During the first week of June, the Attractions Management in Southern Africa conference, the brainchild of Sabine Lehmann from Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, was hosted in Cape Town for the second time. For two days, managers and CEOs of different attractions in South Africa presented papers on a variety of issues concerning attractions. I had been asked to be the Master of Ceremonies and, as the conference concluded, thought it would be useful to summarise the lessons learned from all the presentations. Approximately 100 people attended, representing nearly all the major attractions in South Africa, such as South African National Parks, Pretoria and Johannesburg Zoos, Cango Caves, Two Oceans Aquarium, Ratanga Junction, Gold Reef City, Voortrekker Monument, Liliesleaf and SAB World of Beer, to name but a few. What stood out for me was the positive attitude of all the presenters and the ability to spot opportunities for further growth and development. The following ten lessons were identified:

The first lesson is the importance of networking. This includes building good relationships with other tourism attractions, with the media, with tourism associations and local authorities (municipalities). This was most probably the aspect highlighted by the majority of speakers. The advantage of great networking is that one keeps abreast of new developments in the industry.

Second is the importance of being innovative. This implies the ability to change or adapt what you have to attract new markets and also to offer something new to existing markets.

Third is to position your attraction not only locally but also globally, since South Africa is competing internationally, which implies that tourists, whether they are South African or international tourists, take other attractions into consideration when deciding which destination or attraction to visit or when planning their holidays.

Fourth, that attractions also need to educate and make visitors aware of what it is that they offer and what other attractions are available in the area. This applies especially to museums and heritage sites, which once again supports the notion of networking.

Fifth is the importance of having not good but great relationships with your staff. This includes continuous staff training as well as exposure of your attraction. An example was cited by Claus Tworeck from City Sightseeing, who said that all staff from time to time undertook its sightseeing tours in Cape Town and Johannesburg to remind them why they do what they do. It also shows staff where they fit into the value chain and the important role they play.

Sixth, the importance of keeping good statistics about who visits you when and from where, and what they think of your attraction. Good planning can be done when one has good statistics.

Seventh, it is also important to take a few steps into the future when we do our planning. Envisage where your product/attraction is going to be in 10 or 15 years from today and plan accordingly.

Eighth, ensure that your attraction is well covered (insured) for any incidents that might occur. In addition, all staff should know what to do, or at least who to call, in the case of an emergency or incident. It is better to identify one person in the organisation who will co-ordinate all activities to limit confusion and, most importantly, to remember that accidents do happen.

Ninth, it is important to ensure that kids, where applicable, get the opportunity to play. Furthermore, it’s important to use play to teach them specific knowledge or skills where appropriate and it makes sense to get advice from experts in this field. Kids are important since they influence parents’ travel plans.

Lastly, with the growing importance and influence of social media, it is important to use it to the attraction/product’s advantage. Therefore, it should be part of your marketing campaign. But remember, whatever you use, ensure that it is updated on a very regular basis. Not once a month.

Hopefully those who were not there can implement some of these ideas to make South African attractions more competitive and to influence current and potential visitors in their decision-making and offer them a memorable experience. In the words of Steve Jobs: “People do not always know what they want until you show it to them.”