South Africa Tourism (SAT) has confirmed it will maintain the same level of investment in the Australian market.
Considered a core market by SAT, travel to South Africa represents 1.5% of the outbound Australia market.
“The potential to grow in the Australian market remains real for us,” SAT chief executive Thulani Nzima said.
The budget will be pegged to South African inflationary growth.
“The strengthening of foreign currency against the rand has punished us in terms of our marketing ability,” Nzima said.
SAT outlined a marketing strategy to “cut the clutter” and tailor campaigns specific to each market.
The tourism body has diversified away from safari experiences to broaden the appeal to international markets.
Nzima said he was satisfied with Australian wholesalers displaying the diversified offering of South Africa, beyond safari.
SAT is tailoring its approach and Nzima said there is no one size fits all policy for country marketing.
“We are not the only African country that provides safari, in order to stay relevant we have diversified our product range,” Nzima said.
SAT marketing now incorporates food, fashion and community tourism.
“We do not want to move away completely from safari as it’s an attraction but we use the opportunity to hang other things around it,” Nzima said.
SAT Australia partnered with Myer for a fashion shoot last year in a partnership Nzima described as “groundbreaking”.
“The economic meltdown has taught us a few lessons –the need for us to hold onto our core markets and to maintain your investments and hold your market share,” Nzima said.
