retosa Report Guidelines for tourism promotion of the southern in the East Asian

Transcription

1 retosa Report Guidelines for tourism promotion of the southern African Region in the East Asian Tourist Market 1

2 Executive Summary This report serves as a guideline for the promotion of southern Africa as a tourist region for the current and potential East Asian tourist market. The report was developed by Regional Tourism Organization of Southern Africa (RETOSA) in cooperation with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), from desktop research on Japanese, Korean and Chinese data, as well as from a survey conducted amongst Japanese and Korean visitors to southern Africa for the period June 2014 to January The questionnaires were administered in the departure lobby of O.R. Tambo International Airport in South Africa. The document covers the following major themes: 1. The situational analysis of international tourism to southern African countries indicating trends per country 2. The rationale for Japan as the pilot study and the survey results of the Japanese respondents regarding their experiences in southern Africa and their expectations of southern African travel. 3. Guidelines to promote tourism to the Japanese and East Asian markets are discussed firstly according to the priority market segments, and secondly considering RETOSA s role in promoting southern Africa to the East Asian markets a. The East Asian markets were discussed in terms of three foci, namely the current visitors to southern Africa, the important segments to be focussed on in the near future and the segments that need to be explored. b. RETOSA s role in promoting southern Africa to the potential East Asian market revolves around the promotion of the brand image to penetrate the potential market. Furthermore the facilitation of cross-border tourism and assisting in the promotional activities to the market countries is recommended 2 3

3 CONTENTS Executive Summary 3 About us 8 1. Background Situation of International Tourism in SADC countries Rationale for Japan as pilot study towards developing tourism promotion guidelines Japan is the second largest international tourist market in East Asia Japan is the most matured international tourist market in East Asia Japan reflect the potential of East Asian tourism trends Guidelines for tourism promotion of the Japanese and East Asian market to the southern African region Priority segments in the Japanese market to southern African destination Senior generation market Repeater market High-end market Honeymooners Young single generation New destination explorer: Female in 30s, 40s, 50s Role of RETOSA in promoting southern African tourism to the East Asian market Promotion activity to penetrate the brand image of the southern African region as one attractive tourism destination Promoting cross-border tourism Assist promotional activity to market countries with minimal promotional capability Other recommendations Survey results of Japanese tourists visiting southern African region Residential Area Purpose, type of travel, and occupation Travelling Companions Long distance traveling Experience of traveling to Africa Duration of the trip The countries visited in SADC countries The countries respondents want to visit on their next trip to the SADC region Degree of Satisfaction Likelihood of repeat visits Expense for Souvenirs Impression on pricing Desired activity for next visit Types of tours preferred in the next visit Marketing material mostly used when deciding the tour destination

4 4. ANNEXURES 36 ANNEX A. Survey results of Japanese tourists visiting southern African region 38 A1) Place of residence 38 A2) Age and gender 38 A3) Purpose of Traveling 39 A4) Traveling packages 39 A5) Occupation 40 A6) Traveling Companion 40 A7) Long distance traveling 41 A8) Travel Experience to Africa 41 A9) Length of stay 42 A10) Destinations visited in this trip, and in the past 42 A11) The countries respondents would like to visit in the future 43 A12) Degree of satisfaction with current visit 45 A13) Likelihood of Repeat Visits 49 A14) Souvenirs 50 A15) Souvenir items purchased 51 A16) Impression on pricing 52 A17) Desired activity for next visit 52 A18) Types of tours preferred on the next trip 54 A19) Marketing material mostly used when deciding the tour destination 55 ANNEX B. Survey results of Korean tourists visiting southern African region 58 B1) Summary of main results 59 B2) Gender 60 B3) Age 60 B4) Occupation 61 B5) Type of Traveling 61 B6) Traveling Companion 62 B7) Purpose of traveling 62 B8) Long distance traveling 63 B9) Travel experience to Africa 64 B10) Length of stay 64 B11) Destinations visited in this trip and in the past 64 B12) The countries respondents would like to visit in the future 65 B13) Degree of Satisfaction 66 B14) Likelihood of Repeat Visits 67 B15) Souvenirs 67 B16) Items for Souvenir 67 B17) Impression on pricing 68 B18) Desired activity for next visit 68 B19) Types of tours preferred in the next visit 69 B20) Marketing material mostly used when deciding the tour destination 69 B21) Identified important segments of Korean market 72 B22) Possible effective promotion activity in Korea 72 ANNEX C. Promotion suggestions for the Chinese tourism market 74 C1) Promotions to the tourism industry 74 C1.1) Material supply 74 C1.2) Sales calls 74 C1.3) Seminars 74 C1.4) Familiarisation trip 74 C2) Promotional channels for reaching consumers 74 C2.1) Advertising 75 C2.2) Mass media 75 C2.3) Major exhibitions 75 C3) Average Annual Disposal Income and population according to major cities in China (year 2010) 75 C3.1) The number of Chinese tourists visited SADC countries (2010) 77 C3.2) International Chinese tourists (in thousands) 77 ANNEX D. Suggestions for Internet Marketing 78 D1) Website management 78 D1.1) Clarify the purpose of the web site 78 D1.2) Clarify the priority segments 78 D1.3) The contents desired by users 78 D1.4) The advantage of involving local staff from the market area in designing promotion activities. 78 D1.5) Photo library 78 D1.6) Update the contents 78 D2) Internet marketing 78 D2.1) Induction of users to the website 79 D2.2) Internet advertisement 79 D2.3) The utilization of social media

5 About Us The Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (RETOSA) is a Southern African Development Community (SADC) body responsible for the development of tourism and regional destination marketing across the 15 Southern African Countries. Vision To make Southern Africa the destination of choice in the world by the year 2027 Mission To implement impactful, innovative and high tourism growth projects through stakeholders participation, sustainable production and consumption practices. 8 9

6 1. Background 10 11

7 1.1 Situation of International Tourism in SADC countries According to the Travel & Tourism economic impact 2015 SADC $19.8 billion was generated from 24,500,000 international tourists arriving in This number is expected to grow by 2.3 per cent and the region was forecasted to attract 25,242,000 international tourists in The forecast by 2025 would be 38,651,000 arrivals generating $33.4 billion. Table 1 reflect the number of tourist arrivals to SADC countries in the periods indicated. Table 1: Number of international tourist arrival to SADC countries * Figures for the year Angola 51, , , ,000 Botswana 1,104,000 2,145,000 2,039,000 2,012,000 DRC 103,000 81, , ,000 Lesotho 302, , , ,000 Madagascar *228, , , ,816 Malawi 228, , , ,800 Mauritius 656, , , ,106 Mozambique 55,000 1,718,000 2,205,000 1,969,000 Namibia 861, ,099 1,078,937 1,176,042 Seychelles 130, , , ,272 South Africa 5,872,000 8,074,000 9,188,000 9,617,000 Swaziland 281, ,000 1,279,000 1,299,000 Tanzania 501, ,699 1,077,058 1,095,884 Zambia 457, , , ,576 Zimbabwe 1,967,000 2,239,000 1,794,000 1,833,000 TOTAL 12,797,483 20,602,850 22,764,937 23,468,496 In 2013 a total of 23,468,496 international tourist arrivals were recorded representing an 87 per cent increase from the total arrivals in However, Botswana and Zimbabwe had a decline from 2010 to 2013, while Lesotho, Madagascar and Mauritius, reported only slight increases over the same periods. In order to attain a sustainable increase of international tourist arrivals to the SADC region, it is important to expand from traditional markets into a new market reach. In this regard, RETOSA has identified the East Asian market as a important potential market, and specifically identified Japan as one of the main market countries in East Asia for potential expansion. The effective promotion approach in these markets for SADC countries had subsequently been studied. 1.2 Rationale for Japan as pilot study towards developing tourism promotion guidelines The reason for selecting Japan as the pilot towards developing guidelines for tourism promotion of the southern African Region in the potential East Asian tourist market is discussed in the following section Japan is the second largest international tourist market in East Asia. Japan is second to China the largest international tourist market in East Asia. It should however be highlighted that although China has the largest number of international tourists, 65 per cent of them are arrivals to Hong Kong and Macao (Table 2). Year Number of international tourists from Japan ,640,000 18,175, ,990,000 24,164, ,490,000 26,720, ,470, ,900,000 - Number of international tourists from China (Except to Hong Kong and Macao) Japan is the most matured international tourist market in East Asia Japan is regarded as the most mature international tourist market in East Asia having played a leading role in setting trends for East Asian international tourism patterns such as selecting destinations and identifying preferred activities at the destinations typifying those consumed by the East Asian tourist markets Japan reflect the potential of East Asian tourism trends Japan is foreseen to reflect the potential future tendencies of Chinese, Korean and other East Asian international tourists. For this reason, it is useful to analyse the case of the Japanese market as an indicator of other East Asian markets. To confirm this assumption this study included data from Korean respondents to compare the characteristic of Japanese and other East Asian markets (ANNEX A and B). We also provide important indicators from the Chinese market using existing research data (ANNEX C). This report therefore aims to serve as a guideline to identify the direction and the methodologies in approaching the East Asian tourist market for southern African countries, and result in a concrete action plan towards effective promotion activities

