in association with Market Feedback 2015 1 of 5
Overview: Our return to Australia and New Zealand in November 2015 was warmly received by the travel trade, who were enthusiastic to meet the stellar lineup of exhibitors. The wholesalers demonstrated their support and pre-registrations reached target within 48 hours of opening. 2016 shows signs of a revival in demand for travel to Africa, enquiries are significantly up and should convert into bookings. We are pleased to work closely with our partners South African Tourism and South African Airways who are instrumental in this market. With long established bases in this region, the generously-shared market intelligence is a big help for all participants on the roadshow and industry relationships are evident. Our African exhibitors included four tourism authorities, three airlines and a myriad of offerings for top quality hotels, trains, adventures and safaris. The gasps during the prize draw highlighted all the exciting products featured. We believe that each country in Africa possesses something truly unique and special, yet the majority of the international travel trade tend to refer to Africa as a single destination. It is necessary to highlight the key focal points while leveraging off the greater destination marketing from which we can all benefit. In total the showcase included offers from 14 African countries. The travel trade in Australia and New Zealand is certainly a dynamic market, one of the most complex in which we operate our roadshows. Fortunately we have a strong facilitator based in country Luxury Travel Management who guides us on the latest industry developments and we look forward to continuing this strong partnership. In response to Ebola, the Kenya bombings and tough economic times, there have been significant shifts in the market recently with some key wholesalers merging and others closing their African specialist operations entirely, while new operators who traditionally sell other long haul destinations are now showing interest in Africa. New Zealand is seeing some of the traditional Australia-based operators becoming more active in New Zealand. From the retail side, there is definitely a growing trend to use DMCs directly rather than booking via the traditional wholesale channel. This is especially prevalent amongst the more experienced and high end leisure retail agents. The scenario that has developed is not preferable for the Australasian based wholesale market, and many suppliers are ensuring that there is no benefit in doing this, by following rate integrity. For our Africa Showcase, we have always aimed to incorporate the wholesalers as much as possible in order to respect the sales channel. Wholesalers took exhibiting tables to meet with the retail agents, they were included in all marketing collateral and joined the trade evenings as attendees to listen to our exhibitors from Africa. By including the wholesalers in an African environment we believe this is a great networking opportunity to engage with the agents selling Africa. Thank you to everyone for being on the road with us and for selling Africa with so much passion. 2 of 5
Exhibitor Feedback: Thank you very much for putting together an excellently choreographed show again. The Australian and New Zealand market is relatively new to us (from a marketing perspective) and although not everyone was familiar with our product, they were attentive and interested which is always great to see. We look forward to returning again and building on the new working relationships formed during our visit. Katherine Whelan, Airlink Thanks so much to the team at On Show and Lux Travel Management for another great roadshow. I was impressed with the quality of agents that came along. The VIP meetings I found were also very beneficial for me. Melyne Hovasapian, South African Tourism Australasia Africa Showcase allowed maximum exposure to quality suppliers in a short period for our products - without having to spend weeks planning visits to individual offices which would necessitate a longer, more expensive trip. It was great to focus attention on presentations and networking, rather than having to sort a myriad of logistical challenges as when on a sales trip in a foreign country. Colleen Kotze, Seasons in Africa Thank you for putting on a good showcase in Australia and New Zealand. The logistical support was spot on. The showcase platforms in all the 5 cities also provided huge networking opportunities among the exhibitors, wholesalers and agents. The choice of wholesalers was great, their presence at the shows provided us with additional marketing intelligence. In our next steps, we will be looking at consolidating the contacts established at the show in order to activate new arrivals from Australia and New Zealand. Doris Kofi, Zambia Tourism The Africa Showcase events were extremely well organised and provided a great platform for Kenya Tourism Board to promote Kenya to Australian travel agents. The quality of both the wholesalers and agents was excellent and there was a good mix of retail brands represented. It seems that Africa overall is bouncing back and there has been a strong increase in bookings over the past few months. It was great to hear that Kenya is included in this however there is still more work for us to do and the key challenges for us are the USD against the AUD and a lack of awareness. It was a great roadshow and one that was definitely beneficial to KTB. Bart Druitt, Kenya Tourism Board The show was well organised and the venues well situated. Perhaps a less formal set up next time with a more themed Africa feel would be good and also get the clients to move around so they don t fall asleep. Thanks for putting together such an amazing event. Charlene Campbell, Tsogo Sun Once again a smooth running and well organised show. An excellent platform to showcase our product to this highly lucrative market and also a great opportunity to engage with the wholesalers from this market. The feedback in general was positive and business definitely on the upside for 2016. Junese Viljoen, Peermont Hotels Casinos Resorts It was a good group of agents that I saw in MEL and BNE. If we could find a way to do less presentations that would be good as it is tough to maintain the same