No longer the ‘new kid on the block’, experiential tourism has gone mainstream and fundamentally changed the way people travel. But have tourism companies adjusted their marketing strategies accordingly? Sue van Winsen spoke to industry experts to find out.

Experiential tourism is all about travellers being immersed in new destinations, learning about different cultures and having their assumptions about the world challenged. But how do tour operators reach this new breed of traveller?  

Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold, Chief Destineer at Destinate, says she has noted a huge rise in online and mobile marketing efforts and a shift away from traditional marketing and “long lens photography”. She says this has been replaced by good content, visuals, storytelling and working with influencers.

Digital marketing strategies have taken centre stage, and this has meant that tourism companies have had to put a great deal more focus on their website design. Alessandra Allemann, Sales and Marketing Director for Welcome Tourism Services, says user-friendliness and accessibility is key, as many clients and agents go online to research travel destinations and suitable suppliers. “As a wholesaler, we do our best to make booking with us convenient for agents with the development of our online B2B system and regular maintenance of our website and updates on social media platforms.”

Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, says apps are playing a bigger role, along with other online tools. “According to thesouthafrica.com, 30% of tourists are booking their trips online, 47% use world of mouth to plan trips and 29% research their trips on the Internet. Social media and even YouTube all contribute to providing a better travel experience. The growing success of companies like Uber and Airbnb also proves that this trend is more than some fly-by-night craze,” he adds.

Along with this comes an increasing focus on social media. “Time is now our most precious commodity and trust is everything when it comes to influencing buying decisions. Social media are our new ‘shop windows’ and, combined with word of mouth, now drive the majority of buying decisions,” says Du Toit-Helmbold. “Being able to share experiences first hand with the world, or following online influencers as they travel around the globe has a huge impact on people’s travel decisions,” she adds. Christiaan Steyn, Marketing Manager of Drifters Adventours, agrees and says: “Sharing experiences and information, finding friends, voicing opinions and staying up-to-date with trends is all enabled through social media. If companies use this to their advantage, it is definitely a powerful tool.”

Storytelling is a compelling way of reaching experiential travellers, and Cari du Preez, Sales and Marketing Manager for Marine Dynamics, says tourism providers need to communicate what makes their offering unique and how they make a positive difference to the world.

This is possible, even within the realm of B2B. Allemann says that Welcome has started placing more emphasis on creating its own digital content, featuring footage and photos taken by its team on education and sales trips. 

So, does the experiential marketing trend spell the end to traditional collateral? Du Toit-Helmbold says traditional marketing will only be relevant if it is complemented or enhanced by digital and consumer-driven marketing. “Businesses that refuse to change with trends or are not tuned into their customers will lose market share rapidly,” she warns.

However most tour operators, particularly those catering for niche high-end markets, believe that close relationships and ongoing dialogue with their customer base is more important than making sweeping changes to their marketing strategy and collateral. Andre Botha, Sales and Marketing Director of Trans Africa Safaris, says: “We listen to what our clients want and deliver accordingly, with many surprises and treats along the way. We still produce a very high-quality brochure every second year as we feel there is still a need among our audience for such a piece,” he adds.

His sentiments were echoed by Carina Grüninger, Owner of Safari Destinations, who says: “High-quality brochures are still in demand. Our target market is over the age of 50 and this demographic still enjoy good, old-fashioned paper.”

Most companies are opting for a balance between the two, as Allemann points out. “Welcome still makes use of traditional brochures, as we have clients who still like to physically page through and make notes. However, this is combined with a PDF version to carry easily on USB when travelling as well as digital brochures loaded onto our website that are directly linked to our online B2B system.” 

Mark Brown, Owner of Canopy Tours South Africa, adds that while he has increased the marketing budget allocated to social media, he believes this only forms a small part of an overall strategy. “People are bombarded with information these days and businesses need to be careful about selecting what and how often to send information across social media channels,” he adds.

Beyond adapting marketing strategies, Brent Williamson, MD of Adventure Zone and Lodge, says this needs to be backed up by adapting product to ensure you are truly delivering an experiential offering, but that this does increase operating costs. Brown agrees and says to capture this market, companies have to consider offering enhanced experiential packages that include specialist guides and itineraries. “This will encourage the travel industry to improve the overall client experience, which, at the end of the day, will help the growth of the tourism industry,” he adds. 

Some successful experiential marketing case studies include:

 

1.Stellenbosch Experience.

A blog, www.stellenboschexperience.co.za was created by Destinate to share the stories of Stellenbosch, as told by locals and travellers. The hashtag #visitStellenbosch was used on social media to share these stories and engage with readers. This is complemented by an annual week-long bloggers’ campaign called #Stellenblog where a number of local and international bloggers are invited to stay in Stellenbosch and share their experiences. Du Toit-Helmbold says the success of campaigns like these lies in ensuring that a destination makes the content created by online influencers work for the destination, taking ownership of it and making it “sweat” over a few months after the campaign.

2.Cape Town Tourism

Cape Town Tourism invited Facebook users to send their profile on holiday to Cape Town. By registering, users could virtually visit Cape Town for a five-day holiday via Facebook notifications letting them know what their profile got up to every day. These could be shared on their Facebook timeline and participants were also entered into a draw for a Cape Town holiday. The strategy was to expose small communities, never-heard-of places and unearthed gems that are often absent from brochures and online. “We wanted to reach the kinds of places locals love to go to, so that the tourist can find out how to travel like a local. The trendy tourist wants to enjoy the secret burger place that’s hot right now, or the best place to hear a local band or buy arts and crafts. The kind of places we’ve also just featured on our Love Your Neighbourhood video series – the little shops in Kalk Bay or the coffee joint in Woodstock,” says Duminy.

3.Soweto Wine and Lifestyle Festival

Destinate approached festival organisers with a campaign concept that would see a number of influencers meet up with one another over the festival weekend. The #72hoursSoweto campaign aimed not only to promote the festival but also Soweto as a destination worth a few days’ stay rather than a place to visit on a township tour. Stories were shared on social media and the blog www.sowetowinefestival.co.za/blog.