8 1.2.4 Analysis of Japanese tourists visiting southern African region Some countries among the SADC region do not have tourism statistics, particularly for Japanese tourists due to their proportional small scale in the region. Therefore, the analysis is based on those nine countries that have independent statistics for specifically Japanese tourists. These countries are Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Madagascar, Mauritius, Angola, Seychelles and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The total arrivals from Japan for these nine countries in 2011 was 80,628, representing a per cent increase from The top three arrival countries for Japanese tourists are Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Zambia. Zimbabwe exceeded South Africa in 2011 and became the top destination. It is assumed that this is as a result of increased facilitation of cross-border movement through the simplification of visa control at the Victoria Falls area. The same probably explains for the increase into Zambia at the town of Livingston. Madagascar has also shown a significant increase of 79.8 per cent from 2009 to 2011 (Table 3). However, it can be attributed to the recovery from the low arrivals in 2009 due to the political crisis at that time. Japanese tourist arrivals to Tanzania is unfortunately decreasing in number from 2009 to Table 3: Japanese tourist arrivals to nine of the SADC countries SADC countries Change from (%) Zimbabwe 18,389 18,593 32, South Africa 20,513 27,577 26, Zambia 5,373 8,341 11, Tanzania 4,168 4,130 3, Madagascar 1,627 1,960 2, Mauritius 1,351 1,485 1, Angola Seychelles D.R. Congo Total 52,627 63,512 80, The situation of international tourism trends in SADC countries, with specific reference to Japanese and some other East Asian tourists have given some insights into the development of the necessary guidelines. However the next section will be discussing the findings from a survey conducted with Japanese tourists and the results of this survey serves to inform the development of the guidelines that will follow in the section thereafter

9 2. Survey results of Japanese tourists visiting southern African region RETOSA conducted a survey using questionnaires to target Japanese tourists who travelled in the southern African region. The questionnaires were administered in the departure lobby of O.R. Tambo International Airport in South Africa, between June 2014 and January A sample of 200 Japanese tourists and 100 respondents from other Asian countries were targeted. The detailed result of this survey is reported in ANNEXURES A and B. The following section will explain the most important indicators derived from the result of the survey

10 2.1 Residential Area Most of the tourists come from the Great Tokyo Metro Area (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama regions) plus Kansai Metro Area (Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo regions). This will cover 80 per cent of the Japanese tourists. Other than this, the significant market area is Nagoya city and Kita-Kyusyu city. 2.2 Purpose, type of travel, and occupation Most of the tourists come from the Great Tokyo Metro Area (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama regions) plus Kansai Metro Area (Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo regions). This will cover 80 per cent of the Japanese tourists. Other than this, the significant market area is Nagoya city and Kita-Kyusyu city Travelling Companions The survey results show that many tourists either join packaged tours as individual (single person), or as couples (consisting of husband and wife). Therefore, it is important to create a packaged tour that is convenient for joining with both individuals and couples Long distance traveling Japanese tourists who are visiting southern Africa region have rich experiences in long distance travel considering the geographic locations of the tourists and the typical destination regions Experience of traveling to Africa Respondents reported not only the traveling experiences to southern Africa countries only, but also included all African countries visited in previous itineraries. More than half of the respondents were repeater tourists to the African continent. However, the tendency is reported in the findings that many of them choose new destinations every time, not returning to the same destination previously visited Duration of the trip The duration of the trip is eight to 11 days for about 70per cent of the tourists (mostly the Japanese respondents). Among this, ten days is the most regular choice accounting for 34per cent. Trip duration for Japanese tourists is shorter than that of tourists from Western origins. Smooth transportation within the region, is a very important factor considering that it is difficult for Japanese tourists to spend more than the average of ten days travelling The countries visited in SADC countries The top countries reported to be visited in this survey was firstly South Africa, followed by Zimbabwe and then Botswana and Zambia. The most popular route for Japanese tourists to the region starts out in Cape Town (South Africa), travel towards Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe and Zambia) and then on to Chobe National Park (Botswana). Respondents who indicated that they have previously travelled to Africa visited mostly Tanzania in the past with 11.5 per cent respondents indicating such The countries respondents want to visit on their next trip to the SADC region Japanese tourists who are visiting southern Africa region have rich experiences in long distance travel considering the geographic locations of the tourists and the typical destination regions. The top country that Japanese tourists wish to visit in the future in the SADC region is Madagascar, a choice indicated by 21 per cent of the respondents. The second most indicated choice was Namibia, which was recently marketed in some television programs in Japan. The third and the fourth choices were Mauritius and Seychelles respectively, which are popular island resort destinations. The 15 countries in SADC can therefore be divided into three groups: A)Advanced - countries recognized as tourist destinations in the Japanese market that includes South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Tanzania. B)Growing - potential countries with expected increase in recognition as a tourist destination in the future such as Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius and Seychelles. C)Untapped - countries that have little recognition as potential tourist destinations namely Swaziland, Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, and the DRC

11 In total, approximately 60 per cent of the respondents marked their experience as satisfactory with less than 20 per cent respondents rating very satisfactory Likelihood of repeat visits More than 70 per cent of the respondents expressed their wish to visit the region again, with about 20 per cent of the respondents who would not return. The primary reason cited for not wanting to visit again involve matters of security, in addition to the long duration of travel from Japan to southern Africa. Many respondents cited practical concerns with traveling that comes with old age and special attention will have to be given to accommodate the over 50s age group who both have the time and means to travel Expense for Souvenirs 2.9. Degree of Satisfaction In total, approximately 60 per cent of the respondents marked their experience as satisfactory with less than 20 per cent respondents rating very satisfactory. With almost 80 per cent either very satisfied or satisfied about 20 per cent of the respondents were not satisfied. The respondents show high satisfaction for the following: nature experience, accommodation, meals, guiding/information and hospitality. Items that received unsatisfactory feedback included border formalities, local transportation, shopping, cultural experiences and local community. Low satisfaction for shopping experiences was indicated to be as a result of the limited attractive options in terms of purchasing and pricing. With the exclusion of South Africa, other countries need to develop more attractive souvenir products, comfortable facilities that meet tourist expectations, including reliable pricing structure. Cultural experience received lower satisfaction feedback compared to nature experience. Many respondents claimed that they did not have any cultural experience, and those respondents, who mentioned that they wanted to visit a local community, however could not, and therefore their expectations were not met. In the absence of an upper limited on the questionnaire (Table A4) an assumption is made that the respondents who claim they spend more than 50,000 (approximately $500) for souvenirs, was estimated to have spent in the region of 100,000 (approximately $1,000) on average. Given this scenario, it can be assumed that the expense for souvenir purchases per person is calculated to be approximately 20,153 (approximately $170 at 2015 exchange rates). According to JTB survey, the average expense for souvenir purchases per person among tourists in the Middle-East and Africa is 44,000 (approximately $368 at 2015 exchange rates). This being a challenge at present translates into a potential opportunity to expand the development and marketing of souvenir products in southern Africa Impression on pricing When only very expensive and expensive is compared to the very cheap and reasonable categories that could have been selected on the impression of price, more tourists were of the opinion that prices were expensive Desired activity for next visit Safari, world heritage and nature experience were reported to be the most popular activities that Japanese tourist wish to do in southern Africa. Specific mentioning to visit Trans Frontier Conservation Area (TFCA), and experiencing the Blue Train on a return trip to southern Africa was made

12 2.14. Types of tours preferred in the next visit Many (29.4 per cent) of the respondents expressed that they wish to have more free time. Considering the nature of travel of Japanese tourists, the limited time for travel, the unfamiliar local society, difficulties to communicate and concern for safety, one would expect that respondents rather wanted less free time within a completely programmed tour package. It is also reported that the packed scheduled of the packaged tour is contributing to the low satisfaction levels of the tourists and some respondents highlighted that they rather want a better quality tour even if it is more expensive. A good balance between free time and a value for money schedule (25 per cent) therefore need to be accomplished when designing the packaged tours. The marketing impact of the Internet is very high, while the impact of social media is still limited. Recommendation by friends is unexpectedly low in the responses of the respondents Marketing material mostly used when deciding the tour destination The marketing impact of the Internet is very high, while the impact of social media is still limited. Recommendation by friends is unexpectedly low in the responses of the respondents

13 3. Guidelines for tourism promotion of the Japanese and East Asian market to the southern African region 24 25

