The Western Cape is finalising a five year tourism marketing strategy that will focus on 12 select source markets and six tourism themes, says Judy Lain, Chief Marketing Officer of Wesgro, the tourism, trade and investment promotion agency of Cape Town and the Western Cape. 
The 12 markets chosen are: Namibia, Angola, Brazil, USA, Australia, China (including Hong Kong), India, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and Italy. The UAE may be added pending feedback, says Lain. 
Themes selected for the period 2015 - 2020 include design & culture; wine & cuisine; edu-tourism & youth; agri-tourism; adventure; and cycling; with luxury travel on the watch-list for future inclusion. 
Lain says the markets and themes were chosen based on global tourism trends and the Western Cape’s strongest selling points aligned with market insights.  “They are not purely tourism focused but are aligned to our business and trade markets,” she explains. 
She says the aim is to develop a collaborative strategy. That’s why Wesgro and the province’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT) are visiting the regions to get public and private sector input. Feedback will be presented at a plenary session on September 26 of the public/private sector Tourism, Arts & Entertainment (TAE) partnership. Implementation is scheduled for April 2015. 
In line with the new plan, Wesgro will in future attend more specialised road shows, such as Interbike Las Vegas and Ride London; and engage in more joint marketing agreements with the private sector to boost its limited annual marketing budget of R21m.  For example, Turkish Airlines cabin staff are already being trained to become Western Cape brand ambassadors. 
The five-year plan also includes a Business Events Strategy; and an Events Strategy that focuses on year-round signature events for the international market and out-of-season smaller events that drive domestic tourism and address seasonality. Wesgro has also established a “Tourism Reference Panel” representing a cross-section of industry to provide professional input on the performance of tourism in the province.