South Africa needs to look at establishing more resorts that provide good-value, fully inclusive holidays for a huge international and domestic market of budget-conscious families, says outgoing former CEO of Cape Town Tourism, Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold.
“Packaged holidays have increased in value and importance but we’re not very good at packaging fully inclusive holidays in South Africa. The big issue is the cost of flights, which means we have to work so much harder at providing value in the destination, and packages allow you to do that. There is a huge market of families on a budget who want to know how much their holiday costs upfront. We don’t really attract this lucrative family market with resorts and we can learn a lot from what other destinations, such as Mauritius, do.” She emphasises that resort development must, at all times, be complementary to the destination.
Du Toit-Helmbold says SA needs to get more serious about developing the right tourism infrastructure. In the case of Cape Town – which continues to struggle with seasonality problems despite annual winter marketing campaigns – she suggests the solution lies in stakeholders taking a strategic look at the city and adopting a long-term approach to infrastructure development that will include more indoor attractions. She says the city needs more strategic investments in year-round attractions and experiences that are not weather dependent. “We have to invest in winter-friendly and family-friendly events and attractions under roof. We also need a lot more investment in themed lifestyle events in combination with sporting events,” she says. 
She says during the nine years of her tenure at CTT, tourism changed from a “one-size fits all” approach to a much more dynamic industry that is more customer focused. “It’s not just about the beauty of the destination any more but about the experiences and memories that visitors have here. People still travel but very differently. They are looking for stories. This has provided an opportunity for a destination like Cape Town. We have interesting stories to tell and we have an industry that has developed dynamically and excellently.”
She predicts that tourism in future will become even more customer centred. “Information is already readily available but customers want more tailor-made solutions. Digital (marketing) will get bigger, as will packaged holidays and resorts. People will look for more value.” She says more focus will also fall on the African market, characterised by high spend and short leads but hampered by lack of access, while business tourism from Africa will also play a greater role in future. 
Her advice to new CTT CEO, Enver Duminy: “Ensure absolute transparency in everything you do. It’s a complex environment. Keep your finger on the pulse on the day-to-day developments and on the global thinking and on the local delivery. Above all, stay humble!”