14 3.1 Priority segments in the Japanese market to southern African destination Based on the analysis of the airport survey, as well as information gathered from discussions with travel agents, the important Japanese tourist market segments for southern African Regions are considered to be as reflected in Table 4. Table 4: Important Japanese tourist segments Current Primary segment Senior generation (60s and above) Repeater market to Africa Important segment in the near future Hi-end market Honeymooner Segment to be explored New destination explorer (female in 30s to 50s) Young and single generation, (20s and 30s) Senior generation market a) Size of the market As of October 2013, the population of Japan consisting of citizens over 60 years of age were 41,564,000. This is a ratio of one in five among the total Japanese population, making Japan one of the most aged societies in the world. b) Characteristics The senior generation, both male and female, who have rich experience in long-haul overseas travel, is the most important market segment at present. They are not only financially capable of travelling due to retirement funding, pensions and savings, but also have more time as retirees and therefore is suited to long-haul travel Repeater market For repeater market in-depth and more themes oriented program, rather than general ones, is the key in selecting a destination. The popular themes are wildlife, and seasonal occurrences such as flower deserts in Namaqualand for instance. a) Size of the market The repeater rate is higher than expected for the African continent. More than half of the respondents surveyed were repeater tourists. However, many of them go to different destinations within Africa for each of the visits. b) Characteristics This segment of tourists is fans of Africa wanting to experience anything related to Africa, but at the same time, they want to explore certain topics further. As a result big tours with general topics are less popular with this segment seeing that they prefer smaller groups or individuals travelling wanting greater freedom to explore their own interests. c) The appealing point for targeting this segment The tour guide attending to this group needs to have in-depth knowledge and experience on Africa. Since this segment have in-depth interests on certain themes, the tour guide needs to provide theme-oriented programs, such as wildlife, history, as well as season-related attractions such as desert flowers and wine. d) How to approach this segment This segment requires services from travel agencies specialised for African destinations. Providing attractive up-dated information and offering familiarisation trips are deemed effective strategies to reach this segment. National Tourist Boards have a role to play in offering updated information designed for the needs of potential repeaters through their website. These boards can approach potential tourists directly by sending electric newsletters to the address that they could get through the partner travel agencies Many of these tourists join package tours as spousal couples, and prefer small tour groups with a more relaxed schedule that includes more free time. Recently an increasing number of package tours are offering full-attend by the tour guide with the length of about 20 days. The popularity of such offerings will have to be determined in further studies. c) The appealing point for targeting this segment This segment is experienced in long-haul travel, with about 80 per cent having already experienced visiting Europe and North America. One of the big motivation and thus a criterion for selecting the destination choice is to visit a place they have never been to, and colour the white map (visit as many countries as possible). However, at the same time, safety and security is the top concern. Also, more relaxing (less tiring) program and comfortable transportation and facilities are required. d) How to approach this segment The main channel to approach this segment is via a travel agency. The tendency of this segment is to use the same agency when they are satisfied with the staff and service from previous experience. Therefore, inviting preferred agencies and the person in charge of long-haul travel to a familiarisation trip is an effective promotional methodology. Guidebooks are also important tools used by this segment for selecting a destination. Therefore, updated and detailed tourism information of the region in major guidebooks is important means of marketing. It is therefore encouraged to strengthen cooperation and collaboration with those travel guidebook authors and publishers

15 3.1.3 High-end market a) Size of the market According to World Wealth Report 2015, the high-end population in the world who has more than $1 million investment asset amounts to about 14,600,000 people. The largest population of these individuals live in the USA (4,350,000 people) and the second largest population are Japanese (2,450,000 people) (Table 5). Table 5: Top countries that has high-end population (2015) Country Population Increase rate to previous year (2014) (%) USA 4,351,000 9 Japan 2,452,000 5 Germany 1,141,000 1 China 890, b) Characteristics The most common characteristic of this segment is that there is little restriction on financial budget. However, they do not always have abundant time to spend on tourism. This market segment is aware that they are the top cluster expecting excellent service while at the same time often having a heightened consciousness about environmental and poverty issues. c) The appealing point for targeting this segment The people who belong to this segment are so used to be served with the highest quality of service, it is often taken for granted. Therefore merely offering a high standard of service is not appealing enough to them. Especially for the Japanese high-end target market, they are often longing for the fashion and trends of western nations celebrities. When introducing southern Africa as the desired destination of western celebrities, along with their holiday spending trends could be an appealing marketing strategy for this market segment. d) How to approach this segment Typically the more sophisticated lifestyle and art magazines which celebrities often subscribe to is one of the most important channels to reach this segment. Also a familiarisation trip for travel agency staff in charge of handling celebrity clients could be an effective way to promote tours to this market segment Honeymooners a) Size of the market According to the research by JTB, 20per cent newly-wed couples in their 20s go on honeymoon to overseas destinations spending an average of 600,000 ($4,850). b) Characteristics Compared to the other market types identified above, this segment stays slightly longer in terms of their total tour duration and tends to stay longer in one place. c) The appealing point for targeting this segment Comfort, security, safety and luxury are appealing factors for the honeymooners. d) How to approach this segment Travel agencies, bridal magazines and bridal companies can be effective marketing points to approach and reach this market segment Young single generation a) Size of the market In the population group with ages ranging between 25 and 40 years of age a total size of 11,295,000 people are recorded. b) Characteristics This market is highly conscious of costs and will strictly compare price differences using the Internet. Best-cost performance such as flight, accommodation and tour packages will then be selected. Generally speaking, the younger generation between the ages of 20 to early 30 does not have a strong desire to travel abroad in contrast with the older generation. Those who are eager to travel abroad in this generation are not just travelling for the sake of travelling, but rather are exploring specific interests, such as soft adventurer and sport in the destination. c) The appealing point for targeting this segment Good cost performance is the most important criteria for this segment. The package tour from Japan to the southern African region costs three times more than similar ones going to Europe. Therefore, to target this segment, it is necessary to provide budget tour packages. To do so, the basic composition of the tour can be skeleton arrangements regarding flights, transportation and accommodation, but provide optional tour add-ons with interesting themes such as social exchanges, sport and adventure activities. The South Africa National Tourism Board is promoting a type of tour where a tourist stays in one place instead of going to many places, to avoid spending too much money on domestic transportation. The potential sporting activities that are appealing include hiking, mountain biking and the themes associated with wildlife, fauna and flora, contemporary music and soft adventure. d) How to approach this segment The main communication channel is the internet, however, proposing concrete tour package in cooperation with African specialized travel agencies instead of individual arrangement

16 3.1.6 New destination explorer: Female in 30s, 40s, 50s a) Size of the market Female population in Japan: 30s: 8,227,000 40s: 8,950,000 50s: 7,751,000 b) Characteristics This segment is very active in learning new things and has a general understanding of various values and points of view in society. They are mostly active in traveling overseas, and are eager to visit those destinations not ordinary visited by other Japanese tourists. c) The appealing point for targeting this segment A strong focus on culture, food and fashion would appeal to this segment. d) How to approach this segment This group can effectively be reached through the Internet, feminine magazines and cultural events targeting women. 3.2 Role of RETOSA in promoting southern African tourism to the East Asian market Currently each SADC country has their own tourism promotion strategy, implemented accordingly. The question therefore arises what role RETOSA can play in promoting the region? The following are the potential effective activities. Promotion activities to generate a brand image for the southern African region as one attractive tourism destination Promoting cross-border tourism in multiple country destinations Assist promotional activity in the market countries that has no/little promotion channel/base from the member states yet Promotion activity to penetrate the brand image of the southern African region as one attractive tourism destination Unfortunately, in the Japanese market a fixed image about Africa being prevails. It is not particularly the image held of southern Africa, but rather Africa as a whole. Since most Japanese people are not very familiar with this continent, the perception they harbour of Africa with Ebola fever in western Africa and political conflict in northern Africa is further damaging the image of southern Africa. Therefore, it is important to provide appropriate information and brand an improved image of southern Africa that is attractive and a safe tourism destination. RETOSA already has a branding strategy, which includes Experience southern Africa as brand logo, and Wilderness, Climate, Humanity, Diversity as brand identity. This logo and identity is not well used in the promotion activity of each member state and it is therefore important that RETOSA take further initiatives to use the logo and brand identify in every publication and exhibition in tourism promotional events. Member states should also be encouraged to use it so that this brand image can be promoted and penetrate the Japanese market. During the JATA Tourism Expo in Japan 2015, RETOSA and JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) joined in a pilot marketing activity and used this brand logo and identity in all exhibition materials and publications. All member states endorsed the collective approach to marketing. The seminar held during this event was a very significant platform for sharing and seeking clarity on issues Promoting cross-border tourism Most Japanese tourists visiting southern Africa wish to visit many countries in one tour. Since already travelling long distances from Japan, they want to take the opportunity to visit many countries and not just one country. Therefore, it is important to support Japanese travel agencies to design tour packages that include multiple countries in their itineraries. Proposing the multi-country model route with useful information like tourism attractions, transportation and accommodation on these routes is necessary. Due to its function and role, only RETOSA can take on the task of promoting this cross-border tourism. To effectively do this RETOSA may have to conduct the same level of promotion activity that is normally conducted by national tourism authorities of individual countries

