South Africa’s North West Department of Tourism recently held a Trade and Investment Lekgotla (business meeting) where industry players explored the benefits of embracing digital trends to increase the region’s market competitiveness.

Mpho Motlhabane, acting MEC for Tourism, said the purpose of the lekgotla was to look at creating ways to deal with the digital divide, create global economic integration, and drive public-private partnerships, with the aim of growing the economy and create jobs.

Motlhabane said technology was increasingly impacting the travel and tourism industry. “Today the world is talking about the fourth Industrial Revolution. We need to find out where we are in that space. Policymakers and tourism enterprises today need to understand the implications of information and communications technology (ICT) developments and its importance.”

“E-tourism describes the entire range of applications of ICT in the tourism industry,” continued Motlhabane, “where tour operators, travel agencies, hotels etc., can benefit. The advantages also support other functional activities, which include marketing, sales, operations and many other channels.”

Kaizer Dhliwayo, a researcher at SA Tourism, said tourists were more visible on the Internet, with the world moving toward digital migration. As a result, online bookings continued to increase, which is why tourism players needed to have an online presence.

“As we measure tourist behaviour and activities, we find that 34% of accommodation bookings happen online. You are able to get an idea of what kind of package to put together for an international tourist by looking at what they typically search for online,” said Dhliwayo. “Tourists want new experiences all the time. We have to find ways to tell authentic stories about our destinations and give it an impact by doing it digitally, so that we can attract tourists from all walks of life. The North West has moved from number seven to the sixth-most-visited province, drawing 33 300 tourists this year, and tapping into the digital space will attract even more.”