered overtures by provincial and destination marketing entities – they are speaking with passion and know their business and that is making all the difference,” Brouwer added.

“Workshops like this create a number of opportunities for NMBT to market our wonderful city’s treasures. It is a platform for building international relationships with significant tourism bodies from around the world. We also used the opportunity to strengthen our relations with SA Tourism Country Managers to ensure that Nelson Mandela Bay is recognised as an alternative destination to the Chinese tourists when visiting South Africa,” she added.