17 3.2.3 Assist promotional activity to market countries with minimal promotional capability Some SADC country member states still do not have strong network structures to conduct tourism promotion activities, in high potential market countries of East Asia. RETOSA could open the promotion base on representing southern Africa by for instance joining tourism exhibitions in those areas. As a pilot activity RETOSA joined JATA Tourism EXPO Japan in September 2015, setting up a common stand for SADC countries. In cooperation with respective embassies from SADC countries to Japan, small stands for each country was set up to showcase their tourism information and display of cross-border tourism products in southern Africa. These products include luxurious trains, safari lodges, and TFCAs. A special corner displayed the tourist products of Japanese travel agents selling tours to southern Africa. Marketing materials included music and cultural performances from southern Africa, traditional costume, Mbira and Jazz performances. Parallel to the exhibition, seminars to introduce the tourism attractions in southern Africa to Japanese travel agencies, a reception party at the stand, and music performances at the main stage of the expo were included. In this pilot activity RETOSA provided the venue and opportunity. The SADC embassies to Japan took responsibility for the contents by arranging displays for the tourism attractions of their own countries, contributed traditional costume, snacks and drinks for the reception. As for the music performance, the Mbira performer was arranged by the Zimbabwean embassy, and the Jazz group was arranged by the Botswana embassy. RETOSA had been considering setting up a virtual office on the web site or setting up a representative office within a SADC embassy and staff the office on an annual rotational basis between each of the represented embassies. However, it would be more effective to have an independent RETOSA representative office and assign at least one Japanese expert to this office. b. Strengthening partnership with SADC embassies in Tokyo RETOSA has gained good experience in collaborating with SADC embassies in Tokyo during the JATA Tourism Expo in Japan The collaboration included sharing information, close communication, designing and planning, other work division and implementing tasks, feedback and improvement or expansion of ideas for the future. The same collaboration is envisaged for other markets like in Korea and China. c. Strengthen networking with major suppliers of tourism products in southern Africa RETOSA should strengthen the networking with the major suppliers of tourism products in southern Africa. The major tourism products include luxury trains, wineries, safari lodges, golf estates, rooibos tea factories, the diamond industry etc. to be connected to the travel agencies in Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, and other identified East Asian cities. This networking will be beneficial in building a supply chain between the supply and the market Other recommendations The following are the recommendations for RETOSA to implement effective promotion activities in East Asian markets. a. Establish RETOSA representative office in East Asia RETOSA need to establish a representative office in Tokyo, to serve the markets like in Japan, Korea and China. The main activity of this office would be networking with travel agencies, providing information to the press and travel agencies and conducting promotional events. RETOSA should strengthen the networking with the major suppliers of tourism products in southern Africa

18 d. Organizing southern Africa Tourism Festival It is deemed practical and effective to join the tourism exhibition in the major market cities. However, in the future, RETOSA can also consider organizing their own tourism event such as a Southern Africa Tourism Festival in cooperation with the represented SADC embassies, in major cities in Japan, Korea, and China. Similar events for example the alliance of embassies from Arab countries to Tokyo have been successful marketing events with festivals such as the Arab Festival. This festival is conducted annually in Tokyo with tourism exhibitions that include the selling of handicrafts, food and cultural stage performance. The cost to implement this event was covered by the entrance fee, and a part of the profit went to donations for supporting the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. g. Establishing a recognition system for southern Africa Tourism Experts With the exception of some experts, the knowledge of the travel agencies in Japan on southern African tourism is still limited. Some travel agencies may not be able to identify the name and location of some countries on the map in this region. Therefore, they are eager to get more information and are willing to learn. RETOSA would play a valuable role in providing learning opportunities to major travel companies who wish to specialize in southern African tour packages. RETOSA can also offer consultation and advise for designing and producing tours to southern Africa to those agencies who have qualified as specialists. A certification to be a southern African tourism expert could also be implemented. e. Collaboration with the Press It would be beneficial to identify the influential press agencies in the major markets in East Asia providing editorial supports (such as article materials and photos) and organizing press tours to southern Africa tourism destinations. f. Promotion of Souvenirs Referring back to the findings of the survey amongst Japanese tourists, the results showed that expenses for purchasing souvenirs is quite low. In order to increase the sales of souvenirs, the following action may be effective. Increase shopping time in the packaged tour especially in the countries other than South Africa. This needs to be arranged in collaboration with tour operating companies. Provide information about reliable and quality souvenir shops to the tourists through the tour guide, hotel, travel information offices and guidebooks. Shops adhering to criteria such as authenticity, locally produced, quality of the item, as well as appropriate pricing need to be identified. With the exception of some experts, the knowledge of the travel agencies in Japan on southern African tourism is still limited

19 4. ANNEXURES A.Survey results of Japanese tourists visiting southern African region B.Survey results of Korean tourists visiting southern African region C.Promotion suggestions for the Chinese tourism market D.Suggestions for Internet Marketing 36 37

20 ANNEX A. Survey results of Japanese tourists visiting southern African region A1) Place of residence More than 61.5 per cent of the respondents are residents of Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama region), followed by 20.0per cent from Kansai Metropolitan Area (Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo region). These results confirm findings from a South African Tourism survey (hereafter stated as SAT survey ) conducted in The implication this data suggests that if these two metropolitan areas are targeted with marketing strategies it cover more than 80 per cent of the current tourist market. According to feedback from travel agencies combined with the analysis of related data, other important residential areas to consider in marketing strategies are Nagoya city and Kita-Kyusyu city. A2) Age and gender According to the data gathered in this survey, 58 per cent of the respondents were female (Figure A1), with the biggest cluster above the age of 60. Figure A1: Age and gender distribution of Japanese tourist survey Figure A2: Comparison of RETOSA and SAT surveys for purpose of travelling When comparing the SAT survey (2007) and JTB survey (2013), with the findings of the RETOSA survey (2014), the composition of tourists above the age of 60 is significantly higher in the data for the RETOSA survey. For the SAT survey tourists in the age group of 40 and above represent the biggest cluster followed by those aged over 50. The possible reason for this discrepancy in the findings is due to the fact that the SAT Survey included tourists travelling for business purposes while the sample for the RETOSA Survey focused on leisure tourists. What needs emphasis is that the findings of the RETOSA survey focusing on leisure tourists is more suitable to the purpose of developing guidelines for tourism promotion of leisure tourists from East Asia. A3) Purpose of Traveling As mentioned above and reflected in Figure A2, 89 per cent of the respondents of this survey is visiting southern Africa for leisure, while the SAT survey reported 41per cent business tourists. However, in the RETOSA survey, there are more business tourists recorded for the age groups of 20s and 30s. Visiting family and relative (VFR) tourists make up a minimal portion in either of the surveys. A4) Traveling packages Seventy seven per cent of the respondents of the RETOSA survey visit southern Africa as part of a group package tour. This finding is similar to the results of the JTB Survey for tourists to the Middle East and Africa, which represented 72 per cent tourist as part of group package tours (Table A2). This data along with feedback from travel agencies reflect that the typical Japanese tourist visiting southern Africa for leisure, especially as part of a tour group is females. However, for the age groups between 20 and 50 slightly more males than females visit the region. Age Japanese tourist to southern Africa Japanese tourist to South Africa Japanese outbound tourist total (%) (RETOSA Survey) (SAT Survey) (JTB Survey) 10s s 6 7 (18-24y) 23 30s 11 3 (25-34y) 21 40s (35-44y) 21 50s 9 14 (45-54y) 20 60s (55-64y) 15 70s over 24 5 (65y & older) 4 Different surveys Package tour (%) Individual Others (%) arrangement (%) RETOSA Survey JTB (Whole tourist) JTB (Tourist for leisure) JTB (Middle East and Africa) SAT Table A2: Comparison of RETOSA, SAT and JTB surveys on type of tours However when considering the details of type of tours compared to age distribution of the sample, 89 per cent in the 60s age group and 91 per cent in the 70s age groups select group package tours, while about half of the respondents from in the age range choose individual tourist options. The indicators towards developing promotion strategies for the target group above 60 years of age show that travel agencies would have to develop and sell group package tours to tourists aged 60 and above. Support to Japanese travel agents to develop new tourist products for individual tourists under the age of 60 to southern Africa is important. Furthermore, the development of services and facilities for individual tourist at the destination is necessary

21 A5) Occupation In terms of the occupation, the result of RETOSA survey and SAT Survey is quite different. That discrepancy can once again be attributed to the SAT survey mainly including business tourists, while RETOSA survey reported mainly on leisure tourists. The main occupation of the tourists for leisure to southern Africa according to either the RETOSA or SAT surveys is either office worker or professional, followed by the RETOSA survey reporting the second largest being house wife and retired (Figure A3). This is also confirmed by the information gathered through feedback from travel agencies To develop a package tour that is easy and friendly for the tourists traveling alone and/or with spouse is therefore important. The main attribute of the respondents of the RETOSA survey was that they are the tourists for leisure to southern Africa. Therefore, the following analysis should be understood from the perspective that this is not the characteristic of all Japanese tourists, but of the tourists for leisure specifically. A7) Long distance traveling As expected, Japanese tourists to southern Africa have rich experiences in long distance travel to other countries. They are so-called hard repeaters of overseas travel. According to Figure A5 more than 80 per cent of them have travelled to Europe, followed by 70 per cent to the USA, 60 per cent to Australia and South America, and about 50 per cent to the Middle East. Figure A3: Occupation of Japanese tourists to southern Africa (RETOSA and SAT survey results) Figure A5: Long distance travel destinations according to age group (RETOSA survey) From the analysis, it reveals the dominant market for tourist for leisure from Japan, to be the retired, aged above 60 segment. How to design and sell an attractive group package tour to this segment is the most important key for promoting tourism of southern Africa to the Japanese market. A6) Traveling Companion Traveling with a spouse or alone is the biggest two clusters as shown in Figure A4, followed by traveling with friends. Similar result are reflected in the JTB survey (Middle-East and Africa).However, in the RETOSA survey the portion of respondents that traveling alone is slightly higher. Figure A4: Comparison of RETOSA and JTB surveys regarding travelling companion(s) When examined according to the age distribution all age groups traveling to Europe is the highest recorded value. However, the second highest destination differs for each age group. For example, for 60s and 70s, the United States (US)-mainland is the second top destination, but for the 50s age group, Australia and South America rank higher than US-mainland. For the 40s age group South America and the US-mainland is the second highest ranked. In the 40s age group the difference in destinations is not big with more or less equally travel to all stated destinations. For the 20s age group traveling to Australia is less than 10 per cent with recent decreasing of traveling trends to Australia. A8) Travel Experience to Africa Travel experience to Africa includes the whole continent of Africa and not only southern Africa. Given this, more than half of the respondents were repeater tourists to Africa, having travelled a second time or more (Figure A6). However, they tend to visit different places each time. This is an important implication considering that the majority of repeater tourists are within the high potential target group to return to the continent. This should however, not be the only focused target group and expanding into the market beyond the repeater tourists to target more newcomers tourists is an important marketing strategy for the East Asian tourist market