level of enthusiasm towards the end. That would be the only thing that I would say but in general it was a splendid roadshow so thanks again. Trent Malcolm, South African Airways I thought the Melbourne event ran very smoothly. Claire Sweeney, South African Airways Thank you for a very successful evening here in Auckland. We were very impressed with the professional approach you took to planning and executing the AKL stop of the roadshow, with an excellent venue and set up. It was a pleasure to be involved. Gareth Williamson, South African Airways It s really valuable to get the lists so promptly allowing me to get my follow up done while it s all still fresh in the consultants minds. Herbie Rosenberg, Africareps The professional planning, preparation and behind the scenes organising make the Africa Showcase an absolute pleasure to participate - seamless event organising, buyer quality and format. So much fun. Rob Moffett, Ongava and Namibia Exclusive Lodges 3 of 5
Buyer Feedback How great to see you all and be included to partner alongside our African suppliers for the evening. We enjoyed it very much and mingling with the agents was well received before hand as well. Thanks for having us, and see you again in the near future. Ange Pirie, World Journeys Thank you to all the suppliers it was a fabulous night and I still cannot believe that I ve been given the opportunity to visit South Africa. It has been on my list for a long time and I m very much looking forward to visit this amazing country. Anna Riedel, Concierge Business Travel Thank you once again for a very informative evening on Africa. You all take so much effort in arranging these events, a job well done. It was good to meet the old and new faces and get firsthand information on their products. As always, a good range of presenters. The USB uploaded Africa information is an excellent idea and useful tool. Our business to Africa is constantly growing and so rest assured of our continued support of your beautiful destination. Phillip Boniface, Helloworld Carlingford Thank you for a good night in Brisbane. Well done! We met some interesting presenters, which was very timely as I just returned from my first trip to South Africa. Stuart Betlem, Integrity Travel G day, a quick comment on the Brisbane show BEST structure and information compared to the 3 previous shows I have attended. Excellent choice of venue. Format was laid back and interesting giving us the personal touch. Learned heaps and looking forward to seeing everyone again. Phil Feldman, Above, Below, Beyond I was most impressed by your impeccable organisation of the evening. I go to many of these functions each year and so I am well aware of what works and what doesn t. Serving food on arrival at 5-30 pm was a real plus, as most agents attending are quite hungry by this time, having often been too busy to bother with lunch. I also appreciated the food and drink top-ups during the presentations and the excellent desserts that were served in the time space between the end of the presentations and the prize draw. It was also a good stategy for presenters to move from table to table, rather than the participants moving to the presenters. This ensured maximum time for presenters to have with each table and helped overcome the common problem of agents leaving during the evening. I look forward to coming to future events that you organise here in Australia. Barrie Jones, Extragreen Holidays It was a great opportunity for us to mingle with the trade from around the country, update them on our Africa product and meet the other suppliers. The showcase was well planned and executed. The one thing I would look at for future gatherings is to try and reduce the noise level for when the presenters speak. Rolf Huber, African Wildlife Safaris It was really interesting to hear about the developments in the African market and meet the key industry people. I look forward to seeing increasing passenger numbers to Africa from Perth airport as a result of the Showcase! Stephanie Juszkiewicz, Perth Airport I wish to thank you all for the presentations and it was lovely meeting you all and I look forward to working with you in the near future in Holidayplanet s progress in promoting and selling Southern Africa. Simon Atherton, Holiday Planet 4 of 5
Exhibitor List Africareps Airlink Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas Dulini and Savanna Durban Tourism Garonga Safari Camp Kenya Tourism Board Ongava and Namibia Exclusive Lodges Peermont Hotels Casinos Resorts Rainbow Tourism Group Rovos Rail SA Express Seasons in Africa South African Airways South African Tourism Tsogo Sun Hotels Virgin Limited Edition Zambia Tourism Wholesaler List Adventure Destinations Adventure World African Wildlife Safaris Aurora Expeditions Bench International Bunnik Tours Destinations Africa Swagman Tours The Africa Safari Co. This is Africa Venture Holidays World Journeys Herbie Rosenberg Katherine Whelan & Karin Murray Gavin Louw Margi Jansma Melusi Khumalo & Sandile Nsele Bernie Smith Bart Druitt Rob Moffet Junese Viljoen Shupai Marware Estee Badenhorst Thandi Kunene & Patricia Lotter Colleen Kotze Tim Clyde-Smith, Gary Hilt, Graham Ware & Trent Malcolm Melyne Hovasapian Charlene Campbell Lynne Ireland Doris Kofi, Chilala Mayanda & Felix Chaila Karryn Papenfus, Lovely Perez, Melinda Holland, Jo Robinson & Jodie Simos Eden Stevenson, Kevin Dennerly-Minturn, Caryn Young, Ryan Kendall, Davina Bicker, Ryan Kendall, Davina Bicker, Travis Graham & Andy Kirkman Rolf Huber, Dan Maher & Praful Albuquerque Jasmina Popovska Martin Edwards, Chris Le Roux, Gideon Cheilyk & Cameron Neill Adam Dickson John Mitchell-Adams, Hilary Horan & Christa Wolmarans Andrew Gray, Wayne Hamilton, Soula Burgess & Ashlea Barnes Brodie Poole, Julian Insall & Leanne Wild Patrick Barden, Sally Anscombe, Ben Goschnick & Mick McFarlane Cos Matteo Ange Pirie, Elly Wealthall, Tony O Callaghan & Mark Snoxell Representing products from 15 countries! Botswana Ghana Kenya Lesotho Madagascar Mozambique Namibia Nigeria Seychelles South Africa Swaziland Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe For further info on the roadshow, please contact Jacqui Reynolds or Michelle da Sousa. On Show Solutions: +27 11 431 4126 ideas@onshowsolutions.co.za 5 of 5