22 For the countries visited in the past the highest ranked is Tanzania at 11.5 per cent. Tanzania as the leading country has a unique and outstanding appeal for Japanese tourists to southern Africa. Figure A6: Frequency of visits to the African continent by Japanese tourists (RETOSA survey) Figure A8: Destinations visited on recent and previous trips (RETOSA survey) A9) Length of stay According to the JTB survey (Middle East and Africa), the duration of the trip of Japanese tourists to Africa were reported by 70 per cent of the respondents to be between eight and 14 days (Figure A7). Figure A7: Length of stay for Japanese tourists to southern Africa (RETOSA survey - values displayed in percentages (%) In the RETOSA survey about 70per cent of the respondents reported a duration of the trip between eight and 11 days. Among this, 34 per cent of the respondents are traveling for ten days. This duration of trip for Japanese tourists to Africa is shorter compared to the tourists from Western countries. However, Africa is one of the destinations that Japanese tourists invest the longest number of days for traveling in. As a result they expect smoothly running transportation within the region, also within one country, making this an important factor for travel agencies when designing tour packages. A10) Destinations visited in this trip, and in the past The top countries visited in this trip as recorded by the RETOSA survey in receding order are South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Zambia as the Top 4 destinations (Figure A8). This is reflecting the fact that for Japanese tourists visiting southern Africa, the most popular route is starting in Cape Town (South Africa) travelling to Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe and Zambia) and then to Chobe National Park (Botswana). A11) The countries respondents would like to visit in the future The countries that respondents indicated they would like to visit in future are mostly Madagascar, with 21per cent selecting this future destination. The second recorded is Namibia, which was recently featured several times on Japanese television. The third and the fourth future destination choices are Mauritius and Seychelles, islands countries that are progressively becoming more popular. Countries visited Would like to visit (%) Have visited (%) Total visited & liked to visit (%) South Africa Zimbabwe Botswana Zambia Namibia Madagascar Tanzania Mozambique Mauritius Seychelles Swaziland Angola Lesotho Malawi DRC Ranking order Table A3: Countries selected to visit in future (RETOSA survey) 42 43

23 The following are the tourist profiles trends by gender and age for each country that responds indicate they would like to visit in future. Angola: No special tendency for gender or age Botswana: Females above the age of 60 DRC: More males than females Lesotho: Male in their 40s Madagascar: Females in their 20s-40s Malawi: Mainly females regardless of age Mauritius: Comparatively younger females (20s 40s) Mozambique: No special tendency for gender or age Namibia: Females in their 50s and older Seychelles: No special tendency for gender or age Swaziland: Females in their 50s and older Tanzania: Females of any age A12) Degree of satisfaction with current visit In total, approximately 60 per cent of the respondents marked their experience as satisfactory with less than 20 per cent respondents rating very satisfactory. With almost 80 per cent either very satisfied or satisfied, about 20 per cent of the respondents were not satisfied. The various aspects that respondents marked in this category of satisfaction are recorded as follows: The respondents show high satisfaction levels for the following: Nature experience, accommodation, meals, guiding/information, and hospitality. In terms of nature experience a combined score of 70 per cent reflecting respondents selecting very satisfactory and satisfactory. In terms of accommodation, a combined rating of more than 70 per cent for both very satisfactory and satisfactory were selected and the following problem areas/complaints were identified: - connection of electric appliances were not working and caused frustration - bathroom facilities were not properly functioning - hotel staff never admitted their mistakes/ inefficiency - the service of the hotel were inefficiency/ low quality - felt stuffy, not even allowed to go to the terrace, saying that animals may approach us ( at Chobe National Park) Zambia: No special tendency for gender or age From the above analysis the 15 countries in SADC can be divided into three groups as follows: A)Advanced - countries recognized as tourist destinations in the Japanese market that includes South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Tanzania. B)Growing - potential countries with expected increase in recognition as a tourist destination in the future such as Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius and Seychelles. C)Untapped - countries that have little recognition as potential tourist destinations namely Swaziland, Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, and the DRC

24 In terms of meals, very satisfactory and satisfactory were selected in more than 70 per cent of the cases with virtually no complaints other than the amount of food being too much. *In terms of guiding, respondents provided very good feedback with very satisfactory and satisfactory selected by almost 70per cent of the respondents, ranking equal to satisfaction levels with nature experience. Guiding also received some positive comments: - Tour guides are polite/caring and has much knowledge - We can feel they are trying their best - Guides try to entertain us by using some Japanese words In terms of items that received unsatisfactory feedback, were border formalities, local transportation, shopping, cultural experience, local community, were identified mostly. Specifics regarding unsatisfactory experience with border formalities were specifically relating to entry at the airport as reported by one of the respondents: Low satisfaction for shopping means low economic benefit from tourism for the region. The countries other than South Africa needs to do the development of more attractive souvenir products, and comfortable facilities that can meet the expectation of the tourists, specifically regarding appropriate pricing. According to the age segregated data on satisfaction with souvenirs, the dissatisfaction rate is especially high in 50s and 60s age groups with 43.9 per cent and 31.3 per cent reported respectively. Dissatisfaction rates for shopping were higher for tourists on packaged tours than for individual tourists. The dissatisfaction rate for individual tourists was recorded at 13.7 per cent, while the rate of very unsatisfactory and unsatisfactory rate for tourists in packaged tours were 23.8 per cent. Unsatisfactory rates for shopping were also reported to be higher for females than that of males. For males, unsatisfactory and very unsatisfactory rates were 18.6 per cent, while the equivalent rate for females were 23.9 per cent. On the other hand, very satisfactory rates for females were 12.5 per cent, which is more than double that of the male respondents. - Long line, staff chatting with each other, small space - Visa fee is too high - Too time consuming Another unsatisfactory aspect that was pointed out related to domestic transportation that were criticized to be: Too time consuming Not possible to use public transportation The bus was too old and no longer functions properly, and appeared to have broken down twice during the trip. In terms of Shopping, many respondents complained that there was nothing attractive that they wanted to buy other than in South Africa with some other complaints relating to facilities and price: - There was no appropriate shop and that which was there was quite unsatisfactory - Prices could not be trusted 46 47

25 Cultural experience received lower levels of satisfaction feedback compared to nature experience. Many respondents claimed that they did not have any cultural experience with the following verbatim feedback: - Observed African dance, however, there was no explanation about it so I could not understand what it is - Only observed ethnic music instruments and dancing once - Wanted to visit art gallery and museum at least once Almost all respondents did not visit local community. Many, however, expressed their interest of visiting local communities as evident from some of the responses received: The following data (Figure A10) is the response from packaged tour customer, excluding independent tourists. The responses yielded higher satisfaction rates for tour guides, and lower satisfaction rates for shopping, with one out of four rating shopping as unsatisfactory. Figure A10 once again reveal totals that does not add up to 100 per cent, since there was blanc answers or unclear answers difficult to understand. Figure A10: Selected satisfaction rates from packaged tour customer (RETOSA survey) - Regret that we did not have the chance - This is my favorite activity, however, it was not included in the program Figure A9 indicates the various satisfaction levels, however, the total does not add up to 100 per cent, since there was blanc answers or unclear answers difficult to understand. Figure A9: Satisfaction levels for various tourist experiences and activities (RETOSA survey) A13) Likelihood of Repeat Visits More than 70 per cent of the respondents expressed their wish to visit again, 23.5 per cent do not wish to visit again and 2.5 per cent left no response for this question. However, it is important to note reasons why one out of four person expressed they do not want to visit again (Figure A11). Figure A11: The reason expressed by those not wishing to visit again 48 49

26 The primary reason cited for not wanting to visit again is the long duration of travel from Japan to South Africa, followed by the matters of security. Many cited practical concern with traveling that comes with old age namely: i am too old to travel here again i am old, so I would like to visit other places as well i am too old so not possible to visit southern Africa again this is my third time, and it will be my final. My legs are no longer that strong and my body cannot tolerate this journey the food is disappointing the food is not good except in South Africa the schedule is too hard i wish to go to other countries as well not only here i understand what southern Africa has to offer and need not travel here again Spending ranges in Yen ( ) Spending ranges in Yen ( ) Per centage of souvenir spending (%) No spending on souvenirs No spending on 3.5 souvenirs 1-5, , ,001-10,000 5,001-10, ,001-15,000 10,001-15, ,001-20,000 15,001-20, ,001-25,000 20,001-25, ,001-30,000 25,001-30, ,001-35,000 30,001-35, ,001-40,000 35,001-40, ,001-45,000 40,001-45, ,001-50,000 45,001-50, ,001 and more 50,001 and more 13.9 A15) Souvenir items purchased Primary items purchased as souvenirs are reflected in Figure A12 Table A4: Souvenir spending (RETOSA survey) A14) Souvenirs Considering that there is no upper limit to the spending of 50,000 (approximately $500) and above for souvenirs, the assumption is made that the upper limit could be 100,000 (approximately $1,000) on average. Given this scenario, it can then be calculated that the average expense for souvenir spent is approximately 20,153 (approximately $240 in 2015 exchange rates) per person. Figure A12: Souvenir items purchased (RETOSA survey) According to the JTB survey, the average expense for souvenir per person among tourists in the Middle East and Africa is 44,000 (approximately $440 in 2015 exchange rates). It can thus be deduced that there is a potential opportunity for the destination countries to address the aspects highlighted in the recommendations regarding the expectations of the Japanese tourists in terms of souvenir purchases. Shopping satisfaction is a potential aspect to be improved and developed as it has been highlighted as a challenge in southern African tourism

27 In terms of purchasing souvenir items according to gender disaggregated data and age cluster groups are: More males from ages ranging purchased folk arts items than females. In the 50s age cluster groups females purchased more folk arts items than males. Figure A13: Activity desired for next visit (RETOSA survey) for wine purchases, male respondents in the 30 year age group bought more than females. However, wine buying trends in the 60s age cluster group indicated more female buyers than males. Across age cluster groups, more females buy tea products than males. A16) Impression on pricing When only very expensive and expensive is compared to the very cheap and reasonable categories that could have been selected on the impression of price, more tourists were of the opinion that prices were expensive. However, most tourists perceive pricing as average giving a clear indication that the pricing for the Japanese target market is average. Table A5: Impression on pricing by Japanese tourists (RETOSA survey) Pricing impression In general (%) Accommodation Restaurant (%) Souvenir (%) (%) Very expensive Expensive Average Reasonable Very cheap The total is not 100%, since there were blank answers or unclear answers difficult to understand. A17) Desired activity for next visit Safari, World Heritage and Nature Experience are the most popular activity that Japanese tourists wish to do in southern Africa on a return visit. Attention is required to meet the tourist desire to visit Trans Frontier Conservation Areas (TFCA), and experiencing the Blue Train for their next trip to southern Africa (Figure A13). Table A6 show the cross analysis of desired activities and the country of interest that respondents identified for their next visit. It can explain relevant information on tourism trends to serve as a guide in tourism promotion for each country. South Africa Zimbabwe Botswana Namibia Zambia Tanzania Safari World Heritage Nature experience Luxurious train TFCA Adventure experience Luxurious Resort Rural experience Home stay Table A6: Advanced group: Ranking of activity desired for next visit (RETOSA survey) 52 53

28 Table A7: Growing group: Ranking of activity desired for next visit (RETOSA survey) Madagascar Mozambique Mauritius Seychelles Safari World Heritage Nature experience Luxurious train TFCA Adventure experience Luxurious Resort Rural experience Home stay Table A9: Suggestions towards improvements for the next tour (RETOSA survey) Suggested change (%) The tour that has more free time 29.4 Tour with less number people in the group 26.8 Quality tour even if it is more expensive 25.3 The tour that can stay in one place longer 21.1 The tour that have more exchange with local people 20.1 The tour visiting places not yet visited 19.6 Table A9 captured the responses from the majority respondents belonging to the 60s and above age group. For the younger age group (30s, 40s, 50s), most of them preferred a tour that allow them to stay longer in one place. Table A10 reports the first, second and third choice rankings for the suggestions towards improvements mentioned by the respondents and reflected in their various age groups. Swaziland Angola Angola Malawi DRC Safari World Heritage Nature experience Luxurious train TFCA Adventure experience Luxurious Resort Rural experience Home stay Table A8: Untapped group: Ranking of activity desired for next visit (RETOSA survey) A18) Types of tours preferred on the next trip Many of the respondents expressed that they wish to have more free time. Little free time on an all programed tour is understandable given the nature of the limited travel time that Japanese tourists typically have. There is no easy solution in developing a tightly packed scheduled tour, regardless of it accommodating the tourists unfamiliarity with the local society and communication, as well as alleviating high concerns for safety. However, this dichotomy is contributing to the low satisfaction of the tourists and it should be also highlighted some respondents expressed that they would prefer a quality tour even if it is more expensive (Table A9). Table A10: First, second and third choice rankings for suggested improvements for next trip Suggested change 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s A tour that has more free time A tour with less number of tourists in the group A better quality tour even if it is more expensive A tour that stays longer in one place A tour with more interaction with local people A tour that visit the places not previously visited 3 1 A19) Marketing material mostly used when deciding the tour destination The marketing impact of the Internet is very high, while the impact of social media is still limited. Recommendation by friends is unexpectedly low in the responses of the respondents. Figure A14 gives an indication of the marketing material mostly used when deciding the tour destination. Figure A14: Marketing material mostly used when deciding the tour destination (RETOSA survey) 54 55

29 There is not much difference among first time tourists and repeater tourist who visited the southern African region more than three times prior. The only indication of a difference is that the repeater tourist is much less influenced from the travel agent (Table A11). Marketing channels Marketing channels More than three times Internet Internet 1 Travel agent Travel agent 6 Travel guidebook Travel guidebook 2 Pamphlet Pamphlet 2 Recommendation by friends Recommendation by friends 4 TV program TV program 5 Magazines Magazines 7 Web site of government tourism office Web site of government tourism office 8 Advertisement Advertisement 9 Social media Social media 10 Table A11: Comparison of ranked marketing material used when deciding tour destination (first time and repeater tourists) Because most respondents are in the 60s and above age grouping, the findings in Table A11 reflect mostly their point of view. Therefore Table A12 offers a comparison between each of the age groups considering their ranked preference for marketing material they use to make decisions. 20s 30s 40s 60s 70s Internet Travel agent Travel guidebook TV program Pamphlet 2 Recommended by friends 3 Magazines 3 Web site of government tourism office Advertisement Social media 56 57

30 ANNEX B. Survey results of Korean tourists visiting southern African region The following is a summary of the results of the survey to Korean tourists as conducted by the RETOSA survey. This survey was initially intended to comparing the result between Japanese and Korean tourists, and highlighting the characteristic of Japanese tourists. However, there was not a high enough response rate. The Korean respondents were also mainly business tourists, while the Japanese sample mostly reflected responses from tourists for leisure. Due to the differences in the sampling that could be obtained, it should be noted that the results between the Japanese and Korean respondents cannot be simply and fairly compared. B1) Summary of main results More than half of the tourists are in the 30s and 40s age groups Office worker and professional is more than half the respondents occupations indicated Seventy per cent of the respondents are individual tourists Travel companions are mostly indicated to be friends, followed by colleagues, accounting for about half of all the respondents The purpose of travel were divided between pleasure being 40 per cent and for business about 30 per cent Year International Korean tourists ,494, ,488, ,693, ,736, ,846, ,080,684 Table B1: International Korean tourists Duration of the trip was for about half of the respondents more than 12 days Korean respondents show high satisfaction for the following: nature experience, guide/ Information, and hospitality. On the contrary, the ones that got low satisfaction were local community, local transportation, and cultural experience. The desired activity for the next visit for Korean respondents was rated to be safari, nature experience, and World Heritage site visits. However, the expectation for learning local lifestyle such as local community is also high. Marketing material that they mostly refer to when they decide the tour destination is the internet, particularly, the website of National Tourism Office and Social Media is high. Table B2: Number of Korean tourists visiting SADC countries (2010) SADC country visited International Korean tourist South Africa 17,000 Swaziland 1,000 Tanzania 4,000 Zimbabwe 7,000 Attributes of the sample are subsequently provided

31 B2) Gender The gender distribution for the Korean sample is reflected in Figure B1. B4) Occupation The occupation that Korean respondents reported to be involved in are office worker and Professional consists for 50per cent of the respondents. Independent, housewives and others are in the minority within this sample (Figure B3). The biggest cluster of office workers and professionals are in the 30s and 40s age groups. According to feedback from Japanese and Korean trade experts interviewed by the RETOSA expert meeting, incentive travel, convention, exhibition/event (MICE) market and business tourist are also growing. Figure B1: Gender distribution of Korean respondents Figure B3: Occupations in which Korean respondents are involved (RETOSA survey) B3) Age For the Korean respondents, the 30s and 40s age groups made up more than half of the respondents (Figure B2). Figure B2: Age distribution of Korean respondents (RETOSA survey) B5) Type of Traveling Amongst the Korean respondents 74 per cent travelled as individual tourists with only 24 per cent forming part of a packaged tour (Figure B4). According to the 2010 Online Survey on Korean Tourism conducted by Korean Tourism Organization, this finding fits in with the trends of 2010 where the biggest cluster of international Korean tourists tended to be individual tourists at 45.3 per cent at that time, followed by group package tour (34.8 per cent), then skeleton (minimum arrangement) tour (19.9 per cent). The 2010 survey also showed a steady increase in this trend since 2005 when more experience was gained in traveling abroad, along with the popularization of the Internet. The trend would therefore be expected to have increase since the 2010 survey to what RETOSA found in Figure B4: Type of traveling recorded for the Korean tourists (RETOSA survey) 60 61

32 B6) Traveling Companion The Korean respondents mostly indicated travelling with friends as their travel companion followed by travelling alone (Figure B5). Figure B5: Travelling companions recorded for the Korean respondents (RETOSA survey) According to the 2010 Online Survey on Korean Tourism the data at the time for international Korean tourists were as follows: For recreation & leisure 64.9% Business 16.2% Visiting friends and relatives 9.8% Education/ Learning language 4.4% Religion/ Pilgrimage 2.8% Medical treatment 1.9% Also in the same survey, the activities involved in the destination for the international Korean tourists are:. Visiting tourism site 81.8% Shopping 73.4% B7) Purpose of traveling For Korean respondents, the share of business tourist is higher than that recorded for the Japanese sample, while 42% travelled for pleasure (Figure B6). Figure B6: Purpose of traveling recorded for Korean respondents (RETOSA survey) Gourmet (food) 38.5% Traditional cultural experience 29.5% B8) Long distance traveling From the RETOSA survey it was gained that Koreans who are visiting southern Africa have rich experiences in long distance travel. Figure B7 reflects the number of tourists who indicated that they have traveled long distances before. Figure B7: Continents visited by Korean respondents in the past (RETOSA survey) 62 63

33 B9) Travel experience to Africa This category is not limited to southern African travel only but includes all African countries. The ratio of repeater tourists are higher than expected, with about half of the respondents being repeater tourists to the African continent (Figure B8). Figure B10: Destinations visited on recent and previous trips for Korean respondents (RETOSA survey) Figure B8: Repeaters tourists to the African continent (RETOSA survey) B12) The countries respondents would like to visit in the future The countries that more than 10per cent of the Korean respondents wish to visit in the future are South Africa, Mozambique, and Botswana (Table B3). B10) Length of stay For Korean respondents, more than half spent 12 days or more on their trip (Figure B9). This is could be attributed to many of them being business tourists B11) Destinations visited in this trip and in the past For this trip the top 6 countries visited were South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania followed by Mauritius. The countries that more than 10 per cent of the Korean respondents have visited in the past are South Africa and Botswana (Figure B10). Table B3: Countries that Korean tourists would like to visit in future (RETOSA survey) SADC country Korean (%) South Africa 12 Mozambique 10 Botswana 10 Seychelles 6 Zambia 6 Swaziland 6 Malawi 6 DRC 6 Tanzania 4 Namibia 4 Zimbabwe 2 Madagascar 2 Mauritius 2 Lesotho 2 Angola

34 B13) Degree of Satisfaction More than 70 per cent of the Korean respondents rated satisfied or very satisfied for most of the criteria asked (Figure B11). However, the less than 30 per cent incidences that were not completely satisfied with their experiences should be investigated and addressed for improvement. Figure B11: Satisfaction levels for various tourist experiences and activities as experienced by Korean respondents (RETOSA survey) B14) Likelihood of Repeat Visits Korean respondents indicated their likelihood for a return visit as indicated in Table B6. Likelihood of repeat visit (%) Wish to visit 84 Do not wish to visit 6 No response 10 Table B6: Likelihood of repeat visits for Korean respondents (RETOSA survey) B15) Souvenirs Assuming that among respondents who claim they spend more than $500 for souvenirs, their actual spent was reported to be an average of $1,000. Given this amount, it can be assumed that the expenses for souvenirs per person are approximately $565. The points in Table B5 were calculated by circulation of load using the following calculation: Very satisfactory received two (2) points, satisfied received one (1) point and not experienced or unknown received a zero (0) point. For not satisfied one point was subtracted (-1) and for disappointed two points were subtracted (-2). Table B5: Ranked satisfaction for Korean respondents (RETOSA survey) Criteria Rank Nature experience 124 Hospitality 116 Guiding/ Information 112 Accommodation 104 Border formalities 104 Shopping 100 Overall evaluation 98 Meal 96 Cultural experience 90 Local transportation 72 Local community 70 Spending ranges in Yen ( ) Spending ranges in USD ($) Korean percentage on souvenir spending (%) No spending on souvenirs No spending on souvenirs 4 1-5, ,001-10, ,001-15, ,001-20, ,001-25, ,001-30, ,001-35, ,001-40, ,001-45, ,001-50, ,001 and more and more 38 Table B7: Souvenir spending for Korean respondents (RETOSA survey) B16) Items for Souvenir The primary items purchased as souvenirs included tea, wine and folk-art objects (Table B8). For Korean respondents, the items that got the highest degree of satisfaction were nature experience, guiding/information, and hospitality. Items that got the lowest degree of satisfaction were local community, local transportation, and cultural experience

35 Figure B12: Souvenir items purchased by Korean respondents (RETOSA survey) Figure B13: Activity desired for next visit from Korean tourists (RETOSA survey) B17) Impression on pricing When very expensive and expensive is clustered and compared to the cluster very cheap and reasonable more respondents selected the expensive cluster. There seems to be an even spread between expensive, average and reasonable which gives an indication that in general pricing for items are competitive. B19) Types of tours preferred in the next visit Many respondents wish for the tour that has more free-time. For Korean respondents, many wish for the tour that can have more exchange with local people (Table B9). Pricing impression In general (%) Accommodation (%) Restaurant (%) Very Expensive Expensive Average Reasonable Very Cheap Recommended by friends 3 Magazines 3 Web site of government tourism office Advertisement Social media B18) Desired activity for next visit The top desired activity is for the next trip is recorded to be Safari (Figure B13). Other than this, visiting local community and a desire for a homestay is high. The Blue Train and luxurious resorts also got high rates. Souvenir (%) Suggested change Korean (%) The tour that has more free time 36 Tour with less number people in the group 12 Quality tour even if it is more expensive 26 The tour that can stay in one place longer 14 The tour that have more exchange with local people 30 The tour visiting places not yet visited 18 B20) Marketing material mostly used when deciding the tour destination The Internet is quite an important source used to make destination decisions. According to the 2010 Online Survey on Korea Tourism conducted by Korean Tourism Organization the importance of the internet as a method of gathering information for Korean tourists are 50.9 per cent. From the RETOSA survey Korean respondents mostly used the website of the National Tourism office and other relevant social media sites. The influence of pamphlets seem to be quite small. Table B9: Suggestions towards improvements for the next tour 68 69

36 Figure B14: Marketing material mostly used when deciding the tour destination for Korean tourists (RETOSA survey) c. The ratio of utilization of Facebook against population (September 2012) Korea 19.4% Japan 2.2% Singapore 61.0% Hong Kong 56.8% Taiwan 56.2% Thailand 25.4% a. According to Internet world stats countries in East Asia recorded the following Internet penetration rates (as of March 2012): Korea 82.7% Japan 80.8 Singapore 77.2 d. Popular newspapers in Korea Three main newspapers: Joongang Daily, Chosun Ilbo, Donga Ilbo 40s and 50s are utilizing newspapers as source of information more than the Internet. Hong Kong 68.7 Taiwan 70.0 Thailand 27.4 b. The share of the Search Engine was reported in August 2012 to be: Korea: google 50.8%, Naver 37.7%, Daum 5.9% Japan: google 70.5%, Yahoo 26.6% Singapore: google 88.2% Hong Kong: google 64.4% Taiwan: google 55.6%, Yahoo 43.1% Thailand: google 99.2% 70 71

37 e. TV program Main four terrestrial television broadcasting: KBS MBC SBS EBS a. Travel agencies Building supply chain through workshop, business meeting, etc. Conduct familiarisation trip Provide image tool (free-downloading of the images of the destination, operation of web site, etc.) Assist in developing and selling of tours f. Travel Magazine Travi Traveler Abroad Tour de Monde Imagine These media mentioned above need to be investigated for the best possible marketing strategy for Korean tourists. B21) Identified important segments of Korean market Based on the result of the RETOSA survey as well as feedback from experts, the following segment is identified as important for the Korean market. Business tourist (office worker and professional, 30s and 40s) b. Travel expo KOTFA(Korea World Travel Fair) June annually in Seoul BITF (Busan International Travel Fair) September annually in Busan Tour Expo Daegu Gyeongbuk, April annually in Daegu Gyeonggi International Travel Mart, November annually in Gyeonggi HANATOUR International Travel Show, May annually in Gyeonggi c. Press Main newspapers: Joongang Daily, Chosun Ilbo, Donga Ilbo Main travel magazine: Travi, Traveler, Abroad, Tour de Monde, Imagine Main TV program: KBS, MBC, SBS, EBB Single female culture- and education-oriented tourist (30-45 years old, with annual income more than 4,000,000) Senior citizens (male and female in 50s and above, with annual income more than 6,000,000) Students B22) Possible effective promotion activity in Korea Although these are the potential suggested channels to promote to the Korean market, further research is needed in order to determine the exact strategy necessary to approach and use these channels

38 ANNEX C. Promotion suggestions for the Chinese tourism market The RETOSA Survey (2015) was not conducted for Chinese tourists. Therefore a number of suggestions are considered to be effective in the Chinese tourism market as introduced in this section. This data originated from feedback from experts and related past research. It should be noted that these are general techniques in approaching Chinese markets and are not exclusive to the promotion of southern Africa. C1) Promotions to the tourism industry C1.1) Material supply To develop tour plans, information such as the specific description of the tourist attractions along the route, the duration of the transit and the fees of entry to each attraction are appreciated. Material needs to be supplied in a digital format such as CD-ROM or USB storage. High-resolution photographic data that can be used freely without license is recommended. C1.2) Sales calls Considering that individual personal relationships are important in doing business in China, it is more effective to send the same person several times for business meetings, rather than sending different people or a big expedition at once. C1.3) Seminars Presentations need to be done in the Chinese language and seminars should be concluded within three (3) hours in total within the time range from 13:00 to 17:00. C1.4) Familiarisation trip It is important to set the route useful for actual tour development and actual usable facilities (accommodation and tourism facility) that is along the route. Avoid busy Chinese seasons of which the exact dates differ each year but generally fall within the ranges indicated. - Chinese New Year: the end of January to the beginning of February - The Anniversary of the Founding: the end of September to the beginning of October. The Chinese holiday seasons dates therefore need to be verified annually. C2) Promotional channels for reaching consumers The following channels have been suggested that can be used to reach the Chinese tourists, however the specific strategy would require further research and scrutiny. C2.1) Advertising The advertising on the body of buses, signboards in airports, publicity advertisement posters displayed in the public transport and stations, banners in the tourist agencies, pamphlets, CD-ROM. C2.2) Mass media a. News papers The popular newspapers are ones locally published in each city. Overseas tour advertisement is posted in the special weekly tourism articles in these local newspapers. It is effective to invite the journalists in charge of these articles to media educational trips. b. Television There are a number of the television networks and channels are prolific. The audience-viewing rate is normally less than 10 per cent and it is difficult to control the advertisement running time. c. Magazines There are more than 30 tourism magazines, which are effective media in China. The fashion magazines for women and life style magazines also publicize special articles about tourism. d. Website The major search engine and portal sites are C2.3) Major exhibitions Expo Shanghai China (WTF): Shanghai May com.cn Beijing International Tourism Expo (BITE): Beijing June www. bitechnina.com.cn China International Travel Mart (CITM): Shanghai or Kunming every other year C3) Average Annual Disposal Income and population according to major cities in China (year 2010) The average annual disposable income for each of the major city s population has been reported in Table C1 after which each of the major cities characteristics related to tourists patterns are discussed

39 Major city Disposable income (Chinese ) Disposable income ($ 2015 rates) Population Shanghai City 31, ,020,000 Beijing City 29, ,610,000 Hangzhou City 27, ,000 Tianjin City 24, ,940,000 Guangzhou City 23, ,700,000 Nanjing City 22, ,000 Magazines 3 Web site of government tourism office Advertisement Social media Shanghai City Shanghai City is the centre of Chinese economy. The GDP per capita and the average disposable income and expenditure of the city residents are the highest here of all Chinese cities. The city is the market leaders in the tourism trends. Beijing City The capital city of China and the center of politics is Beijing City. The GDP per capita and the average disposable income and expenditure of the city residents are second in Chinese cities after Shanghai. In many cases, main promotion activities from abroad are conducted in Shanghai city in China, but it needs to be noted that the many of the headquarters of the major tourism agencies are in Beijing. In China it is the common practice that the small tourist agencies in local cities collect customers and send them to the major city tourist agencies to organize tours. Beijing therefore is most centrally located to collect tourists from smaller agencies. It is also important to note that the governmental headquarters are mostly based in Beijing. Therefore for conducting promotion activity by RETOSA, working with SADC embassies in Beijing is more convenient. Hangzhou City The city is situated at the south of Shanghai, there are many wealthy people including SME entrepreneurs. The tourists trend is said to be one year behind of Shanghai City. Tianjin City The city has the biggest sea port in northern China. It is 30 minutes away from Beijing by rapid express train. It is a major disembarkation port for cruise tours. Table C1: Average annual disposable income and population sizes (2010) SADC countries visited South Africa 66,000 Angola 60,000 Zambia 18,000 Zimbabwe 12,000 Tanzania 10,000 Mauritius 7,000 Namibia 4,000 Botswana 2,000 Swaziland 2,000 Lesotho 2,000 Seychelles 2,000 Table C3: International Chinese tourists patterns Guangzhou City The Guangdong Province, where Guangzhou City is situated is the most populated province in China, almost the same population size as the whole of Japan. Due to the geographical location the tourist s trend is more influenced by Hong Kong rather than Beijing. Nanjing City Situated at the north of Shanghai, the economic growth in this city is rapid because of the rise of foreign companies. The tourists trend is said to be two to three years behind that of Shanghai market. C3.1) The number of Chinese tourists visited SADC countries (2010) Table C2 indicates the number of Chinese tourists that have travelled to SADC countries for the year Some data was only available for 2007 or Number of tourists (2010 data) C3.2) International Chinese tourists (in thousands) With analysing the number of Chinese tourists to abroad, it is important to note that 65 per cent are tourists to Hong Kong or Macau. Table C2: The number of Chinese tourists visiting SADC countries Year of travel International Hong Kong, Macau Total ,860 33,790 47, ,180 39,210 57, ,160 46,090 70, ,720 56,460 83, , ,

40 ANNEX D. Suggestions for Internet Marketing In the international tourism promotion, the importance of the Internet marketing is growing and would require the introduction of some method of Internet marketing. It is imperative that marketing documentation must be in the language of the potential tourist. Furthermore it is advised that a Japanese/Korean/Chinese interpreter that both understand the destination region and the tourists culture is consulted. D1) Website management The following recommendations pertain to aspects of website management that have to be considered when targeting the East Asian markets. D1.1) Clarify the purpose of the web site The purpose of website management is mainly categorized into three, namely Enhancements of the recognition as the tourist destination, Enhancement of the communication with website tourist, Supply of the products and services. Given the position of SADC countries in the eastern Asian market, for the moment it would be a good idea to create the websites focusing on the enhancement of the recognition as the tourist destination, and it would be effective to create the special pages for the major tourist attractions which appeal to the market. D1.2) Clarify the priority segments Identify the theme, design and contents to be put on the web, after clarifying priority segments, such as individual tourists or tour package tourist, gender, age group. D1.3) The contents desired by users Normally for Asian tourists, it is not easy to search tourists information according to national or local administrative division in southern Africa. It would be easier if the tourist destinations are sorted in themes or pointed on the maps. The introduction of the tourist attractions need to be not only the descriptions and photos but also the best season to visit, transport access details (Transport type, duration, fee, timetable of availability), operating times and days. Showing the model route and accommodation and restaurants along the way on the route will facilitate designing a plan of action at the destination area. D1.4) The advantage of involving local staff from the market area in designing promotion activities Most of people in Eastern Asian countries do not have much knowledge about the geography, history and cultures of southern African countries, therefore the level of the information to be provided to attract attention need to be matched against the recognition level of the market. So it is highly recommended to get advice from local people who understand both southern Africa and East Asian markets in developing the contents. D1.5) Photo library It is highly recommended to prepare a photo library with high resolution photos that can be used freely without license via the internet for the overseas media and tourist agencies. D2.1) Induction of users to the website It is important to attract as many as possible priority segmented tourists to the Website. Most traffic to the website would be channelled via search engines. According to the research by StatCounter, the most commonly used search engine in the world is Google at 90 per cent followed by Yahoo and Bing. However in the case of China, the search engines called Baidu hold top share at about 60 per cent, placing Google in second place with 32.7 per cent (Table C1). Table D1: Search engine preferences as of August. Japan (%) South Korea (%) China (%) Google Yahoo Bing Baidhu NAVER Daum D2.2) Internet advertisement Newly established websites could have limited number of tourists, therefore in order to increase the tourists in the short term, it could be effective to advertise on the websites which already have many tourists. The effects of the internet advertisements are mainly: Impression effect: to generate increased the recognition Traffic effect: to channel tourists to the actual website. Response effect: to attract tourists to the destinations. There are many types of the Internet advertisement that can be considered such as: text, banner, movie, sponsorship, , blog, contents links, search keywords, linked advertisements. Generally the consumer trusts the contents through normal search results, and internet advertisements are used for short term effects such as to introduce time limited products or introduction of events. D2.3) The utilization of social media Social media is popular with proactive website users. Blogs, Twitter and Facebook is consumer generated media (CGM) and are ranked according to the number of users in the following order. Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Blogger.com and Twitter. Facebook has the highest number of the user, therefore most tourism departments has Facebook pages to enhance the communication with the clients. This is a good tool for one-to-one marketing and relationship marketing. D1.6) Update the contents Constant update of the information, supply of new contents, punctuality and prompt responses to enquiry s are essential. D2) Internet marketing Table D2 Facebook Users (2012, Sept) Number of users % in population Japan 15,506, South Korea 9,434, China 611,

41 CONTACT RETOSA t: (27 11) /1 - (27 11) /3 f: (27 11) e: info@retosa.co.za. website: Retosa Online Regional Tourism of Southern Africa Physical address: Unit C40, Lone Creek, Waterfall Park, Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa